Opinion | Escalating catastrophes, mounting health crisis
Summary
Repeated glacial floods and monsoon disasters in Nepal are destroying homes, roads and health facilities while sharply increasing the risk of disease outbreaks. The article warns that weak recovery time between shocks is turning climate-driven disasters into a mounting public health emergency.
Key Points
- Glacial floods in Thame and across Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading destroyed homes, schools, clinics, bridges and water systems, leaving thousands affected.
- The disasters disrupted maternal care, immunisations, clean water access and emergency medical services, raising the risk of cholera, diarrhoea and other infections.
- Recent floods and heavy rainfall across Nepal show how climate-driven disasters are increasingly becoming health emergencies, not just infrastructure losses.
- The government has begun responses such as oral cholera vaccination and disease tracking, but the article says stronger sanitation, surveillance and continuity of care are urgently needed.
