UN Transcripts — https://transcripts.un.org/ar/briefing/geneva/2026-05-22
UN Geneva Press Briefing - 22 May 2026 — 22 May 2026
Language: en
Automatically generated transcript — may contain errors. Not an official United Nations record.

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UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [0:00]:

Very good morning to you all and thank you for joining us here at the UN office at Geneva today, Friday 22 May, for this briefing. We have another very big and important agenda, which I would say is a testament to the importance of this platform and also to the reporting you do from here. So we'd like to start off right away with our colleague Sigrid from the World Health Assembly. Tarek is here as well. Just to mention, we also have on the agenda the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. We have the situation in Ukraine, in Afghanistan and the DRC on Ebola, as well as an announcement from WMO on the hurricane outlook. So lots on the agenda. Without further ado, over to you, Sigrid.


WHO · Sigrid [0:50]:

Thank you so much. Good morning, everyone and it's nice to see you again. We are progressing nicely throughout our World Health Assembly. Those of you who were here on Tuesday, we had just gotten started. We are making good progress, but as said before, we have an extremely complex agenda this year with a number of items that require quite a lot of time. We are on track, so there is hope that we might finish early to morning and not need the full day or even an evening session if we have to go beyond. So it's looking good. We have made a number of decisions. There is a number of draft of resolutions and decisions that are going to get adopted later today when the plenary meets in its sixth meeting and is going to adopt a number of the reports that have come out of the committees, Committee A and Committee B of the World Health Assembly. I'm not going to list them all. You can find that in our journal, which we post every day. But obviously I'm open to questions that you might have. Some of the more important points that we have looked at this year and that are pertinent to today's overall theme is we have had a resolution on Ukraine. We've had a resolution on the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem and the occupied Syria and Golan, and another one which is a continuing reporting requirement on the health situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. We had to vote each time, but each time the resolution passed today. What's on the program currently going on is global health architecture. The item was started yesterday in Committee B. Discussions are still ongoing, but so far it is looking very positive. Overwhelming support from member states for. For a new process that has been designed to look at reform for the current global health architecture in a very consultative and very broad and inclusive way, including not only member states and other global health institutions, but also Much broader, including civil society, non state actors as needed, so that really every voice is heard.

So.

So this very ambitious process hopefully will get adopted today and we will then immediately move into implementation phase. There's a very ambitious timeline for reporting back to the next World health assembly in May 2027 on the progress made and on the implementation, full implementation of the process. So a lot of work ahead. Another item that is coming up today is, is in plenary later this afternoon. It starts at 5pm it is the election of the officers of the Executive Board. And on this, our procedures provide that the General Committee, which is a smaller committee consisting of 27, 28 members, counting the chair, they have met. Yes, on Wednesday and they have drawn a list of 10 members for 10 vacant seats. So we expect this to go smoothly as well tonight in plenary, because we have an equal number of members and vacant seats. So this is the update. And then if everything goes according to plan tomorrow, it will be just the final adoption of all the reports and the closing of the World Health Assembly. If we have some items left over, they are likely to be technical items from Committee a. If Committee 8 does not manage to finish, then there's a likelihood that one or two items might still be taken tomorrow morning. Because when we meet in plenary tonight for the election of the EB members, the committees cannot meet at the same time. So that is it from my update and I'm open to your questions. Thank you so much.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [5:03]:

Thank you very much, Sigrid. Okay, we'll start with any questions in the room. We have one online from Agnes afp. Agnes?


AFP · Journalist · Agnes [5:16]:

Yes. Hi, good morning. Just some quick questions. I would like to know when the withdrawal of Argentina will be discussed, at what time exactly?

And then, as you were beginning to

speak, there was Dr. Telros beginning his statement exactly the same moment.

So I couldn't be able to follow it on the reform.

So I would really appreciate if you could share with us these statements. Thank you.


Speaker 5 [5:51]:

Yeah.


WHO · Tarek [5:52]:

For the statement that there shouldn't be a problem, honey. So we'll get it.


WHO · Sigrid [5:58]:

In any case, all his statements are usually posted.


Speaker 8 [6:00]:

Right.


WHO · Sigrid [6:01]:

So I missed it as well, I'm sorry to say. But I'm sure it would have been an inspiring statement in support of this very important initiative, not just for WHO, but for the whole world. Your question on There is indeed a draft resolution on the table concerning a request made by Argentina to denounce the Constitution. I know some people refer to it as withdrawal, but it's really not what it is. So it's to denounce the Constitution. It is scheduled for today. Normally it could come up anytime this afternoon before 5pm because at 5pm we have the hard stop for the plenary. I don't expect any delays. So it should come up, I would expect between 2:30 and 5:00pm I cannot give you any more than that because it really depends on how the next agenda item goes. Normally the next agenda Item is item 15 and that has several sub items. So it will depend on progress. There are two amendments proposed to the draft resolution that is on the table. One is very much a reiteration of the draft resolution that is already there and the other one is different. It's has some deviations that are being proposed. All of them are posted already and have been posted for a while, at least a week, I think. And the World Health assembly will look at them and then deliberate whether they want to decide on any of them, or whether they don't want to decide on any of them, or whether they don't want or they are free to say they want to do something else entirely different. So we will see. It will be an exciting meeting. We've been looking forward to it for a long time. So hopefully everything will go well this afternoon. And I hope that addresses your question.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [8:01]:

Christiane,


German News Agency · Journalist · Christian [8:04]:

could you just for those who haven't studied all those documents that have been online, could you just remind us of what the amendment.


WHO · Sigrid [8:19]:

So the draft resolution that was proposed to the Executive Board in January and that the Executive Board submitted to the World Health assembly is actually saying that for the wha. I don't have it in front of me, so I'm trying to get the correct wording for the WHA to agree to the denunciation and to accept the denunciation of the Constitution, which effectively is what is meant by withdrawal. I should say in this context that I don't like to use the word withdrawal because it's legally not correct. WHO is not a club. It's not a social club. You don't withdraw your membership, you don't stop your membership. It's an organization, same as the United nations, created with a constitution for the United Nations. We have the Charter with the principle of universality in mind. It can only work if it has a universal mandate. And a universal mandate means that all countries in this world should be part of it to the extent possible, obviously. And therefore there is no need for anyone who accepts the WHO Constitution to withdraw from it, because you do not give up any part of your sovereignty when you accept the WHO Constitution. You just accept it and Then that remains. And if you stop engaging, if you stop working, that is the prerogative of a sovereign state. You can do that anytime. And therefore there is no real need for the World Health assembly to pronounce itself on the request that has been received. It can, but it does not have to, because there is. It's a unilateral act that can be done anytime by sovereign state to stop engagement. And there's no one that can stop them. So that is already the case. If they do decide on something, there is another resolution that will be going in the direction of emphasizing the wish for continued cooperation in the near future, for resuming a good relationship and fruitful collaboration for the health for all goal that all the countries have. There is also some proposals that might go further, but they have not been put in writing, which actually also talk about continued cooperation regardless of whether the member state is wishing to engage. So if ever they need help. We've just seen an example with hantavirus that it can hit anywhere, anytime, and if any support is required, who is there to support? And WHO has been working with Argentina on hantavirus very closely. So that is the situation. So it's not completely opposite resolutions, as I said, it's just an amendment that is being proposed. The other amendment is just insisting, I think on the same points already made, that it's the. The sovereign right of a state to denounce the Constitution. And I'm not disputing that. I'm just saying there is absolutely no need to do anything like that and even less need for the World Health assembly to say anything about it. Because if a country decides, so it's decided. So they don't need anyone's authorization. That's my point, I think. I hope that may address the question. And I do hope that in the spirit of collaboration for a very, very important goal, Member States will maybe come to an agreement and be able to say, and we will continue collaborating when the time is right.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [12:11]:

Thank you so much. Okay, we have a question now from Satoko Vyomiri online. Satoko,


Yomiuri · Journalist · Satoko [12:19]:

hi.

Hello. Can you hear me?


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [12:21]:

Yes, we can.


Yomiuri · Journalist · Satoko [12:24]:

Great, thank you.

I have a question on the withdrawal

of the membership of the United States. When will this issue will be discussed?

And which committee will discuss the United States with roa? Thank you.


WHO · Sigrid [12:42]:

Thank you. There is actually no agenda item specifically foreseen to have such a discussion because nobody has requested it. No member state has requested it, and the United States have not made any request in that sense either. So normally I do not expect any Discussion on that issue, obviously, in the related agenda, item 20.2, where the resolution, the draft resolution concerning Argentina is on the table, a member state could raise it, but honestly, I do not expect expected. There is nothing to be said.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [13:17]:

Okay, well noted. Do we have further questions for Sigrid? Yes, John. Nice to see you, John.


Aret News · Journalist · John Halpern [13:24]:

Thank you. JOHN halpern, ARET News I'm just wondering, as somebody who oversees the planning and execution of the organizations in various capacities, you know, this whole general theme of government stepping back from multilateral institutions, health institutions, while still depending on the surveillance and coordination and emergency response systems that the institutions provide, would you consider that to be sort of an overriding major theme, or is that percolating in the background? You know, to what extent do you think that's affecting the overall assembly this year? Thank you.


WHO · Sigrid [14:05]:

Thank you. It's definitely something that has to be thought about. And member states are considering multilateralism can only work when it's multilateral. And if some member states choose to just have some benefits but no longer cooperate in any other way, other member states might see this as a problematic situation. And in particular, if it persists, if anything, I think some of these decisions are bringing member states together when sometimes we have difficult discussions in the room. I think member states are drawing together on very important overall principles and I think this is a good development. I have heard a lot this week from member states from all corners cross regional about universality of the mandate, about standing together and about being mindful that this World Health assembly, like any other World Health assembly, is uppermost about health and not about some political issues that are out there. And, and that it's very important to bring all the work of the organization, and that includes the work in the executive Board or in the Administrative Committee, back to health issues and really concentrate and prioritize health issues and not be sidetracked by the overall geopolitical context. I think the initiative on the global health architecture is a right step in, in that direction because it's going to take us there, it's going to take us at looking at what does it take to stop fragmentation, what does it take to work together in one combined effort, bringing everyone to the table? And I think if we can achieve that, then I think multilateralism is going to have come a long step further and I think that's what this is all about.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [15:55]:

Absolutely. Thank you so much. I think that does it. For questions on the World Health Assembly. Good luck for the rest of the day, for the rest of the agenda, and thank you Again, for being here. Thank you.


WHO · Sigrid [16:07]:

Thank you so much for having me.


Speaker 23 [16:08]:

Have a good day.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [16:09]:

Same to you. Okay. Yeah. You want to add something?


WHO · Sigrid [16:13]:

Just to add that we have today, for those of you who are interested, a Press briefing at 2 o' clock on hantavirus and Ebola.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [16:22]:

Very much for that. Housekeeping. That's good.


WHO · Sigrid [16:25]:

Thank you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [16:27]:

Excellent. Thank you very much again. Sigrid. Christian. Yeah, real quick.


German News Agency · Journalist · Christian [16:32]:

Yep, very quick one to Tarek. There's a strategic meeting today on Ebola, is that correct? Can you tell us something about that? You know, it's been going around that there's an important meeting today and I wonder what it is. I haven't been able to find out. And when and whether that's an outcome that will be discussed at 2 o'. Clock.


WHO · Tarek [16:53]:

I'm sure it will, but it's not. It's not a strategic meeting. It is a member state information session. Because member states have been requesting information primarily like a few weeks ago on Hantavirus and then Ebola came. So now also on Ebola and the outcome of the emergency committee, the recommendations that are coming out of that, all of which will be touched at the member state briefing. And then subsequently you're going to have the press conference where those results or the discussions will be reported. I am sure.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [17:26]:

And as you know, the Ebola is on the agenda later on for this briefing. But thank you very much for that update again. Okay, I'll call our next guest to the podium. And we have also with us, thank you for joining us here to two distinguished speakers who you might know. On my right, of course, is Dr. Vanderveet, who you've connected with. We've connected with you online and it's nice to see you in person. And Dr. Akihiro Saita of UNRWA. So thank you both for being here. We're going to maybe start off with Dr. Saita and then he's going to talk about the health annual report in the area of unrwa. And then over to you, Renee, for the health situation in Gaza. So we'll do the presentation together and then questions for both afterwards.


UNRWA · Director of Health · Akihiro Saita [18:18]:

Thank you very much. My name is Unda, I'm the Director of Health of unrwa. And then I'd like to share key findings from the UNWA annual report which will be issued later of the week or next week. I really thank you for organizing this because the situation in Palestine as well as neighboring countries getting worse, it's not getting better. And I think the world should realize that how the situation getting Worse in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and to some extent Jordan. But I really want to start with a simple fact. UNDA still there. UNDA still operates in Gaza and the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria. Last year UNRWA took care of the 4.5 million medical consultation in Gaza, which is 40% of the entire consultation in Gaza. That's tremendous because the whole that UNRA lost 391 staff in the war, including 20 health staff which I know some of them. So under such a tremendous pressure under continue to operate. That shows the basic fundamental strengths of UNRWA which will be explained in the annual report. I just want to share some numbers but going to the points. So for example, total medical consultation in UNRWA last year is 9 million. It's huge. It's like one country and they took care of that. 43,000 pregnant women, 220,000 people with diabetes, hypertension and the vaccination coverage is 97%. So it's a tremendous support to that and also important to say that tremendous contribution to the stability of the region. And it also indicates that UNRWA is a very good public health platform for the country to use to support Palestine refugees and the host countries as well. And in Gaza nutrition survey with Muwak 160,000. So its number is huge and the contribution is huge. And this reflection of the commitment of our staff in all the fields in health we have 3,000 staff. All in all, 25,000 staff supporting this undo operations in all the five fields. And with the innovations in undo that we started telemedicine because of limited access, particularly in Gaza and then other places. So last year out of 9 million, almost 1 million are done telemedicine by using WhatsApp social network and doctors outside place communicating with this one. But the overall is this getting better? I just want to be honest, every year it's not. The overall situation is extraordinarily horrible. And then Gaza there's still that after the so called ceasefire, people killed and the goods are not going in. Thanks to the partners that we have around 60 to 70% of the medicines available. But still it's not not full. And because of the Knesset bills against UNDA we are not able to bring the medicines inside Gaza and the West Bank. And also that we lost two health centers in the East Jerusalem early this year, Jerusalem Health center and Shohat which covers around 11,000 patients every year. So we're trying to follow up where they are and at the same time undo financial crisis is serious from the beginning of February this Year we cut the staff salary by 20% by working 20% working hours, by 20%. And so for example, in the west bank we work five days, used to work five days, now it's only four days. And then in Gaza they continue to work six days, but less working hours. This is a tremendous pressure for the population we serve. But, and I really appreciate it for the international community continue to support UNDA to go back to the 100%. And then of course in Gaza, goods are not going in. Life remains horrible and many of our staff still live in tents. And one of the staff told me, which I never forget that say that I feel like I become an orphan of the world. No one's taking care of us. They forgot us that we should prevent this. And so my last part is appeal to the international community. UNRA is in Gaza, say okay, covering 40% of medical consultation, which is a tremendous public health platform. And we're ready to remain and all the partners are ready to use our services to recon, hopefully going to reconstruction, recovery of the health services. Same for the west bank because of incursion, we lost some of the camps, but we still maintain our services. And the UNDA is extraordinary good asset to the international community to contribute to the health gain, but also importantly regional stability. And I really appreciate your continued support. Thank you very much. Five minutes.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [23:12]:

Thank you very much. And as we've said here repeatedly, UNRWA is indeed the backbone and it provides absolutely vital services. So thank you very much for sharing this update. Rene, over to you.


WHO · Rene van der Weerd [23:25]:

Thank you. So indeed I'm Rene van der Wird. I'm the new WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Just before I start to say that UNRWA was created for a specific purpose, to address specific needs and unfortunately these needs are still there. Nobody can replace what UNRWA is doing. So I am here in person this week because I'm attending the World House assembly in person. The World House assembly is interesting. It has a dedicated standing mandated agenda item on the health of the people in the occupied Palestinian territories, East Jerusalem and occupied Golan. So that's why we're here. That dedicated specific agenda item has been there for decades. So it's not something that has been, that has been new. But you can imagine with the recent conflict and the devastating images that you've all seen and that you all show that yet attention around these specific discussions really attract a lot of attention. Seta, you didn't mention it. Earlier this week we also had an amazing, if that's the right word, side event, a side event that is an annual event organized by the Lancet Richard Horton in person, unrwa, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and very interestingly the International Federation of the Medical Students Students Association. Something myself, I had underestimated how many students have passed away during this conflict. It's very heartening to hear medical students that were killed, those that wanted to become doctors, nurses, physiotherapists to be the future of Palestine, to look after their own communities. The numbers are just staggering and it was very emotional. It was a very emotional event. That event is always very, very well attended despite the many competing side events at the margins of the World House Assembly. And so we really welcome this attention, support and solidarity to the health of the Palestinian people. It's very encouraging. But we also know, especially in these days that attention is increasingly scarce resource. There is so many crises. Just looking at what you will be addressing today, that the news from Palestine, however devastating it might be, that it's just competing with other shrinking attention span. So I really wanted to thank you, all of you here in the room and online. This press course really, really plays a very meaningful role in ensuring Palestine does not fate. From public consciousness, consistent, credible evidence based reporting on what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territory matters. And for that reason we ask you to keep the attention up. And I really want to thank you on behalf of my organization and on behalf of the Palestinian people and on behalf of all the humanitarian workers in Gaza. Never forget that our national coalition colleagues cannot leave Gaza. So the fact that I'm here talking on their behalf and that they will hear and see through your outlets, what we are reporting is very, very important. But unfortunately, as you said as well, week after week we hear the same thing. All the situation in Gaza, west bank and East Jerusalem. It's bad and it is. I was in Gaza earlier this month, only my son, my second time. And it's just. There are no words. I've been doing this for 30 years. Started with Medicon Frontier in Groznia in the first war. I was based in Somalia, Mogadishu before coming here. You think you are prepared, but nothing prepares you for Gaza. And I thought going in the second time would make things easier, but it just doesn't. It just doesn't. And as you rightly say, despite the ceasefire of last October, there is perhaps less fire, but the violence continues. We hear bombs nearby, there is gunfire every day. And we'll make sure that you get the reports from the UN Department of Safety and Security that you can see the trends it stands in Gaza. As we speak, the yellow line has moved again. That means Today more than 2 million people live on less than half of what the Gaza Strip was before this war. And that yellow line is dangerous. When I left Gaza the first time, they showed that a taxi driver that was transporting two of my colleagues, that taxi driver was killed. My two colleagues, young medical doctors that were on their way to Rafah to support medical evacuations. They are not okay. And their numbers don't appear

so.

Despite this ceasefire, at least 880 people have been killed. That's October last year. More than 2,600 people have been injured. And as you all very well know who we have a World assembly resolution number 65.2 where we are asked on behalf of our member states to document attacks on health. And only this year, we have reported 22 attacks on health care in Gaza. Five people died and 18 people are injured. Only 53% of the hospitals in Gaza, we reported that last time. Actually, not one of them is fully functional. And one of the key reasons these facilities are not functioning is because they are struggling with critical shortages of medical supplies. And that is perhaps something I wanted to focus on today, because the amazing health workers in Gaza, they are the most amazing people you ever meet in your life. They deserve to have access to the medicines and the medical supplies that they need to do their job. Their job is to save life, look after the injured, look after the people that are sick. And just let me be specific with some of the examples of what is currently not entering Gaza. In Jordan, there is a prefabricated hospital waiting for months to enter Gaza. Laboratory equipment, reagents, oxygen concentrators, orthopedic items, not luxury items. These are essential items. These, these are essential items that are needed to make health facilities and the health system work. And without laboratory equipment and reagents, we cannot diagnose diseases and detect potential disease outbreaks. We're talking about Hantavirus, we're talking about Ebola virus. This is not luxury. This is equipment that we need to save lives, to detect diseases, to alert the world about potential outbreaks and make sure that people don't die. And you can only imagine with the horrific living conditions, overcrowding, rodents, lack of water and sanitation, that this is urgently, urgently needed. Because without these delays in diagnostic, we don't know the threats coming. Without oxygen concentrators, let's just be honest, that is critically ill patients that die. And without orthopedic supplies, surgeons cannot properly treat injuries. Some of these supplies that are not entered. You might have heard about it. Israel calls them dual use. Israel has a specific legislation that talks about dual use. This is not dual use essential medicines. WHO has internationally recognized lists of essential medicines. That is what we are talking about. So we really want you to help change that narrative about dual use essential medicines. Essential supplies are essential medicines. As essential supplies, there should be no restrictions. There should be no bureaucratic processes and access restrictions on that. And by doing so, let's just all make sure that health is protected and that humanitarian access in Gaza is unrestricted. And thank you again for making and thank you again for really keeping the Palestinians health on the respective agendas. Thank you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [32:22]:

Thank you very much, Rene, for that very moving and very immensely important brief. And to you, Heito San. So let's start off with questions, starting with you, Christian, from German news agency. Thank you.


German News Agency · Journalist · Christian [32:35]:

Thank you very much for being here. It's wonderful to see you in person. I was going to ask you a question exactly about these essential medicines. We had a briefing two or three days ago from the Israeli government who said exactly that they cannot provide generators or oxygen machines because the pipes will be misused by Hamas and turned into rocket launchers. Do you see that in your work in the Gaza Strip? Do you see that Hamas is interfering in deliveries that you are trying to bring in? Is there a grain of understanding? Is there concern that there might be some diversion of stuff that is coming in that might be used? I'm not talking about obviously the essential medicines, but generators, for example, or machines that you want to use, of course, to treat patients. Is there a concern that Hamas is somehow controlling or interfering in the process of delivery?


WHO · Rene van der Weerd [33:45]:

Thank you.

Thank you. So we bring in who, and we want to thank a lot of the member states that support us. We bring in supplies on behalf of also now UNRWA with all the restrictions on unrwa. So we bring in medical supplies not just for who, for the Ministry of Health, for UNRWA and a lot of health cluster partners. They go to WHO warehouses for the generators, for example. Now, because Israel has asked us to track and to monitor, there are trackers on generators and medical supplies. Sometimes you wonder what you can do, I think when you look at it. And everything can be used for other purposes. We have been talking about stents for all of you that know what stents is. So we have the stent machines and the cardiological surgeons in Gaza. But the stance, which is like the stapler, you have to stapler, but not the stapler, you have the stapling Machine, but not the stapler can't go in. We have made promises to the Israeli authorities that we will make sure that items will be installed, especially big items. There are drones over Gaza. At night you don't sleep okay, because you have drones over Gaza. So the big items, we've made all the promises and the commitment that we will be trackers on there. We don't get in armored vehicles. Even following that critical deadly incident, the armored vehicles that who needs to do our job are now coming in. The spare parts for armored vehicles are not coming in. The spare parts for generators are not coming in, oxygen generators are not coming in, and laboratory equipment is not coming in. We had discussions about centrifuge, explaining what a centrifuge was and why you needed to do very basic medical analysis. So we want you to help change that narrative. Are we not talking on behalf of the other UN agencies? Samantha? I often say when I go to Gaza I should not have studied medicine, I should have studied civil engineering, you know, more about spare parts and cement. All these things can't go in. So how can we even start thinking about rebuilding health and health facilities in Gaza when we can't bring in laboratory equipment? Thank you.


UNRWA · Director of Health · Akihiro Saita [36:07]:

Two things, quick. Firstly, until last January we could bring our medicine by ourselves and other medical equipment. And like who, we have a good logistics system recording where they are, when to when, and so that we know exactly where it was delivered and they use and so that we can prove that we can show where the goods are. And so that's same for WH at present. And secondly, this laboratory, as I said, we are treating a diabetes hypertension patient without laboratory test. And so it's very difficult to see if diabetes control or not. And then new cases of diabetes we have to do laboratory tests. So the incoming of the new patient is very limited because we simply can't diagnose. And so that is diabetes. Once you do that test, it's a life saving. We have medicines, we have our treatment, but if we cannot do this, we are somehow treating patients without knowing exactly what's going on.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [37:04]:

Thank you both very much. Okay. Yes, Olivia, Reuters, good morning.


Reuters · Journalist · Olivia [37:09]:

Thanks very much to both of you for your briefings. Just, just to check on. Sorry, just wanted, just a quick question on the UNRWA report. Just check your comments. Are they under embargo or can we use them already given that the report is coming out? And then I have a second question


UNRWA · Director of Health · Akihiro Saita [37:24]:

for the who, Sorry, it is not issued yet. And so that once it is issued that the UN will send to everybody. So it's a bit delayed but and with this new report it has all the statistics. Yeah,


Reuters · Journalist · Olivia [37:39]:

thank you. And just second question, you mentioned there, for example about just the difficulty with lab testing, diagnostics and then how you would then control diseases. We did reporting recently on concerns about rats biting people, etc. I was just wondering if there are any other issues currently really high on your kind of agenda of concern. I know there are multiple but perhaps a recent surge in a disease or virus that is causing concern given obviously the ongoing very poor sanitary conditions in the enclave. Thank you.


WHO · Rene van der Weerd [38:20]:

Sure.

So we see both spectrum. We see communicable diseases, so we have indeed seen a significant increase in what we call ectoparasitic diseases, which is things just from very poor living conditions, lack of access to water. We've seen an increase in respiratory infections and we of course very, very concerned about waterborne diseases. There are increases in acute watery diarrhea. But again to make sure that that acute watery diarrhea is not something that we would be expecting. Extremely concerned about. We need testing. A success story has been on polio as many of you might have known. So we've been successful to vaccinate together with unicef, UNRWA and many partners, loads of children against polio. So we do hope that that will be under control. But then on the other side you have the non communicable diseases and you just have so many people suffering from trauma. One of the important issues that we're trying to address is a lot of people that have had amputations and in the last report you saw just 5,000 people with amputations for them to get their prosthetic limbs, which is also by the way a dual use item considered by Israel. But for someone who has had an amputation, they need corrective surgery to make sure that that limp can be fitted appropriately and that surgery for the moment can't take place in Gaza. So these unfortunate people need to be on a waiting list to leave. And then one thing I didn't want to touch about today, but that we definitely look forward to briefing about is mental health. It's more than 1 million people with severe mental health issues. And when I look at myself and everybody that has been in Gaza, you can only imagine the burden and this is for generation. So we really need to keep an eye on both the risks of communicable diseases that are spreading, giving these living conditions and then just making sure that the non communicable diseases, the diabetes, the hypertension, the trauma and the mental health is addressed with a very, very, very constrained health system.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [40:29]:

I think Saitasan, you wanted to add something and then maybe back to you for a follow up.


UNRWA · Director of Health · Akihiro Saita [40:32]:

Sorry. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, this is exactly what Rennie said, that when I saw the rodents increase, I felt this is a collapse of society. It's not the collapse of the building collapse of the water. Its entire society is collapsing because otherwise the rodents want to increase. The lack of reconstruction, lack of cleaning, lack of many wash activities and it resulted in the increase of rodents and then some skin infection. And it remind me that last summer in summer that IPC announced the farming in the Gaza City. And this is not simply shortage of food, it's a society collapse because it's not farming that scale will not happen, simply shortage of food. It's the lack of the water, lack of cleaning, housing and also the lack of medical supplies and equipment because that if the kids got infected then that become less immunity and they become more prone to that malnutrition and so that the same thing is happening. So I felt very sad when I saw the rodent increase that the Gaza reconstruction is actually not happening. But again that we saw the consequence of a collapse of the society.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [41:45]:

Very important point. Thank you so much, Olivia, please back


Reuters · Journalist · Olivia [41:47]:

to you and sorry, forgive me, my follow up was I also forgot to ask something that really struck me from what you said is, you know, this question about reconstruction, where is the WHO at is exactly now in terms of, I mean also unwa, bearing in mind that you're still facing just, you know, as you said, surge of spread of disease, trauma patients who need to have, you know, masses of corrective surgery, et cetera. I mean the list is extremely long in a setting whereby healthcare is still on its knees. I just wondering, is the WHO or unwa, are you looking to, to launch anything soon in terms of trying to get kind of projects off the ground to try and start rebuilding, be it hospitals or healthcare clinics or is that still too far away? And how does that work? Also with the Board of Peace, which I'm still a bit confused about what is happening, what the coordination is there. Thank you.


WHO · Rene van der Weerd [42:45]:

Yes, thanks. Last time we mentioned, if you haven't seen it, the rapid damages needs assessment, which was done as part who together with the un, the World bank and the European Union and that calls out the level of destruction, it's estimated at 1.4 billion and the needs over several years, it gives you the scope of what needs to happen. If we can't get in a sack of cement today, I think we Also not be naive and fool ourselves. But your point is very important. You need governance to start talking about reconstruction and recovery. And under the ceasefire and the Board of Peace, there is indeed the ancac, the National Committee to Administer Gaza, but they unfortunately still in Egypt. So for us to have really impactful discussions on what does recovery and rehabilitation reconstruction look like, the government needs to be in place as who. We have supported the technical part, so we have developed together with experts the blueprint of what a new health system for Gaza should look like. For example, less hospitals, but better hospitals. So the blueprint is ready, the people are ready, the governance needs to be put in place. And I'm sure other people can come here one day and tell you about the Board of Peace and NCAC and how we as the un interactive with them. But that is where we also kind of in an impasse because the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah is waiting. The health authorities in Gaza are waiting for this new administration to come in and start moving things forward. So it is, and I can only imagine, and being a Palestinian living in Gaza, that that must be frustrating because that's now six months ago, that that cease. Do you want to add something, please?


UNRWA · Director of Health · Akihiro Saita [44:37]:

UNRA is. I can talk in health. UNRWA is part of the health systems ongoing inside Gaza. And so working closely with WHO and the health cluster, they remain ready whenever reconstruction starts because we have the largest public health platform. So we work with other partners to contribute to this


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [44:57]:

both again. Okay, yeah. Mohamed Anadolu, thank you so much.


Anadolu · Journalist · Mohamed [45:04]:

My question for who, Madam, thank you for being in Geneva and for this press briefing.

I would like to ask you the

situation in Gaza in terms of medical evacuation. How many patients have been evacuated since the beginning of the ceasefire and which borders you are able to use for these operations? Thank you.


WHO · Rene van der Weerd [45:33]:

Great. Yes. So medical evacuations, they remain an important part, very complex and extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous. So so far we've been able to support the Ministry of Health in evacuating approximately 12,000 patients. And more than 30 countries, many European countries, countries from all over the world, have been able to accept these patients. The Rafah crossing is open again since February, and that is a key crossing through which patients can leave then from Gaza, going into Egypt. And the other crossing that we use now, again, up to once a week, is through Kerem Shalom, from where patients can and go through a very long and complicated pathway to Jordan. We just need to make sure that when we talk about medical evacuations, that we also make sure that we understand how difficult this is. For these patients and their families, often only one or two family members can leave and conditions for return are not always there. So that's why, of course, as WHO sure, we keep advocating for medical evacuations for very specialized cases, but we also want to make sure that an increasing number of the thousands and thousands of people that need specialized care in Gaza today that they can be treated in Gaza. The example I gave earlier about someone who has his limb amputated, who needs reconstructive surgery so that he or she can have a prostatic that should be able to to be done in Gaza, especially with emergency medical teams. We have specialized emergency medical teams that can come in. Unfortunately, they often face the same constraint of not having the medical supplies. And that is extremely frustrating for them because they do enter a very active, dangerous place to then be faced with situations for which again, the supply side of them not being able to to do complicated orthopedic or corrective surgery is happening. So yes, medical evacuations need to continue. We thank all the countries that support us, but we really want to start making sure that the people that can be treated should be treated in Gaza. And the final point on which we do hope to make progress is the referral pathway of Gaza to hospitals in the west bank and East Jerusalem before this conference. This is how this would go. Patients from Gaza would then be able to go to East Jerusalem and the west bank, which is much easier for them. Also socially, often they could go back and forth, especially patients suffering from cancer. They could go in for their treatment in hospitals in the west bank, go back to Gaza, recuperate with their family and then go back. So from a dignity point of view, from a patient care point of view, that is really what we want to stress with all those involved. Thanks.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [48:35]:

Absolutely. Okay, we'll have a few questions online still. Start off with Musa Al Mayadeen. Musa,


Al Mayadeen · Journalist · Musa [48:47]:

I have a question for UNRWA please, concerning the situation of Palestinian refugee camps in south of Lebanon. If you can give us some details about the situation in this camps and.


UNRWA · Director of Health · Akihiro Saita [49:48]:

Yeah, thank you. Thank you for the question because the Lebanon is also important for us to focus on this one and in Lebanon that Palestinian refugees camps are affected not only the south, but also south of Lebanon, but also south of Beirut city which is close to the hot area and then some of the camps closed and then that we're trying to open to these camps inside Beirut as well as south of Lebanon. It doesn't go smooth as we wished. But one reason is that because of the damage of the bombardment. But Also the people have no place to go back. And so that in the particular south of Lebanon that we are still struggling to open the camps and the health centers. That's what I can tell. Thank you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [50:33]:

Thank you.


Speaker 57 [51:40]:

Certain population. Les attack. Les.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [52:49]:

Okay, we still have a couple of questions, so we'll go to Nick. New York Times. Yeah, good morning.


New York Times · Journalist · Nick [52:56]:

Thank you for the briefing. A couple of questions. You mentioned a prefab hospital waiting in Jordan. What's the current situation of beds? Is there still a significant deficit in the number of beds available for the trauma patients that need treatment? Secondly, I wonder if you could just give us a quick update on nutrition. Is the nutritional situation now kind of stabilized? Is it sufficient food coming in to maintain current health or is that deteriorating? And a third final point. You mentioned prosthetics. Have there been no prosthetics allowed in since ceasefire? And if people are talking about dual use, what's the dual use of a prosthetic leg? Exactly. That's a security concern here. Thank you,


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [53:51]:

Go ahead.


WHO · Rene van der Weerd [53:53]:

Great, thank you very much. Yes, I think we can, there are people that can write a PhD on, on dual use. Some prosthetics have come in but what is quite difficult is that we can't anticipate what will get in and what is blocked. So it's also very difficult for us to engage donor taxpayers funding to buy something that might be stuck for months, for years at the border. So sometimes the numbers don't tell the truth because X ray machines have been very, very difficult. So what do you do then? You no longer buy X ray machines because you know, it just sits at the border and doesn't help people's care. So under prosthetics, I hope next time we can just give you a dedicated session on that. Prosthetics needs to be able to go in organizations like ICRC that have still a facility that can make prosthetics in Gaza, sometimes they struggle to get the components in. Again they have this because it needs to be cooked. Similarly, on the prefab hospital that is sitting in Jordan, sometimes it's one element of a complex that falls under dual use. We've seen that for example for certain complicated medicines where it comes with the needle, but then the needle is considered dual use so the needle can't go in. So we have a full time team, teams of people just trying to understand what dual uses on nutrition. I think Dr. Seta will talk more. But indeed we have still recorded 2000 malnutrition associated conditions in the hospitals since January of last year.


UNRWA · Director of Health · Akihiro Saita [55:41]:

Yeah, thank you very much. Just to add the physiotherapy prosthetics undo actually operates one of the largest physiotherapy inside Gaza. But you need to know that we are primary health care center. So which means that the major physiotherapy hospital, I think it was destroyed. And so there's a lack of physiotherapy and the lack of that prosthetic devices. The needs is tremendous. When I went to Gaza last year, I saw the patients coming which they should have gone to the specialist hospital, but there's no such service available. So they come to us and the need is on the rise. So physiotherapy is extraordinarily important amputees as well for nutrition. In our statistics we are still, we are continuously monitoring the nutritions and it shows going down in comparison to the hype of the last summer. But it is still far from oba. And then if you listen to the people from Gaza that there are still shortage of nutrition, many things are going in, but they have to pay and it's not always easy to find the money to pay. And the humanitarian support are not going in as smooth as people say. And so the nutrition is still main remain challenged. And as Rani mentioned, we still see the malnutrition which we should not have seen in Gaza.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [57:00]:

Absolutely. Thank you so very much. Okay, I think we need to wrap up. Gabby, if you have just one last question because the next briefers have to leave soon. So Gabriela, this has to be the last and maybe a brief question from you. Over to you.


Journalist · Gabriela [57:14]:

Yes, thank you. Thank you very much. Rolando, I'm so happy that I'm back. Thank you so much. Okay, so, okay, I just need clarification of the number of people that are in need to evacuate and which countries are saying that they offer to receive them. That's the first question. The second question. And then I remember that Mr. Trump said that he wanted to do a resort in Gaza. Extraordinary. Did you get an offer of United States to invest or to donate or something like that? And then my second question. And that's it.


WHO · Rene van der Weerd [59:12]:

Transplant. Shall I do English or French maybe? English, yes, sorry. So it's not static that there are thousands of people queued up in Gaza to be waiting for a bus to leave. They are in different health facilities, their conditions change and new people come on board. And the discussions between Gaza, the authority on the other side that is willing to then accept that patient then has to undergo security clearances because Israel looks then at the security. So this is a complex process, but we know that thousands of patients today don't have access to the specialized care that they deserve and that they need and that a good proportion of those can be treated abroad. But again, as I said earlier, ideally it would be good if first we can open the referral to, to the west bank and the East Jerusalem hospitals where, by the way, before the war, 30% of patients in those hospitals were coming from Gaza. Merci.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:00:21]:

Listen, Gabby, as you know, we've always been advocating for the ceasefire, to hold a lasting ceasefire for peace and for the, the Palestinian people to govern their own lands and in peace and lasting peace and humanitarian supplies, as you've heard. There are definitely lots of challenges, as we heard from our distinguished briefers. So this is what we want. We want life saving supplies to get to those who need it desperately and we want lasting peace. So that's my comment on your question. On that note, I'd like to thank you very, very much, Rene and Saito San. It's really immensely important that you are here taking advantage of your presence here and, and I'm sure we'll be hearing from you soon. Good luck and thank you for the immensely important work you're doing.


Speaker 67 [1:01:01]:

Thank you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:01:01]:

Thank you. All the best. Thank you very much. Okay, colleagues, we're moving. I know that we have four more items on the agenda, as I mentioned, a very important day today. But we need now to throw to my colleague from UNHCR in Ukraine who's been patiently waiting and then Shabia, if you want to join me on the podium as well, because I know you want to speak, speak to the situation in Afghanistan. But maybe, Matt, do you want to start off and introduce your colleague who's joining us from Poland? I believe


UNHCR · Matt [1:01:34]:

indeed.

Thank you.

Rolo. Good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to introduce you this morning. Bernadette Castel Hollingworth. Bernadette is our representative in Ukraine. As mentioned, she's joining from Warsaw this morning. She's going to give you guys an update on a number of recent attacks and strikes in the country and the impact on those, including of evacuation of civilians. Bernadette, over to you.


UNHCR · Bernadette Castel-Hollingworth [1:01:59]:

Thank you, Matt. And recognizing that it's very difficult to come in after our WHO and UNRWA colleagues talking about Gaza. I'll be briefing on the intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine that are killing and injuring more and more civilians, forcing people to live and the trend that we see of attacks on humanitarians and humanitarian operations in the country that are worrying us two days Ago, on Wednesday, we woke up to the news that one of our warehouses in Dnipro in Eastern Ukraine, leased by unhtr, had been hit by a missile during a Russian strike on the city. The attack claimed two lives, injured many others, and resulted in significant damages. On behalf of unhc, I would like to extend our condolences to the loved ones of the people who died then, but also other civilians who are being killed every day. The heat on our warehouse destroyed it completely. Shelter materials, including emergency shelter kits that we distribute after air attacks, we lost sleeping mats, hygiene kits, blankets and essential items, emergency items. In total, the lost value of the aid that was ready to be distributed to people who need it was over a million dollar. It is significant for us because it is the first time that a UNHCR facility is being targeted or attacked, if you will, since the start of the Fuzkade invasion in 2022. And this strike actually comes amid many others. There were some last night in Mykolaiv. This week alone, there were other deadly strikes in Sumi and Chernif regions in northern Ukraine. And I have to say that having been on the site of the missile and drone attack on Kyiv less than a week ago, and witnessing firsthand seeing people injured and others waiting to see the rescuers trying to save their loved ones from the rubble was very heartbreaking and very emotional. Last week in Kyiv, 25 people died in this missile attack. And according to our human rights colleagues from the monitoring mission in Ukraine, this year, already 815 civilians have been killed. More than 4,000 have been injured. This is in the first four months of the year, already 21% higher than last year in 2025. And if you recall, 2025 was already the deadliest year for civilians in Ukraine since 2022. And while more people are being killed, civilians, they are injured, there are others who are being evacuated, forcibly displaced. We, beginning of the year seen 47,000 newly evacuated, mostly older persons, persons with disabilities, transiting through facilities we are supporting in frontline regions of Ukraine. Each time I meet a person who is evacuated, who has taken a very difficult decision to leave their homes, I am again, very emotional. You know, people arrive very frail. They have nothing most of the time with them. Sometimes they really live at the last minute. And it's really heartbreaking to see mostly these older men and women living in very desperate, desperate conditions and whose life has been simply disrupted. When I talk about 47,000 people, these are only those who have come through the transit centers. There are many others who self evacuate and so the 47,000 newly displaced and evacuated people is only the number of people who have sought assistance. I, of course, now the priority for us is to continue providing emergency shelter assistance after strikes, to provide cash assistance, legal and psychosocial support. We have already made efforts to replenish our destroyed stocks of items and we have identified new warehousing facilities. And the last thing I want to highlight for today is the trend of attacks on humanitarian workers. Last week there were three such attacks, direct attacks on humanitarian convoys, including two on UN very clearly marked UN convoys. Our colleagues in these two incidents really escaped at, I would say miraculously. NGO workers were also injured and many others in indirect attacks have experienced collateral damages. I want to pay tribute to all the colleagues in Ukraine, mostly Ukrainian staff who are working in the front lines. And I just want to of course, reiterate that attacks against humanitarians on duty are clear violations of international humanitarian law. Civilians must be protected and humanitarians must never be targeted either. Thank you very much. Mats, back to you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:09:05]:

Thank you, Bernadette. Indeed, these are desperate conditions and those messages. And we add our voice to pay tribute to those who put their lives on the line. So thank you so very much for that briefing. Let's see if there are questions for you, starting with colleagues in the room here. Yes, we have a question from Reuters.


Reuters · Journalist · Olivia [1:09:28]:

Sorry, this is actually just a very simple one. Just to clarify, the warehouse leased by unhcr, so it was refined to call it a UNHCR warehouse, isn't it? Was your stock inside that was destroyed? Yes, thank you.

That's all for me, thanks.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:09:47]:

I think. Yeah, I think it's pretty clear. Any further? And as you know, colleague, we've been very outspoken in the situation in Ukraine and we'll continue to spotlight it. Bernadette, thank you so very much. I don't think there are any questions here, further questions. So thank you for your patience as well and do join us anytime. Thanks, Matt. To you as well.


UNHCR · Bernadette Castel-Hollingworth [1:10:12]:

Thank you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:10:12]:

Of course. Thanks. Okay, we're shift to my left. Shabia is with us from the Human Rights Office with the situation to speak to the situation of Afghan refugees. Over to you.


OHCHR · Shabia [1:10:24]:

Thank you, Rolando and colleagues. And if I may, just to mention that the report that Bernadette mentioned in her briefing from the UN Human Rights Office in Ukraine, that's available, it was published last week and that's about the rising civilian casualties that we're seeing. And that's available. If you need any more information on that, you can contact us. Thank you. So we are indeed today Talking about the issue of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees, the UN Human Rights Office is warning against involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from host countries to Afghanistan in violation of international human rights and refugee law. Afghan women, children and men continued to be pushed out of countries where they had sought safety, forcing them to return to Afghanistan against their will and exposing them to great risk. Since the beginning of the year, almost 270,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan, mainly from Iran and Pakistan, and this is according to UNHCR data. Fewer numbers have also been reported deported from Turkey and Tajikistan, and these numbers are in addition to the more than 1.2 million Afghans who have been deported from Iran and 150,000 from Pakistan last year. A report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Human Rights Office last year found that a number of Afghans who were involuntarily returned to Afghanistan experienced a range of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and ill treatment at the hands of the de facto authorities. Women and girls, individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces, media workers, civil society and members of the LGBTIQ community are among those who remain at grave risk of reprisals and human rights violations and abuses. Returning individuals who are at serious risk of human rights violations involuntarily to Afghanistan runs contrary to the core international law principle of Reforma. We urge States to abide by their international legal obligations and protect Afghans by not taking any action that exposes them to irreparable harm upon return, as several EU member states call for a more coordinated approach to the returns of Afghan nationals. We are also alarmed at mounting reports that some countries in Europe are now considering or resuming deportations despite the very severe human rights situation in Afghanistan. Proposed new EU rules on returns, which are currently under consideration, are also concerning. These could weaken human rights safeguards and expose people to harm. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, strongly cautions against all involuntary returns to Afghanistan in the absence of individualised risk assessments. These are required by and must be carried out in accordance with international human rights and refugee law. In addition to the very serious human rights situation, the country also faces a precarious humanitarian situation and cross border insecurity. And you can find more information on this in the press release that we have issued this morning.

Thank you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:13:34]:

Thanks to you, Shabia. Questions? Yes. Jamie AP


AP · Journalist · Jamie [1:13:39]:

hello Shabia. Nice to see you again in your new role. Wanted to just ask you about the deportations. What impact have you seen if any of the conflict that erupted on 28th of February in terms of the numbers of deportations from Iran to Afghanistan.


OHCHR · Shabia [1:14:08]:

Well, thanks, Jamie, for that question. Nice to see you as well in the press corps. Nice to be back. So with regards to your question, I mean, generally speaking, deportations can surge during periods of heightened security pressures. And we, I think, have seen this also after the 2025 escalation as well. It's not possible to conclusively link deportations directly to the strikes or the events that have happened. But if tensions escalate, the, you know, past experience or patterns suggest that deportations could increase in such contexts. And I think we've got some information, for instance, that returnees and deportees that are arriving from Iran to Afghanistan, they're citing economic hardship, unemployment, high living costs, lack of, of documentation as reasons for leaving. And many have reported experiencing arrests and extortion, abuse, and poor detention conditions. So there are a myriad of reasons and pressures that compel people to leave. But there are concerns here that with more pressures on the region in a volatile security environment, that we may see an exacerbation of returns, including forced returns.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:15:14]:

Thank you very much. Shabia in the room. Question. Further questions. Okay, we'll have one last question. We do have the situation Ebola next. And thank you colleagues for your patience. But maybe. Last one, Gabby.


Journalist · Gabriela [1:15:32]:

Thank you very much. Hello. Nice to see you. Okay. My question is on Venezuela, even though there's another government before.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:15:45]:

Gabby, let me just make sure there are no other questions on the subject at hand here because we are speaking about Afghanistan. Just wanted to make sure one last look around. Okay. Okay. Then Venezuela, it is over to you.


Speaker 83 [1:15:58]:

Bec.


Journalist · Gabriela [1:15:59]:

Okay, So I just wanted to ask you if you are watching more people coming from Venezuela even though there is another government and supposedly it's another situation, because there are a lot of people coming from the south through Mexico going to the United States and I don't know what is the situation in the border because I don't think that Mr. Trump is allowing people to come or not. If you can tell us about this situation, I would appreciate.


OHCHR · Shabia [1:16:37]:

Thank you.

Nice to hear from you as well. And great to be back. I think this might be a question best directed to my colleagues at UNHCR iom. But yeah, we don't have any information on that. Thank you, Gabriela.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:16:53]:

Yeah, I think absolutely. This is more of a question maybe, Gabby, if I can suggest you connect with our colleagues at HCR after this briefing to provide a response. Okay. Shabia, nice to have you here with us. Thank you very much. To highlight the situation of Afghan refugees. Another very important issue we're highlighting here at this briefing, and yet another one is the situation in Ebola, which you've heard extensively on. Paolo, if you would like to join me as well. And thank you again for your patience. It's been a long briefing and certainly Ebola is another serious issue which we have spotlighted here. So maybe without further ado, I'm going to go to Sofia of UN Women and then Paolo Cravero of IFRC has a guest joining us from Nairobi, I believe. But firstly, over to you.


UN Women · Sofia [1:17:41]:

Thank you very much, Rolando, and good morning everybody. History has repeatedly shown us that women are more likely than men to die during an Ebola break. And this is not because the disease is more deadly for women once they are infected. It is because women are more likely to be infected in the first place. This was evident during the 2018, 2019 Ebola out outbreak in the DRC where women and girls accounted for around two thirds of reported cases. We saw it also in Liberia in 2014, where in some communities women accounted for up to three quarters of Ebola death. And 50 years ago, also in the DRC where women accounted for 56% of those who died. And we will certainly see the same pattern emerge in the current outbreak in the DRC and in Uganda, which comes as the DRC is already dealing with a severe humanitarian crisis and immense pressure on health services. So why is this? Why is Ebola more deadly to women than to men? It is because Ebola transmission follows social realities. The virus, this spreads along the lines of caregiving, domestic labor, frontline health work and burial practices. Because when people are sick, women are the ones who look after them. Women are the mothers, the aunts and the sisters caring for the children. They are the daughters caring for their elders. And they are the nurses and cleaners in hospital wards and the birth attendants helping women deliver their babies. Women are also the ones who care for loved ones in death, preparing their bodies for funeral. These responsibilities exist in the division of labor inside homes and communities. And they put women in close physical contact during the infectious stages of the disease. Pregnant women face additional risks because they have more frequent contact with health services. Historical reports suggest that when women contract Ebola during pregnancy, there is increased mortality and morbidity and a near 100% rate of adverse pregnant outcomes. We also know from previous health emergencies that when communities go into quarantine, women and girls face greater risk risks of gender based violence. At a time when humanitarian funding cuts are weakening frontline health and protection systems. UN Women calls for sustained and flexible funding for women led organizations so that they can continue their life saving work in protecting communities, countering misinformation and supporting safe care practices. We also call for increased financial support to primary health care programs that meet the needs of women and girls. This includes ensuring women have access to personal protective equipment and prevention supplies and training in community based Ebola awareness and prevention activities. These are critical investments in early detection, safe care and community resilience. Women must have opportunities to meaningfully participate in decision making and implementation of the response. Sex, age and disability disaggregated data are essential to better tailor these interventions. As UN Women, we are on the ground in Ebola affected countries working alongside governments, our fellow UN partners, and in particular women led organizations to support their work and to ensure that women are involved in decision making in prevention and and recovery efforts of this outbreak. Thank you very much.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:21:43]:

Thanks to you, Sophia. I'm going to go straight away to our colleague from the ifrc. Gabriela Arenas, who's the Regional Operations Coordinator for the IFRC for the Africa region, is joining us from Nairobi. And we also have of course Paolo from IFRC here on the podium. But Gabriela, over to you and thank you again for your patience.


IFRC · Regional Operations Coordinator · Gabriela Arenas [1:22:05]:

Thank you very much. And I hope you can hear me okay.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:22:07]:

We can. Yes.


IFRC · Regional Operations Coordinator · Gabriela Arenas [1:22:10]:

Perfect. Good morning. Good afternoon. The current Ebola outbreak in Eastern DRC is a rapidly evolving public health emergency unfolding in communities already facing security, displacement and fragile healthcare systems. In Mungualu, which is currently considered the epicenter of the outbreak, Red Cross volunteers are already moving from door to door, speaking with families, answering questions and helping communities understand how to protect themselves and when to seek care. Many people in these communities have lived through previous outbreaks before and they remember the fear. They remember the rumors spreading to villages. They remember neighbors disappearing into treatment centers and families being unable to bury loved ones in the way that they would not really do. Today, these memories are returning. Our volunteers are on the ground and they're telling us that families are very worried. Community reactions remain mixed. For some people, the outbreak is very real and they are seeking information how to protect themselves and better protect their families. For others, there's still suspicion and misinformation claiming that Ebola is fabricated. Building trust and nurturing distrust is key in containing this outbreak. It is one of the strongest allies we have. It is a trust that communities will report symptoms early, the trust that families will seek care, but also the trust that reliable information will reach people before the rumors do. And this is why the local Red Cross volunteers matter so much. They're not outsiders. They are part of this community and people know them and trust that they have the community's best interests at heart. They provide vital information and that they will also handle their dead with safe and dignified burials. During an Ebola outbreak, trust and community acceptance can mean the difference between containment and the wider transmission. In Bunyan and In Grandpara, the DRC Red Cross volunteers have already reached 600 families on the first day. They are proud to support their communities and they share information that can save lives. In many areas, radio remains the most trusted and accessible ways for community to receive information. Local radio stations are helping share public information messages. They're helping to answer questions, but also to counter the misinformation at a time when a lot of fears and rumors can and are spreading quickly. At the same time, response efforts are intensifying rapidly. On our site, Safe and dignified burial teams are also being mobilized and trained in affected areas, including in Mongolu. During Ebola outbreak, funerals can become moments of heightened risk from transmission. But there are also deeply emotional moments for the families and the communities of those that have been affected. Supporting burials that are both safe and respectful is essential to protecting public health and preserving the dignity and the trust. Critical supplies are moving into drc. Safe and dignified burial kits are being dispatched from our locations in Kinshasa and Dubai. As the IFRC is scaling up the support along the DRC Red Cross and health authorities, additional protective equipment, logistical support and specialized search personnel are also being mobilized. What is happening in eastern DRC also has implications beyond the immediate outbreaks. The situation in neighboring countries continues to reinforce the urgent need for regional coordination and preparedness and readiness across the neighboring countries. The Uganda across is already supporting readiness efforts alongside national authorities in border area. This week the IFRC emergency appeal launched its emergency appeal seeking 29 million francs. And this appeal will help us support the scale up of community engagement, surveillance, safe and dignified burials, infection, preventiveness, but also our cross border coordination and the readiness activities for the neighboring countries. But above all, what we'd like to say is that this response really depends on the communities themselves. We have learned from the past epidemics that containment is not a medical response alone. They are contained. These outbreaks are contained when communities trust the response, when people have reliable information and when local action is supported quickly and consistently. Our message today is clear. The outbreak can still be contained, but the window for action is narrow. What happens in the coming days in homes, in communities and across Borders will matter enormously. Thank you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:27:27]:

Thank you very much, Gabriela. Very important messages indeed. Well noted. Let's see if there are questions for you in the room. Yes, Olivia, Reuters, thanks very much for this.


Reuters · Journalist · Olivia [1:27:40]:

Just wondering what your comment was on the reports of a fire breaking out at a hospital from loved ones who were distressed about the death of one of their relatives, supposedly due to Ebola. Is that a kind of an example of what you're now. You and your colleagues are now having to deal with on the ground in terms of those kinds of situations? And, yeah, maybe you could speak a bit, a bit more about the challenge of these rumors. I can. Like, how are they spreading? Is it just word of mouth? Is it social media and. Yeah. And just why this kind of line of defence is so important in terms of having these community volunteers go door to door, as you were explaining there. Thank you.


IFRC · Regional Operations Coordinator · Gabriela Arenas [1:28:27]:

Thank you. And thank you for that question. Yeah. So we are aware of the developments in Ramparta, and first and foremost, our thoughts are with the families and the communities that have been affected. What I can say is that what this shows is that, and it reinforces is why community engagement and trust building is so important during outbreaks like this one. Yeah, Ebola outbreaks start and end between communities and this is why the local engagement remains so central to the response and to the work that the Red Cross is also doing. We're continuing to work closely with the communities, health authorities, but also partners to ensure that we can provide, continue to support the safe access to healthcare and the reliable public information. But in terms of the rumors, yes, I mean, this is something that is happening, that we see it and in many communities this is coming from past experiences, fear, lack of trusted information, which I think has created a space for the rumors. And this is what we're seeing again. But, yeah, I think what I would reinforce is that again, this really shows the. The role and the importance of engaging communities and sharing that reliable data and trying to fight the rumors for us. Our volunteers are part of the community. They are working with everyone around them to ensure that we can share this trusted information, but also to identify where these rumors are coming from and make sure that we can address some of these issues quickly. So, yeah, I hope that it would answer your question


Reuters · Journalist · Olivia [1:30:06]:

and forgive me, I also wanted to ask about safe burials, just in terms of the kind of teams going on the ground. Do you have, sorry if you already mentioned it, any numbers on how many team members are going on the ground and how do you. How do you actually ensure safe burials and why is that so important? Especially, I guess, in this context of misinformation, why is that also so critical to get under control?


IFRC · Regional Operations Coordinator · Gabriela Arenas [1:30:34]:

Thank you. So I'm going to acknowledge I'm not an STV expert, but what I can tell you is that the burials are very important because the viral load is the highest on the dead bodies and basically continues seething in its fluids for days. So touching the bodies is extremely risky. And for that reason, we have all the protocols to perform these highly specialized burials, and we have teams that are trained for that. We can come back to you exactly on the number of teams that are being deployed, because this is coming from in different areas, in different health sectors. But for us, I mean, STV is one of the critical parts of our response. And we've actually been working with the national societies not just for this outbreak, but also in outbreaks before, and in our readiness and preparedness efforts to ensure that our teams are prepared, but also that we can work with communities to see how we can best ensure that this is culturally appropriate, that it really is dignified, and that we can ensure that while we're doing these processes, we can adjust and have the community trust.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:31:40]:

Thank you very much, Gabriela. Maybe just take this opportunity to note, if you consult the briefing note from yesterday's noon briefing, there's a lot on what our peacekeeping mission in the region is doing. Monuscu, they're doing a lot to provide critical logistical assistance, very much to the assistance that we've just heard about, to rapid delivery of medical supplies, equipment to Bunya and other affected areas. So do take a look at those notes for further granularity. I think that's it for questions. Sophia, thank you so very much for being here and thank you again for your patience. And Gabriela, thank you very much for joining us from Nairobi to highlight the important response to, to the Ebola outbreak. One more briefer, Claire Nulles. Thank you again, Paolo. Claire is online from the World Meteorological Organization. Thank you to you for your patience. You have an update hurricane season outlook. So over to you, Claire. Okay, There you go.


WMO · Claire Nullis [1:32:50]:

Morning, everybody. Yeah, I know it's been a super long briefing, so I will be, I will be very brief. The US national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just issued its hurricane outlook for the forthcoming 2026 season, which begins on the 1st of June. We've just posted a short item about it on our website and I'll put the link in the, in the chat, but in a nutshell, NOAA is a below average hurricane season with eight to 14 named storms. Of those, three to six are expected to become hurricanes and one to three major hurricanes. This is below average. This is below average. But as we know, as we see unfortunately every year, as we saw last year with the case of Hurricane Melissa, it only takes one land falling storm to cause a huge amount of damage. You know, every year the forecast, forecasts get better. NOAA forecasters, other forecasters around the world are, you know, relying increasingly on AI as prediction tools to, to, to, to, to help and sorry, I've lost,

I've

lost my, lost my plot. But yes, oh, oh yes. And why are we expecting a below average reason? One of the reasons is El Nino. We are expecting El Nino event to develop. El Nino tends to suppress hurricane activity. But then there's like a slightly competing factor which of increasing ocean temperatures which favors hurricane activity. So you know, we will wait, we will wait and see. But as I said, NOAA is predicting a below average hurricane season. WMO will be issuing its next update on el Nino on the 2nd of June. So please stay tuned for that because we'll have more details. Thank you.


UN Geneva · Moderator · Rolando [1:35:07]:

Thanks. Thanks to you, Claire. Well noted about the, the next update to June and thanks for the rest of this important information. Do we have any questions for Claire? No, I don't see that's the case. Thank you again and thanks for your patience and the important update. Okay. In fact, I don't have anything to say other than Monday and Tuesday is a holiday here. So if you. Yes, Monday and Tuesday. So if you want to come in to the Palais, do let us know and we'll provide that arrangement for you. Otherwise we won't be doing a press briefing this Tuesday for the obvious reason. We will resume here next Friday 29th May for the next press briefing. And on that note, I wish you a good afternoon unless there are questions for me. No, there's no question. So thank you very much and see you here next week and have a nice long weekend.