UN Geneva Press Briefing: WHO, UNHCR, FAO, WFP, UN WOMEN

Good morning. Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service today and here in Geneva is Friday, 10th of April. And we are going to have a briefing based on two main topics: the Middle East, of course, as the situation unfolds here, and then we will speak about Sudan where a, where the conflict is getting into its fourth year right these days. So in order to speak about the Middle East, we have several guests today. We have colleagues from the World Food Programme, UN Women, WHO, UNHCR, and I welcome those who are here with me on the podium and those who are online. Before giving the floor to WFP to start this part of the briefing, I just would like to remind you that yesterday, sorry, that on the 8th of April, the Secretary-General has issued a statement in which he was unequivocally condemning the massive strikes by Israel across Lebanon on the 8th of April. We also have had a statement by High Commissioner Volker Türk on this subject. And we are going to now to hear a little bit more about the impact of this escalating conflict in the country. So I'd like to welcome Allison Oman, who is the World Food Programme Country Director in Lebanon, who's joining us from Beirut. Welcome, Allison. I give you the floor straight away and then we will hear from the other colleagues. Thank you.

Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to brief you today and greetings to my partner agencies who are speaking about Lebanon. The past 48 hours in Lebanon have been among the most difficult we've seen in recent months. A sharp escalation in hostilities on Wednesday resulted in devastating consequences, with hundreds of casualties reported within a matter of hours. Behind these numbers are families, communities, and lives abruptly shattered. I'm happy to report that our team is safe and accounted for, but not untouched. One of our staff lost his home during the bombardment. He's thankfully fine and thankfully his family was out, but it is a hard moment. For the World Food Programme, this crisis is unfolding right in front of our eyes, in the lives of the people we serve, in the communities we reach, and in every decision our teams must make on the ground. Our teams are there navigating insecurity, uncertainty, and rapidly changing conditions to continue delivering life-saving assistance. Just earlier this week, I was on a convoy to a border village in the south and what I saw has really stayed with me. Not only the level of gratitude of the population and the villagers who all came out when we arrived, but their local bakery had the glass front destroyed just an hour before we'd been there and they were already sweeping up the glass and had already fired up the ovens because they were waiting for the wheat flour that we were bringing in on the convoy. Their food stocks were very low and it was clear that this convoy was much awaited and it was essential to help them keep going. Despite these challenges, WFP convoys have continued to move, but the operating environment is becoming increasingly complex. The convoy that I was on, it took us over 15 hours, what normally would have just taken a matter of hours. Safety can't be taken for granted and yet the needs are growing rapidly. Safe and sustained access is critical for WFP to continue delivering needed assistance to affected communities, especially in these hard-to-reach areas. At the same time, what we're witnessing is not just a displacement crisis, it is rapidly becoming a food security crisis. We're already seeing clear signs of rising food prices across Lebanon. In just one month, the price of vegetables has surged by more than 20 percent, bread prices have increased by 17 percent. For families who are already struggling, this is deeply concerning. And what we're now seeing is a very worrying combination: prices are rising, incomes are disrupted, and demand is increasing as displacement continues. For many families, food is still available, but it's becoming increasingly unaffordable. And while markets across Lebanon remain broadly functional at the national level, this is actually masking much more severe reality in these conflict-affected areas. In southern parts of Lebanon, more than 80 percent of markets are no longer functioning, with many traders reporting less than one week of essential food stocks remaining. As markets in relatively safer areas such as Beirut are still operating, they're under increasing strain and what this creates is effectively a two-layered crisis where some areas' markets have fully collapsed and others they're just holding on, just. Before the March crisis began, Lebanon was already facing a severe economic crisis, with many families struggling to afford even the most basic food items. This escalation is pushing vulnerable communities even closer to the edge. Even before this latest escalation, about 900,000 people across Lebanon were facing food insecurity and our latest analysis to be released probably next week, hopefully, indicate the number is set to rise. The World Food Programme has been on the ground since the very first hours of this escalation, responding immediately as the situation unfolded. And since then, we've already reached more than 440,000 conflict-affected people on top of our ongoing assistance programs with emergency cash and food assistance. We've distributed the equivalent of 2 million meals to families caught in the crisis. And this response is being carried out under the leadership of the Lebanese government and in close coordination with our partners, our UN partners, our local NGO partners, and international partners. And it's only possible, of course, thanks to the generous support of our donors whose continued commitment is critical as the needs continue to rise. WFP is here and we remain committed to delivering. We're adapting our operations in real time, working with partners preparing to scale up assistance as the situation evolves. But we can't do this alone. And I'm sorry to say that the space for humanitarian action is compromised and it needs to be preserved because the families that we meet every day and for countless others across Lebanon, food isn't just assistance, it's stability, it's dignity, and right now in many cases, it's a lifeline. Thank you very much for your time and I'll stop there to make sure the other panelists have their time.

Thank you very much, Allison. And yes, indeed, we have other colleagues who are going to tell us about the situation in the Middle East and Lebanon. And I'd like to go now to Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar, who is the WHO representative in Lebanon. I've got Christian with me on the podium. To hear about the situation of the health sector in Lebanon that we have seen in many reports have been very strongly affected. So, Doctor, you have the floor for your introductory remarks, please.

Thank you very much. You know, first, I think what happened on the April 8th was the one of the deadliest single day since the escalation started. I think we have seen that, you know, within a very short period of time, so many airstrikes, you know, in the civilian areas. And the result is that the civilians will pay the price, have paid the price actually. According to the Minister of Health, the latest figures of the impact of that, you know, April 8th is almost over 300 deaths and 1,150 injured. But many more people actually are still missing, they are believed to be under the rubble. We also do have many, many, you know, body parts that still cannot be identified actually and waiting to be identified. With all this, while the civilians are suffering, but also the hospitals are overwhelmed and the health system in general, what we have seen. And you can imagine now in any given time that you have a 1,000, over 1,000, you know, casualty that has flared to the hospitals in Beirut and outside Beirut. Considering that, you know, the health sector and health system was already on strain for the last 40 days actually that we have been responding the mass casualty. Yesterday, I think on the 8th, the Minister of Health has activated the mass casualty protocol that will lead that, you know, all hospitals should be able to respond and receive patients, but also, you know, to increase the blood donations and also increase the supplies that's available to the hospitals. The supplies that exist in the country as we speak right now actually, even before this mass casualty event that happened on April 8th, wasn't even enough to cover for one month. But the supplies that we used only that day and subsequent day actually for the last two days is equivalent of supplies that should have been enough for three, four weeks. That leads us to the potential risk of shortage of trauma medical supplies, you know, other medications, blood product, and many other related supplies that requires for the trauma management. The Minister of Health already appeal to the international community for more supplies yesterday and as a WHO also we are also working with our friends and also our partners to see how we can ensure that the hospitals maintain the adequate supplies if in case there is another mass casualty, you know, event that might happen, God forbid into that. In addition to that, what we have seen on April 8th actually is the subsequent evacuation order that happened yesterday in the area called Jnah, which in Beirut, where two major hospitals that are managing the mass casualty, Rafik Hariri and Al-Zahraa Hospital, were included the evacuation order. These two hospitals actually are currently having 450 patients. Of these, 50 of them are in ICU. And you can imagine now, you know, this caseload, where to transfer these hospitals. And I think yesterday and last night we worked through our diplomatic channels with the UN system, with the WHO Director-General and everything to see what how we can save these hospitals not to be attacked. Because we don't have any other hospitals to handle this caseload of 450 patients that we may have in these areas. And the last point I would like to mention is the healthcare workers. What we have seen in this conflict and this escalation is that healthcare workers are disproportionately impacted. Now, first is the healthcare attacks that happened for the last four, five weeks where we lost almost 50 healthcare workers, over 150 were injured, but also more ambulances that has been attacked. The impact is that not only that we lost lives actually, but also this is impacting the access to services, especially area affected by the conflict, whether it's in the south, in Beirut, in Bekaa and other areas. Today, this morning, we received another, you know, warning from the Israelis where the ambulances will be attacked as well. And I just would like to remind that both the healthcare workers, the facilities, the ambulances are all protected under international humanitarian law. And unless we have these services available, we will not be able to save lives into that. And my final point is many of these healthcare workers, the brave healthcare workers, were displaced by themselves and they are either in shelters, they are either in outside the services. And we are trying working with the Minister of Health and partners how we can bring back those healthcare workers into the hospitals and primary healthcare facility so they can better serve for the people who are in need into that. And the last, as a WHO as well as other health sector partners, we are appealing that more resources for us to procure more supplies, but also to make sure that the response activities actually are sustained. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Dr. Abdi. And yes, it's an important briefing on the health issue. But we have now two speakers to speak about those who are probably the most vulnerable in this situation. First of all, I'd like to give the floor to Sophia Caltrop. Sophia, you are in Stockholm, if I'm not wrong, and you'll tell us about the situation of women and girls in this terrible context. You have the floor.

Thank you, Alessandra, and good morning everybody. As UN Women, we echo the Secretary-General's welcome of the announcement of a two-week ceasefire by the United States and Iran. And equally, we echo his alarm at the wave of Israeli strikes across Lebanon. Reports indicate that hundreds of people have been killed and injured this week alone, including women and girls. UN Women continues its call for a lasting and just peace in the region, one that upholds the rights, safety, and dignity of all women and girls. On 28th February, the very first day of the recent escalation, 168 girls were reportedly killed when a strike hit their primary school in Minhab in Iran. And since then, hundreds more women and girls have reportedly been killed across the region. 204 women have reportedly been killed in Iran, while in Lebanon, 102 women were reportedly killed prior to the intense bombardment on 8th April, according to national health authorities. Women and girls have also been reportedly killed in Bahrain, in Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, the occupied Palestinian territory, and the United Arab Emirates. Millions of women and girls have been forced to flee their homes, including an estimated up to 1.6 million in Iran and 620,000 in Lebanon. Displacement is exposing them to heightened risks, particularly in overcrowded and unsafe conditions. It is also cutting off access to healthcare, protection, and livelihoods, while increasing unpaid care burdens. The destruction of civilian infrastructure across the region is further limiting access to safe shelter, clean water, and essential services. Even before this latest escalation, an estimated 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and 75,000 pregnant women in Lebanon were in need of maternal health services, many already facing significant barriers to adequate care. Damage to hospitals and health systems will further constrain access to life-saving and essential services. And as we have heard from WFP, food insecurity has become an increasingly urgent concern. Across affected countries, including Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, and Iraq, 24 million women and girls are now facing deepening food insecurity, driven by price volatility, disrupted supply chains, and declining purchasing power in a highly import-dependent region. In Gaza alone, nearly 790,000 women and girls are now experiencing crisis-level or worse food insecurity. Women's rights organizations that are critical to humanitarian response and peacebuilding across this region, they are operating under shrinking civic space, escalating security risks, and severe funding gaps. Women human rights defenders, they have faced intimidation, arbitrary arrests, detention, and in some cases, lethal violence. As UN Women, we are on the ground across the Middle East region, scaling up protection, livelihood support, and coordination, and ensuring women's voices lead the response and the recovery. We call for de-escalation, for protection of all civilians, unimpeded humanitarian access, gender-responsive humanitarian action, and for this two-week ceasefire to become the foundation for a just, enduring, and comprehensive peace for all women and girls across this region. Thank you very much and back over to you, Alessandra.

Thank you very much, Sophia. Thanks, it's very important to spotlight the particular situation of women and girls. And another category of very vulnerable people are the refugees and Eugene is here to tell us more about that.

Thank you very much. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, echoing what other UN agencies talked about before about the challenges and difficulty of the civilians, and we urge that all civilians inside Lebanon, including the more than 1 million people already displaced, be protected at all times. As the country reels from the largest and most devastating Israeli attacks of the current conflict carried out on 8th of April, around 100 locations were hit within 10 minutes with no warnings, including densely populated neighborhoods in Beirut already sheltering thousands of displaced people. Families who had already fled earlier hostilities in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon, some of whom had begun contemplating returns after mixed signals about the ceasefire, were once again uprooted. Areas previously considered safe were struck this time, triggering panic and forcing people to flee for the second or third time. The destruction of the Qasmieh Bridge has made access to Tyre from Sidon even more restricted, making moving between northern and southern Lebanon much more difficult. For many families from southern villages, return is no longer possible as entire communities have been partially or completely destroyed. Some 150,000 people are estimated to still be in the south. Humanitarian access to them is essential and they need a safe route to flee if they are forced to again. Humanitarian needs are rising sharply. Access to affected people is increasingly constrained. Almost 700 shelters hosting over 138,000 displaced people are severely overcrowded. And nearly half of Lebanon's public schools are now functioning as shelters, leaving children once again out of class and grappling with the fear, anxiety, and repeated displacement. Despite immense challenges, UNHCR and partners continue supporting the government-led response with emergency relief, shelter repairs, and protection services. So far, we have assisted more than 151,000 displaced people in collective shelters and 31,000 in hard-to-reach areas, alongside expanded financial assistance and specialized protection support for the most vulnerable, including separated children and people with disabilities. We're also supporting over 250,000 people who crossed into Syria, including 39,000 Lebanese. With one in five people in Lebanon currently displaced and UNHCR operation in the country just 19 percent funded, immediate and sustained support and most of all, a lasting end of hostilities are now critical. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much to all the speakers. And I'd like to conclude by saying that as the situation continues to deteriorate, we reiterate the need for an immediate de-escalation of hostilities, for respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, civilian infrastructure, as we have heard, the hospitals, healthcare workers, and everyone else, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those who need it, and an urgent funding for our humanitarian operations. And I'll open the floor to questions now, first in the room. So I'll introduce you Jamie, Jamie Keaten, Associated Press.

Thank you. My question is for Dr. Abubakar. Thank you very much for your presentation. I was hoping that you might be able to give us a little bit more detail about this warning that you mentioned from Israeli forces about attacks on ambulances. When did that happen? Is that the first time that that's happened? And what other communications have you had with the Israelis about a possible pauses in the in the military operations that could pave the way for continued access to healthcare? Thank you.

Dr. Abdi.

Yes, thank you very much for the question actually. For yesterday we had a, you know, one warning which was the evacuation that has been expanded actually to cover, you know, some additional area, especially where these hospitals are located, you know, Rafik Hariri and Al-Zahraa Hospital. And I mentioned earlier these hospitals are shouldering the biggest burden when it comes to the mass casualty and we have a 450. At the same time also I think this morning there is this another warning related to the ambulances, attacks on ambulances. And I think it is not the first time actually we have this type of warning. Previously there were similar warning about the ambulances and I would like to reiterate that, you know, as a WHO and a health sector per se, that ambulances are there to save lives actually. And we always advocate that, you know, the ambulances, health facilities, and healthcare in general should not be militarized, should not be used the means of the military regardless of which party is. And then ambulances should be used purely for, you know, for the paramedics who are intended to save lives, especially when there is attacks. And for us as a WHO here in the country office, of course, we don't have contact actually, but we have a mechanism where we channel our information because we have a humanitarian notification system that's in place and we channel those informations, you know, to whether it's OCHA, whether it's a Resident Coordinator, but also our Director-General and Regional Director also are helping us to communicate to the right, you know, parties in order for us to de-escalate but also to reduce the impact this might have for the first responders. But it's very critical that first responders should be given the opportunity to serve and to save lives and they should be protected. Thank you.

Thank you very much. You have a follow-up? Go ahead.

Can I just follow up on that? Could you be specific about what the actual, I mean, you said that this has happened in the past, so this is a regular thing, it's not particularly new. Obviously we saw what happened on on April 8th. So I'm just wondering what specific communications have you had and you mentioned here that this, you know, that ambulances, facilities, and healthcare workers are protected under IHL. You said that yourself. So are you expressing that to the Israelis that that is actually that this would be a violation of of international humanitarian law?

Well, I think, you know, some of those diplomatic discussions I will leave with my colleague in HQ, Christian, who are sitting there actually to elude and to explain more what steps WHO is taking at the international and a diplomatic level into that. From my side, we are doing more technical work into that and we, you know, our HQ but also other other leaders are taking some of those. So Christian, will you be in a position to address that?

Thank you, Dr. Abdi, and Jamie, but I have nothing to add at this point. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Any other question in the room? Yeah, Olivia, Olivia Potvliege, Reuters.

Thank you very much. Um, just a question if I may for, um, this is for WFP. Um, could just to get a sense of why prices are rising. Is that because of difficulty getting food supplies into Lebanon due to the broader regional situation and supply chain disruption? Is it more of an issue actually just internally circulating food distribution within the country? And I think, um, our UNHCR colleague mentioned the impact on the Qasmieh Bridge in the south. I'm just wondering from WFP's perspective if, um, that the attack on that bridge has also impacted your abilities to move, um, between north and south in terms of food stocks. Thank you.

Allison.

Yeah, um, thanks a lot. I think that that you've highlighted the key issues and it's a little bit of all of it. Um, absolutely there are supply chain disruptions and the whole food system has taken a blow and that has to do with the fact that we have had farmers in the south that aren't able to be on their fields and to finish cultivating. There are movement issues, but also we're already seeing the preliminary impact of the change in global fuel prices, the impact of fertilizer and fuel deliveries. And so I think that it's a little bit of everything. We're very grateful that the ports remain open in Lebanon, so goods are still able to come in, but absolutely it's a constrained environment and I think that Lebanon is not alone in seeing the impact on prices already that we think are going to continue to go up. Um, absolutely the access issues continue to be a really large one. I'm pleased to say that despite being struck, actually the Qasmieh Bridge now is operational and in fact we had a convoy that had to use that this morning. But it is a constrained environment and it is not easy to move, um, to move food, either humanitarian goods down to the south or the normal food flow. And I think all of that are impacting on the on the prices.

Thank you very much. Agnès Pedrero, AFP.

Yes, hi, good morning. This is a question also to to AFP on food insecurity. I would like to ask if you could give us a sense of how many convoys are you able to...

I think, sorry, Agnès, I think the end of your question was not heard by Allison. So maybe just just say you said the convoys and...

Yes, and sorry, I don't know what happened with the mic. Um, about the how many people are you able to reach and how many you would like to reach every day in Lebanon. Thank you.

Allison.

Yeah, no, thanks very much. Um, so today WFP with the logistics cluster has been able to launch, um, nine convoys if I'm counting correctly. This morning might have been the tenth. Somewhere around, um, 70 trucks have gone out with goods, uh, and we've been able to reach in the ballpark of between 40 and 60,000 people with those convoys. WFP and the logistics cluster is doing a lot of food movement, but so also are some of the other partners. So I can't speak to the exact number for all of the partners, but for us indeed, what I will tell you is that we do recognize the need to be putting on even more convoys to reach the needs of the people and that while we've had 10 convoys that have gone out, we've also had many, many convoys that have not been able to proceed because the safety and security couldn't be guaranteed. So there is not an exact figure of the the number of of people that are still in the southern parts of Lebanon, but most of the estimates put that population somewhere between 50 and 150,000 that that are relying on humanitarian support and the convoys, which are food of course, but also water, mattresses, blankets, hygiene kits, and essential goods.

Thank you very much. If you, yeah, you have a follow-up? Go ahead.

Yes, just to clarify, it's 10 convoys since the beginning of of the war, right?

Yes, since, um, since March 2nd is what we're counting as the first day, yeah.

Very clear. Thank you very much. So if there are no other question in the room, I Jamie I've got people on the platform, I'll come back to you in a moment. Moussa Assi, Al-Mayadeen.

Thank you so much. Good morning. I have a question for the for Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar. Uh, can you give me please, uh, a more details about the number of victims in the April 8th, the number of children, women, etc. And my I have a second question. Israel announced that the it targeted Hezbollah military sites in Beirut. You are in Beirut. Uh, what did you actually see there? And another question about the situation of hospitals in Beirut, the dangers facing Al-Zahraa Hospital and Al-Hariri Hospital. And about the ambulances, Israel says it is targeting ambulances, uh, related to Hezbollah. How you see this this accusation? Thank you.

Dr. Abdi.

Yes, thank you very much for your question. First, I think as I said earlier, uh, you know, the the casualty figures that we received from the Minister of Health, uh, it's as of yesterday evening actually is a 300 people died and also 1,000, over 1,100 injuries were recorded. But, you know, as I said also, there are many missing, you know, people and they are still, you know, the first responders are still trying to dig and recover, you know, some bodies from the rubble. And so the Minister of Health, you know, they haven't finalized the count yet, but periodically they give us these numbers. When it comes to the distribution of children and women and all those things, I think that we haven't received it from the Minister of Health, but I think by the end of today probably we will get more disaggregated data, uh, to show, uh, you know, who's impacted and what. Regarding the, you know, the the hospitals that you have mentioned, of course, you know, the hospitals as I said earlier, they are on the, you know, in the they're overwhelmed, both the hospitals and the healthcare workers who are trying to support the mass casualty. I think what we have seen on on April 8th was, you know, of course unexpected in a single day, in a single time to receive and I think it reminds me also, you know, during the Beirut attack where we had a 4,000 patients in a single day, but at least yesterday on April 8th was another big day that we have seen it and most of the hospitals at least try to respond, but again, you know, we really need to keep in mind that there is a limitations when it comes to the capacity of those hospitals. For example, Rafik Hariri and Al-Zahraa Hospital, both of them as we speak, they are full in capacity. And and God forbid that if there is any another mass casualty today or tomorrow, probably we may not have space for those two hospitals. Of course, there are many other hospitals in Beirut that can still accommodate, but I'm referring to those hospitals. So we have a we have a challenge and we have a situation in the hospitals that we really need to pay attention, not to mention for the supplies that just to ensure that we have enough supplies for those hospitals to sustain the operation. The issue of the targeting on the ambulances, of course, we have received many, you know, warnings, you know, for the last five weeks about, you know, the use of ambulances by Hezbollah, but as a WHO I'm not in a position to verify whether they use or not to use because that's I leave with the authority and also different other organizations to to verify into that. But what I'm aware is that as a WHO that, you know, healthcare whether it's ambulances or health facilities or healthcare workers actually should not be militarized. And I think they should purely do their own humanitarian work and also their healthcare work so they can save lives and that's the most important for me into that. And I think that's all what I have, remind me please if I forgot any other question.

I think, I think Dr. Abdi, I'm looking at Christian, I think you covered all the questions. Gabriela Sotomayor, Proceso.

Thank you, thank you very much. Good morning to everybody. Um, I have some questions on on Iran. Uh, I would like to know if you have what is the average of Iranians killed, the average age of Iranians killed during the bombardments? Then I have a question on Lebanon. Uh, do you have an estimate or numbers, anyone of you, of how many members of Hezbollah have been killed during the bombardments? Because I think Israel is going after Hezbollah, but I don't know if there is anyone dead or not or if they are doing their job or I don't know. Um, then, uh, I have another questions. Uh, you mentioned that in Lebanon there are more or less 1 million of of civilians that needs protection. Um, of that million, if you have any like idea of how many are women, men, children? Do you have any idea if it's the majority are children or the majority are old people or do we have an idea of that? And then, uh, another question is you mentioned there are no warnings for the bombardments. Uh, why why is that? I mean, this is against any Geneva Convention, any international convention. Uh, so why there are no warnings? I mean, uh, do you remember a conflict that there are no warnings for bombardments in in civilian places? Uh, and then the last question, the you mentioned that they are targeting uh humanitarian workers and ambulances and and that. But why? Why they are targeting, what do you think why they are targeting uh humanitarian personnel? This is also against all the conventions that we learn in the school, in in every book. So is there a justification that they are killing humanitarian personnel? What is what is their excuse if you if you know? Thank you so much for everything. Thank you.

Thank you, Gabriela. So on Iran, I don't think we have anybody who can answer specific question on Iran except that Sophia mentioned some figures on women and girls in Iran. So I don't know if Sophia you want to reiterate this. On the rest, whoever would like to answer, I think the reference to the 1 million you you made Eugene. So maybe I'll start with Sophia and also we have Ricardo on the line. So Ricardo, if you have any any figure on children, I'll let I'll let you take the floor. But I'll start with I'll start with Sophia.

Thank you, thank you very much, Alessandra, and thank you for that question. As mentioned, according to national authorities, 204 women have reportedly been killed in Iran during this latest escalation and among those we have the 168 girls that were killed in their primary school during the very first day of of this conflict. So that's that's the numbers that we have. Thank you and back over to you, Alessandra.

Thank you very much. Dr. Abdi, would you like to take the ones on the ambulances and then I'll go to Eugene?

Yes, well, thank you very much. Um, I think the of course we receive many warnings about the ambulances and I say as I reiterated earlier that, you know, verification whether Hezbollah is using or any other parties are using the ambulances, I think that's I leave with the government and other organizations to verify, but as WHO I think what we are very concerned is that these ambulances and the first responders are trying to save lives. They are trying to respond to the attacks that happened in the nearby areas and they are responding to those areas. And I think as far as we know that most of the ambulances that's been attacked, we have not seen any militarized ambulances so far, but I think I will leave with the different authority to verify into that and also to to address the concern raised by by Israel into that. Um, regarding the, you know, the the number of Hezbollah killed, I think as a WHO, you know, and also the health system, when we receive a wounded patient actually, we don't ask you where they where they belong and who they belong. Our job is to to receive, to treat, and to save the lives actually. So I'm not here in a position to tell exactly how many Hezbollah were killed and how many were not killed. What we have seen most of the hospitals actually are civilians actually, that what we have seen in the in the hospitals. But maybe there is any other, you know, entity that have that kind of information, but what I have is most of the wounded patients that and death that we have seen in the hospitals, most of them are civilians. Uh, but maybe, you know, the wounded and deaths for Hezbollah if they are actually, maybe they are being managed in a different place and a different forum into that. So I will not be in a position actually to respond to that question.

Thank you very much, Dr. Abdi. And Eugene.

Thank you so much for your question. I mean, like all civilians in Lebanon need to be protected from those kind of strikes. I mean, including 1 million who are already displaced. So out of those 1 million who are already displaced inside of Lebanon, 35 percent are indeed children. And out of 140,000 of the displaced are currently sheltered in over 680 collective shelters that we have the more detailed breakdown. Of those displaced and sheltering in collective sites, 25 percent are children, 8 percent are older people, and over 1 percent are pregnant or the breastfeeding mother.

Okay, thank you very much. I have three follow-ups: Jamie, Moussa, and Gabriela. Oh yes, Olivia, sorry, you had also raised your hand. And then we'll close and we will go to Sudan because we've got many more speakers waiting. Jamie.

This is just a quick question for Dr. Abubakar. Follow-up. Could you just tell us very quickly if you have received or health authorities or or WHO have received guarantees that hospitals in Beirut will not be targeted, um, whether Rafik Hariri or or others? Thank you.

Yes, thank you very much, Jamie. I think yesterday after we received the warning, I think I personally communicated to the our humanitarian coordinator as well as through, you know, the the UN coordinator here in Lebanon, but also we communicated through our HQ Director-General and I think, you know, at the end of the sometime in midnight, I think we received some feedback saying that, you know, these hospitals will be will not be attacked into that. Whether that will materialize or not, we will see it, but at least we got some feedback giving us assurance that these two hospitals will not be attacked.

Olivia.

Thank you, actually just picking up on my colleague Jamie's question. Just to check that that feedback, was that from Israel or an intermediary in terms of guarantee that these hospitals will not be attacked? And just, um, so just to clarify, in Rafik Hariri and Al-Zahraa Hospital, are those patients still there? I wasn't clear. I understand that you say that it's very difficult to move them, but is the working plan for now that those patients will stay in place? Thank you.

Yes, the patient is still there actually. We didn't evacuate. We have decided not to evacuate them because one, we don't have any other place to evacuate them actually. So I think we have done this background negotiation about the protection of these two hospitals and, you know, once we got positive feedback on the this will not be attacked, I think we haven't moved the patients into that. But the whole area, you know, the civilians who were living in that area, including the shelters, have been evacuated one way or another. And the question of how we receive, I think I really don't know exactly, you know, what for us what we use is through our UN channels. You know, whether this information were reached through intermediary to Israel or directly to Israel, I can't tell you more about that, but at least what's more important for me is that at least we got some assurance back saying that these two hospitals will not be attacked.

Thank you. Moussa.

Merci, Alessandra. Je suis désolé, j'ai pas eu de réponse à toutes mes questions. My question is very clear and it is very, very important, Dr. Abdinasir. It's very important to know, you are in Beirut in 8 April. Did Israel target Hezbollah military site sites or or not? And the targeted is for civilian building or military site. Thank you.

I think, you know, it's a very difficult for me to answer to that question because I'm not the first responders who went there and I'm not the authority, you know, the police or the military Lebanese authority. So I think that answer should be asked for the government of Lebanon for their security people because they are the one who have responded, who have visited every single attack into that. As a WHO actually, we don't have this responsibility to whether it's a it's a military site or non-military site. What's important for us is the how we can save lives. Thank you.

Christian, you want to add?

Yeah, thank you very much, Dr. Abdi, and for all these questions now. Just to be clear, it is not WHO's mandate or mission to qualify or or establish which attack came from where and who shot and who did and what whatever. So it's not WHO mandate to go into the origin of an attack. It's not the origin the mission of or the mandate of WHO to find out or determine who is a combatant or not. This is not our mandate. For us, healthcare has to be protected. Healthcare can neither be attacked, that's a humanitarian violation, and it should always be protected. It should also not be misused. So misuse of ambulances, misuse of of hospitals is also condemnable in case it would be so. Um, but still it does not justify attack of an hospital or of an ambulance in case healthcare has to be protected.

Thank you, Christian. Very, very last follow-up from Gabriela. Gabriela, please brief.

Yes, just the average of age of Iranians killed, just if you have an idea. And then at the end of the of all of this subject, I have a question about Mexico. Uh, but at the end. Thank you so much.

Yeah, okay. Thank you very much, Gabriela. I think I'm not sure we have that number, but maybe Sophia you have at least the average age of the women and girl killed.

Thank thank you. I mean, just to clarify, uh, according to reports, we have 204 women killed in Iran and then in addition, we have the 168 girls that were killed in their primary school. So that's the that's the numbers and the indicative ages that we have at this moment according to reports of national authorities. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And we may get more on this uh during these days. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to this part of the briefing. Uh, thanks to Allison Oman and Dr. Abdi in Beirut and Sophia from Stockholm and my colleagues here on the podium. Uh, and I'd like now to go to the second part of the briefing which concerns, as I told you before, Sudan. Um, you are all aware that three years after the beginning of the conflict in Sudan, the relentless fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has set off the world's most devastating humanitarian crisis, inflicting untold suffering to civilians. Sudan is now the largest hunger and displacement crisis on the planet. And to tell us about the situation, uh, at this terrible anniversary, I would say, we have Eugene has brought us Marie-Hélène Verney, the representative of UNHCR in Sudan, who's reaching us from Port Sudan. Welcome, Madam. We also have the representative of FAO in Sudan, calling in from Khartoum, Hongjie Yang. And Christian, you brought Dr. Shible Sahbani, who is the WHO representative and head of mission in Sudan from Port Sudan. So we'll listen to the three colleagues and then we will go to questions. Uh, let's start with Marie-Hélène. You want to start? Or I can go directly to her. So, Marie-Hélène, you have the floor.

Good morning, colleagues from Khartoum. Um, so next week, 15th of April to be precise, is the third anniversary of the fighting, um, of the start of the fighting in Sudan. Um, and I just want to give you an overall idea of what's been happening in these three years. Um, a quarter of the population of the country has been displaced since the start of the fighting. That's about 14 million people. Um, and as we speak, um, there are still about 12 million people displaced. 9 million are internally displaced, the rest around 4 million are in neighboring countries, um, mostly Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt. If we look back at the last year, unfortunately we're not seeing, um, clear progress towards any resolution. As we speak, we still have fighting ongoing in large parts of the country, um, very much this year in three states, uh, that are called the the Kordofans, uh, fighting still ongoing in Darfur and also in Blue Nile. And, um, one thing to note is the increased use of aerial bombardments and drone attacks. There have been drone attacks from the start of the conflict, but this year we've seen, um, a lot of use of air bombardments and to go back to what Gabriela was saying, um, air bombardments that are, uh, unfortunately also targeting civilian, um, infrastructure and locations with no warnings. Um, and we're also seeing in the last year a continuation of very severe human rights and international humanitarian law violations, which range from conflict-related sexual violence, um, killings, massacres, um, abductions, kidnappings, arbitrary arrests, forced recruitment, etc., etc. You've probably all seen the recent reports from the, um, High Commissioner for Human Rights, um, talking very specifically for El Fasher in Darfur of crimes against humanity, war crimes, uh, and crimes with genocidal intent. So unfortunately, um, not a good picture for the past year. As always, um, women and girls are particularly at risk, uh, at risk first and foremost, but not only of conflict-related sexual violence. We are seeing and unfortunately conflict-related sexual violence that often take place when they are trying to run for safety. So we know that when women are displaced, um, during the displacement while they try to reach safety is where the risk is the highest. We have seen a collapse in parts of the country, in most of the country, of, um, the health system, of the justice system, um, and this creates, um, this has created a climate of impunity that we really see as the root root cause of the conflict. And sitting here, I can tell you, um, from UNHCR but really for a lot of partners, a real sense of helplessness. We are trying to respond to individual cases, um, but at the same time, um, as long as the perpetrators feel this sense of impunity, we have we continue to see repeated instances of sexual violence. And our call really is, as we're approaching the Berlin conference next week, this sense of impunity needs to be tackled. Uh, even before a ceasefire, a message needs to go through that there will be consequences, um, for, uh, for what constitutes war crimes. Uh, of course, uh, children are also very much at risk. Um, and I want to give here an example that is one of the most heartbreaking testimony really, um, that I've heard, uh, since I've been here in Sudan, um, which was a a group of women who had fled El Fasher, um, and had managed to reach relative safety in a in an IDP site, who were explaining to me what the displacement had been like, with checkpoints, um, pretty much every 10 kilometers along the road. And, um, a pretty the one of the women who spoke to me, she'd lost her husband, she'd lost her eldest son. They had been killed. Uh, the second eldest son had been retained at a checkpoint because she was told if we let him through, um, he will join the opposite side. And they had had to disguise the nine-year-old as a girl because otherwise even nine-year-olds were being were being, um, kidnapped really. So children very much at risk. Um, unfortunately we have children who are entering their fourth year without, um, going to school. Um, and in neighboring countries, we have recorded, and that's just what we've recorded, about 58,000 children who have arrived unaccompanied. I do want to speak of neighboring countries, um, again, Egypt, South Sudan, Chad mostly, but other countries as well, who have received more than 4.5 million Sudanese, um, refugees fleeing the conflict. And many of these countries are really at breaking point. Um, we're looking at countries like South Sudan, like Chad that obviously have their own challenges, um, and and the reduction in humanitarian assistance has left really many of these countries and the refugees who have arrived with impossible choices to to make. Um, I also want to, um, mention that this displacement, um, these 14 million people who have been displaced, it's extremely fluid and as we speak, we have displacement still ongoing every day right now in Blue Nile, in the Kordofans. So we have had repeated displacements with the added vulnerability that we know comes from each displacement. But we are also seeing, um, since since really 2025, um, return trends. So both IDPs and refugees are trying to go back to parts of the country where conflict has abated and that are relatively safer. So this can sound like a contradiction, but this is something that we need to pay attention to because as much as our priority is the humanitarian response, the emergency response, there's a huge need to address the needs of these people who are coming back to places like Khartoum. Uh, I am in Khartoum now and the city has been destroyed. So the infrastructure has been destroyed, the city has been heavily mined, basic services, uh, I think my colleague from WHO can speak more about this, but really 90 percent of the hospitals in Khartoum were destroyed, schools were closed. And on top of that, and I think particularly important for us as UNHCR and protection partners, it's also the issue of the social fabric of the country has been destroyed. So it's very much now is the time to try to rebuild, um, a country, a society that is, um, more inclusive, um, and that can eventually participate in a lasting peace. Dangerous journeys, uh, still ongoing. Um, and I want to, uh, highlight here again talking about the fluidity of the displacement. It's clear to us that if we if these returns, and we're seeing it already, if not enough is done to try to stabilize these returns, people will move again. And many will move northwards and will move through Libya towards Europe. We know how dangerous that journey is. The numbers remain actually extraordinarily small. Three years into what is a terrible war, 14,000 Sudanese have arrived in Europe, but it's still a 232 percent increase from what it was in 2023. So, and I want to be clear here, the only solution to that is not is not forced returns. Uh, UNHCR does not consider any parts of Sudan to be safe for returns yet. It is not more difficulties and more danger in reaching Europe. The only solution is a ceasefire, it's a lasting peace, or at the very least, it's more investment into, uh, humanitarian assistance and more investment into building, rebuilding, reconstructing the parts of the country that are relatively safer. And of course, uh, this leads me straight to the state of the response. Um, we are saying, we have been saying for the past three years, this is the largest the world's largest humanitarian crisis, although clearly we can't compete, having listened to my colleagues in Lebanon, um, this is a heartbreaking report of the world. Uh, but the world's largest displacement crisis, one of the worst protection crises remains very largely underfunded. All in all, humanitarian partners in the country have received 16 percent of the 2.8 billion that they need for this year. So just to maybe recapitulate, sadly as we are speaking today, um, it's hard to see clear signs of an end to the conflict, but we are calling for a ceasefire and for lasting peace that is built on inclusion of all parts and all of the country and all parts of society. Um, and that is needed to end the tragedy for millions of Sudanese, but also to mitigate the risk of a further regional spillover.

Thank you very much, Marie-Hélène Verney, for this briefing. I'd like now to go to our colleague of FAO, Mr. Hongjie Yang. Um, you have a statement on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Thank you. Thank you very much. And you're calling in from Khartoum, right? You're in Khartoum. Thank you. Greetings, greetings from Khartoum. From FAO, I would say that urgent attention is needed to address the still extremely dire food situation in many parts of Sudan, including Khartoum. Colleagues, Khartoum, as our colleague said, UNHCR Marie said that Khartoum is capital city of Sudan, but state of Khartoum is agriculture states. Uh, state of Khartoum is the second largest producer of vegetables and fruits. And a lot of fattening farms, slaughterhouses before the war were located here in Khartoum, but destroyed by the war. Uh, the destruction, uh, most, uh, severe is the destruction for the essential veterinary laboratory. Uh, so that now the vaccine for the livestock cannot produced locally. Those are the very dire situation in Sudan. And I feel it's deeply concerned about spillover effects of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, further reducing the food supply later in 2026, while famine risks continue in some hotspots has been already happened here in most some part of the Sudan. This is especially warning given already constrained access to critical agriculture inputs among Sudan's most food insecure and hardest hit populations. The latest crop and food security assessment mission reports the cereal production down 22 percent compared with the previous year, a warning trends among high acute food insecurity. As main planting season is approaching, I feel urgently calls for the immediate funding for the emergency seed distribution in Sudan. The main planting season is mainly for sorghum and millet will soon start in May from the west to east. So the window is almost closed. With over 22 21 million Sudanese now are facing acute food insecurity, including 6.3 million in most extreme condition, that is emergency and catastrophe. The situation remains dire for the rural household, particularly in the conflict region, such as Darfur, Kordofan. And actually Sudan used to be the agriculture country. They used to be the powerhouse of the region in terms of agriculture. Before the war, they even export surplus of food to neighboring countries. So, uh, this is a very unfortunate and, uh, FAO's emergency seed campaign have proven that to be the highly cost-effective and producing enough food to feed nearly 18.8 million people for the last 12 years. For every one single dollar invested in delivering sorghum seeds to household as our calculation, 22 US dollars worth of sorghum were produced in 2025 alone. So FAO reached 833,000 household with 8,200 metric tons of staple food seeds, that is sorghum and millet, directly increase the food availability and mitigating hunger in the hardest reach area. FAO sorghum seed distribute last year contribute an estimated 22 percent of the national sorghum production, valued at 594 million US dollar. The impact of timely seed distribution is clear. Emergency seed support has enabled vulnerable families to cultivate their land even amidst insecurity and displacements, increasing food availability in the local markets while contributing to overall national cereal production. Despite those success, funding shortage threaten to undermine gains made in local production and deepen the need for costly food assistance in second half of this year. Delays and gaps or gaps in seed prevention risk driving millions further into crisis, especially as agriculture costs soaring and market access remains constrained. The cost per beneficiary remains modest and local seed multiplication efforts have further boosted planting rates and resilience. FAO urges donors to act swiftly. With just 10 million US dollar, FAO can support 190,000 household in famine risk area with seeds, inputs, and machinery services. Scaling up funds would allow expansion to reach up to 1.5 million household nationwide, reinforcing food security and reducing humanitarian needs. Investing now in emergency seeds inputs is not only life-saving, but it's also the most cost-efficient and sustainable way to strengthen Sudan's agriculture system, protect livelihoods, and ensure that rural communities are equipped to withstand future shocks. Colleagues, the window for the action is closing rapidly. FAO stands ready to delivery, but urgent financial support is equipped to secure Sudan's next harvest and prevent further deterioration of the food security situation, especially for the most vulnerable households. I stop here, over to you. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Yang. And let me go to our last speaker, definitely not the least. Um, Christian has brought us Dr. Shible Sahbani, who will tell us about the shattering situation of the health services.

Yeah, thank you, uh, very much and good morning, good afternoon, colleagues. I would like first to thank my colleagues Marie-Hélène and Hongjie for drawing, uh, the full picture of the impact of the war after three years in in Sudan. Of course, these three years had an impact also on the health sector and, uh, now we can say that, uh, more than 40 percent of the population need urgent health needs. We are talking about 21 million, uh, people who need urgent health support, sorry. Um, so we all agree that fighting, uh, decreased in many parts of the country, but at the same time it intensified in Darfurs and Kordofans where we have now many hotspots, including in the West Darfur, in the the West Kordofan, in the North Darfur, and and so on. Um, I've been, uh, on mission to Khartoum, I just came back few days ago, um, exactly last Sunday I came back to Port Sudan. And I think this is my fifth or sixth mission to, uh, Sudan, uh, since, uh, 2025. Um, we have to acknowledge that there is an improvement, improvement of the living conditions, security, safety, and so on and so forth. And I think people they are all full of hope to rebuild their lives. But the problem is that there are things that are beyond their control and that they cannot, um, improve by themselves. I'm talking about the systems, including the health system. Of course, WASH, education, food, and so on and so forth. But talking about the health system, uh, the needs are huge. Um, they are, um, everywhere. Uh, talking about Marie-Hélène was talking about the hospitals during the war. Uh, I've been there few months ago and they told me that during the war, out of 56 hospitals, only four were functioning. So you can imagine the workload on this, uh, on this hospitals in terms of patients and in terms of gaps in, uh, human resources, supplies, fuel, water, and so on and so forth. Um, when I visited few of the hospitals that are, um, that resumed their work, even with all the support that we are giving them as health cluster, as WHO and the partners, uh, the needs are still, uh, very big. And we cannot respond to all needs. Needs not only for the population who is currently in Khartoum or went back to Khartoum, but also the population who is moving back or willing to to go back, uh, to their states of origin. I'm talking about, uh, people who are in the other states as IDPs, but also the refugees that were mentioned by my colleague from UNHCR. Those who were in the Gulf countries, now with what's happening in the Middle East, they want to come back to Sudan, but also those who are in Europe, in US, in Canada, they want to come back, but, um, the services are not there for, uh, for their families. When it comes to, um, international humanitarian law, colleagues were talking about that and we saw also that, um, the situation in in Lebanon is not better than than Sudan. Uh, but, um, in the in the hotspots where the services are very scarce, the attacks on healthcare make them even more rare and very hard to reach for the, uh, for the population. Um, health workers have been killed, injured, detained, tortured. Patients and their family they risk death whenever they go, um, to seek services. Um, and also, uh, I've met with, uh, last last Friday I met with the Minister of Finance who told me that most of the local factories for medical supplies were destroyed. They used to be in Al-Gezira and Khartoum. Now the local production is almost zero. So they are relying on importing the supplies and with all the logistics challenges that we are facing in the world now, uh, it constitutes a big, big burden on the on the facilities. Talking about the attacks on healthcare, during the three years of war, WHO has verified and documented more than 200 attacks that led to more than 2,000 deaths, exactly 2,052. Just this year, the first quarter of 2026, we've recorded and verified 16 attacks on healthcare leading to almost 200 deaths and more than 300 injuries. Um, we've noticed since last year that this, um, attacks are increasing in terms of frequency, in terms of impact, and we can say that they are deliberate and they are not a collateral damage of of the war. And we all remember what happened in El Fasher last year, unfortunately, with more than 400 people who were killed, including patients, their families, and health workers. Also what happened in Al-Daein recently, um, recently a woman in labor got killed, uh, in the ambulance while she was transported to the hospital to get services. Another nurse got killed while she she was helping in performing a C-section. Many children were were killed as well. Um, so we have a full list that I will not, um, I will not elaborate more on this due to the time constraints. But in this, um, in this situation, the attacks on healthcare don't have only the direct impact on the, uh, on the population, but also the indirect impact, preventing them from getting, uh, the right health services. Uh, Al-Daein hospital that was attacked recently was the only operating hospital providing such services in the whole area and now they have to travel for more than 200 kilometers to get the same services. So this is also the indirect impact on the on the patients. In this context also we have a lot of needs: severe acute malnutrition, uh, we have outbreaks including malaria, dengue, and so on, but, um, cholera is our big fear. The rainy season is coming very soon and we need to be prepared for that. So we we call the international community to support us in terms of advocacy for respect of international humanitarian law, access, we need access to all hard-to-reach areas to be able to deliver, and third, we need funding and the health sector is funded at 8 percent in April 2026. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much. You were frozen for a moment, but we heard the end and the we heard the figures, so that that should be fine. And before opening the floor to question, I just would like to call the attention of our correspondents to a, uh, campaign, a social media campaign that was launched by OCHA, uh, on the occasion of this terrible anniversary. The hashtag is #ThreeYearsTooLong and you can find it on our social media and OCHA's various platforms. So I'll now go to the journalists for questions, first of all in the room if there is any. Yes, Olivia, Reuters.

Uh, thank you. Just a question on Sudan in terms of, um, the ability to respond in terms of through medical aid, food aid, etc. What impact are you seeing now a month in from the war in the Middle East, uh, on those supply chains? Just as much details as possible would be really, really helpful to understand if that has impacted some of your agencies' work. Thank you.

Yeah, that I could ask Mr. Dr. Shible, but also, uh, Mr. Yang, I think made a reference to that. So, uh, whoever wants to and Marie-Hélène, whoever wants to take the floor. I see Dr. Shible's you've opened your mic.

Okay. Uh, thank you very much. This is a very relevant and valid question. Um, you know, with the war, um, I mean most of the agencies like WHO have our main hub, logistics hub in in UAE. And, um, with what's happening now, it's really impacting our capacity to respond in terms of time, in terms of cost as well. Um, fortunately we had some supplies in the country, uh, to be able to, uh, respond immediately, but the problem is that now we are using our stocks and we need additional supplies to come in. It will take time. We just had yesterday a meeting for the whole the all the countries who are involved in the, um, in the, let's say in the response to humanitarian crisis in the region. And, uh, it's obvious that all countries, including Lebanon, including Jordan, including the all the other countries, they need supplies. So it's putting a competition on our hub. Second, the logistics routes are, um, are are not safe. And third, the cost will be, uh, will be very high. Over to you.

Thank you. I see Marie-Hélène has put the hand up. Marie-Hélène.

Yes, just just a few numbers and really I want here we don't have the WFP colleagues here, but this really they are of course leading the logistics cluster and they briefed us yesterday. Um, so we're already seeing, uh, the price of, uh, of doing business, of basically bringing stuff in as in emergency response, you know, shelter kits, etc., as doubled since the start of the crisis already. Um, and what the WFP were telling us is some of the some of the options they're looking at would be to reroute supplies, uh, through the Cape of of Good Hope, but that would add 25 days, um, to the to the to the journey and this is fuel mostly, and a 50 percent increase on cost just on transportation, not even talking about the cost of of food. The country, um, last week, uh, was reported to have 45 days left of of of fuel. There's another dimension that I think is important. There are about 1.9 million Sudanese, and they're not refugees actually, migrants, that are living in Gulf countries. And unfortunately with what's happening, and they play a huge role actually in the economy of the country, what is left of the economy of the country, but also in supporting the humanitarian response of local responders, which is very, very important in Sudan. And these people, first of all, are no longer able to send remittances, but many of them may have to come back. And that's actually we fear that could be a further destabilizing, um, uh, impact on on Sudan. And of course there's a whole issue on fertilizers, etc., but I think my FAO colleague is much better placed than I am to to talk about that.

Yeah, and I see Hongjie has put your hand up. Give you the floor.

Thank you. Uh, just further to our colleague Shibu and Marie-Hélène. Uh, yes, it is true that fertilizer will be affected, both the supply and the price as the coming season, the planting season is coming very soon. So the subsidy will be affect for this main planting season. But so far we don't have the figure, but, uh, you know, now normally now we should starting the preparation for the land. They need the fertilizer and, uh, uh, the electricity and so on and so forth. So one of the mitigation measure would be used a solar system in several of our projects. Now we are talking with the donors to to increase the solar, uh, component in our project to address this challenging. Over.

Thank you very much to the three of you. Other questions in the room? Don't see any hand up or on the platform. I don't see any further questions. So thank you very, very much to the three speakers, uh, and to Eugene and Christian. You can stay on the podium. I know I still have a question from Gabriela, but just a couple of announcements, then Gabriela I'll hear your question before closing. Just, um, again, thanks to our speakers and just as an information, we will speak again about Sudan on the 14th next week at the next briefing. Um, I have been asked by the colleagues of the Human Rights Council to inform you that the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent will convene its fifth session in Geneva next week, marking its first five years and focusing on expanding rights and advancing justice under the second international decade for people of African descent. Hundreds of participants, including human rights activists of African descent from around the world, are expected to take part in this four-day session to be held from 14 to 17 April in the Assembly Hall of the Palais. And then just an information about the committees: the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is going to open next Monday at 10:00 a.m. It's 117th session. That will be at Palais Wilson until the 1st of May. The countries to be reported reviewed are Serbia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Uzbekistan, Burkina Faso, and Cuba. And the Committee against Torture will open next Monday at 10:00 a.m. also its 84th session, which will also last until the 1st of May at Palais Wilson. And the countries to be reviewed under this session will be Tajikistan, Italy, Gabon, and Pakistan. And these are the announcements I had for you. Um, so let's hear Gabriela's question and then we'll close. Gabriela.

Yes. Uh, do you hear me? Ah, okay, okay, okay. So, uh, my question is on Mexico. Um, maybe I don't know if you are aware, but the Committee of Enforced Disappearances said that in Mexico they are committing crimes against humanity in in in regarding enforced disappearances. So that is extremely strong. It's the first time that the committee says something like that about Mexico on enforced disappearances, not disappearances, okay. Then, um, the High Commissioner for Human Rights is going to Mexico next week. So my question is why there is nobody from the office of the Human Rights there or listening to ask a question on such an important issue? My my you know, just let me finish because when they have something to say and a story, they come and we write. But when we have questions like this, they don't come, but if they answer one by one, it's not the same than being on the record there. So it's important, Alessandra, and you know, that's the only thing that I wanted to say. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much, Gabriela. Well noted and I'm sure that our colleagues can answer any questions both on the results of the work of the committee and on the travel of the High Commissioner to you and I'll report your comment to to them. But they I just would like to say they are very, very often here. Today they are not and they are not listening, but it's uh they are not available for listening, but they are here all the time, really. I I think I know we have had this discussion before and really, colleagues, they are strained, they are not that numerous and the situation is very hard in many, many countries and they do what they can and they really come very often. But I'll bring them your your note. So if there are no other questions, I don't have any other announcements. I don't see any hand up. So thank you very, very much. I wish you a very good weekend and I'll see you on Tuesday. Thank you.