Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah has called for grant-based international support to help the Himalayan nation recover from a glacier-triggered flood that killed at least 1,450 people.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Shah said Nepal’s recovery and reconstruction needs were estimated at about 10% of gross domestic product.
He argued that vulnerable countries should not be forced to take on additional debt to rebuild after catastrophic climate-related disasters.
“When a climate-driven disaster destroys infrastructure of a poor country, the answer cannot simply be another mega loan or a patchwork of small grants,” Shah said. “We need adequate grant-based support from the world.”
Shah also called for closer cooperation between Nepal, India and China on climate resilience, including an urgent Himalayan mechanism to share satellite data, monitor glacial lakes, strengthen early-warning systems and coordinate cross-border disaster responses.
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He said the disaster, which highlighted the growing risks posed by climate change, had destroyed roads, bridges, schools, homes and livelihoods, disrupting Nepal’s development.
The glacier collapse near the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet Autonomous Region in late August triggered landslides and a flash flood that swept through downstream valleys.
Search and recovery operations were still under way weeks later, with more than 6,000 people missing in the affected area. Shah said many of them might never be found.
The World Bank earlier this week made up to $170 million in emergency financing available to help Nepal respond to the disaster and begin recovery efforts.
