Nepal Seeks Grants, Not Loans, for Glacier Flood Recovery at UN

Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah has called on the international community to provide grant-based support for his country's recovery from a devastating glacier flood, telling the United Nations General Assembly that vulnerable nations should not be pushed deeper into debt by climate-driven catastrophes.

Speaking in New York on Thursday, Shah said Nepal's reconstruction needs were estimated at roughly 10% of gross domestic product after the flood tore through mountain communities four weeks earlier, killing at least 1,450 people.

"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," he said. "We need adequate grant-based support from the world."

The disaster began in late August when a glacier collapsed near the border between Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region, triggering landslides and a flash flood that swept through valleys downstream. Roads, bridges, schools, homes and livelihoods were washed away, interrupting Nepal's development progress, Shah said.

Weeks after the flood, search and recovery operations remained under way, with more than 6,000 people still missing. Shah said many of them may never be found.

He described the flood as a warning of the growing risks posed by climate change and urged closer cooperation among Nepal, India and China on climate resilience. He called for an urgent Himalayan mechanism to share satellite data, monitor glacial lakes, strengthen early-warning systems and coordinate disaster responses across borders.

The World Bank earlier this week made available up to $170 million in emergency financing to help Nepal respond to the disaster and begin recovery efforts.