UN Geneva press briefing chaired by Alessandra Vellucci, Director, UN Information Service
WHO Update on Attacks on Health Care Altaf Musani, Director of Humanitarian and Disaster Management at the World Health Organization (WHO), said WHO's Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care had documented, since 2018, more than 10,400 attacks in 29 countries and territories, resulting in approximately 5,700 deaths and 8,500 injuries. In 2026 alone, WHO had recorded 914 attacks, resulting in at least 911 deaths and 1,486 injuries, more than four attacks a day. Ukraine, Lebanon, and the occupied Palestinian territory accounted for most of incidents recorded. Other contexts with reported attacks on healthcare included Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, the Russian Federation, Syria, and Nigeria. There were multiple forms of violence, with heavy weapons were the most frequently reported means of attack in 2026. Attacks on healthcare extended beyond direct physical violence. Also, numbers did not tell the whole story. When a hospital was attacked, the impact was not only on the people inside that hospital: it meant that the patients could not receive care the next day, that health workers could not return to work, or that medicine supply could no longer reach facilities. WHO now had evidence that the consequences of these attacks could be substantial and long-lasting. In northwest Syria, a study of 69 attacks had found outpatient consultations falling by 51 percent the day after an attack, with the reduction continuing for up to 37 days. In Sudan, 37 percent of health facilities were reported non-functional by 2026. In Gaza, all 36 hospitals had been damaged, with only half remaining partially functional; primary care was similarly impacted. In Ukraine, WHO had verified more than 3,000 attacks since the beginning of the conflict, affecting not only health facilities but also ambulances, warehouses, and supply chains. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, during the current Bundibugyo virus disease response, 12 attacks on health care had been verified since May 2026; these attacks also impeded the capacity to detect and contain outbreaks. Behind every damaged facility was a service lost and behind every interrupted service was someone who may be left without care. It was necessary to make these human consequences visible, to use that evidence to protect healthcare and the people who depended on it, and to hold parties to conflicts accountable. Journalists asked in what measure accountability for attacks against healthcare was enforced. Mr. Musani explained that WHO had neither the mandate nor the expertise to hold to account parties to a conflict: its mandate was centered on data and evidence collection, to verify such attacks; on advocacy, calling out and appealing for the protection of the medical mission or healthcare at large; and on coordination with other partners. WHO's Director-General repeatedly called for parties to conflicts to be held accountable. Unfortunately, of the more than 10,000 verified incidents mentioned, not even one had entered the accountability system. Other questions were raised on attacks on healthcare in Palestine. Alessandra Vellucci, for the UN Information Service, pointed journalists to a news report by UNIS, in which Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, spoke extensively about the situation and appealed to the Israeli security forces to stop the siege. Regarding Ukraine, Mr. Musani said that more than six months into 2026, some 156 attacks on healthcare had been recorded in that country, including one last week against a WHO warehouse. Attacks were clearly affecting the Organization's ability to provide supplies to health facilities, both on the front line and doing the backend work, supporting rehabilitation. This was having a direct impact on both patients and providers, who were actively providing life-saving support. WHO had also recorded attacks on healthcare during the Middle East conflict, in Lebanon, Israel, and Iran. Sudan: Maternal health challenges in Darfur Fabrizia Falcione, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Sudan Country Representative, back from Darfur, said she had traveled to the Tawila refugee camp to see and hear firsthand what women and girls were facing, and to determine what must be done urgently to strengthen reproductive health services and protection. Arriving in Tawila, one was confronted with an unimaginable picture: more than 700,000 persons sheltering in a displacement camp stretching across the desert in all directions, with new families arriving daily and erecting their makeshift tents. One hospital must provide comprehensive emergency obstetric care, and that was the only place where a woman could have a C-section. Priorities were, first, to bring reproductive healthcare closer to women, so that pregnant women had other option than going across a vast and difficult terrain to reach a hospital to give birth safely. Healthcare must be decentralized and mobile services expanded to reach those most difficult to reach. It was also necessary to better support community midwives, as a well-trained and properly equipped midwife could meet 90 percent of the medical needs before, during, and immediately after the delivery. Another priority was to urgently get more reproductive health supplies, including family planning, into Darfur. In particular, health facilities in Tawil and across Central/North Darfur were running out of their stock of oxytocin, which was used to stop fatal bleeding during childbirth. These kinds of supplies were often not prioritized when it came to funding. Answering questions from the media, Ms. Falcione said her own travel to Tawila had been a nine-hour drive, with only an hour on paved road, the rest across mountain tracks that were made for donkeys and camels. Pregnant women faced even more difficult conditions to get to this camp: they often had absolutely no money, so they could not even rent a donkey; they either had to walk, or travel on wooden stretchers carried by men on foot. From a permit point of view, access for the UN was now easier. In Tawila, there were already several UN organizations present, including UNFPA, as well as NGOs providing basic emergency obstetric care. Funding was limited to the point where UNFPA must close certain services in order to maintain service delivery in areas with higher needs. UNFPA had just received USD 1.8 million for reproductive health supplies: these would go mainly to Darfur. UNFPA also worked closely with UN Women to support women-led organizations, so that these organizations could act as partners to humanitarian entities. South Sudan: Funding shortfalls threatening life-saving assistance for refugees Adham Effendi, World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Country Director for South Sudan, warned that the funding situation for WFP in South Sudan was gearing towards a humanitarian funding cliff, as humanitarian needs outpaced available resources despite unprecedented operational efforts. WFP had already delivered more than 55,000 metric tons of food assistance this year, distributed cash assistance worth USD 70 million and reached 2.9 million people as of the end of July 2026. Yet these efforts were no longer enough to keep apace with growing needs. Without immediate and urgent funding, the final food and nutrition assistance for the most vulnerable 240,000 refugees across the country would be provided in September. From 1 October, food assistance for approximately 180,000 internally displaced people would cease because of pipeline breaks affecting general food assistance. By November, some 600,000 people living in famine risk areas would no longer receive life-saving food assistance. In a country where 7.8 million people faced acute food insecurity and 2.2 million children were acutely malnourished, shrinking humanitarian funding was no longer a resource gap, it was a direct reduction in life-saving assistance for those least able to cope. When food assistance stopped, families were forced into impossible choices. People cut meals, sold productive assets, withdrew children from school, and adopted other negative coping strategies. Women and children faced heightened risks of exploitation and abuse. Mesfin Degefu, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Deputy Representative in South Sudan, said the Refugee Agency sounded the alarm not just about hunger, but also about the severity of the broader protection consequences that arose when refugee families lost access to the assistance they depended on to survive. Funding cuts had already forced UNHCR to scale down services. For many refugee families, food assistance was not simply a source of nutrition: it was a critical protection intervention, as when they got food, families kept their children in school, which in turn reduced the risk of exploitation. The 240,000 refugees mentioned by WFP were part of the 650,000 refugees currently in South Sudan, of whom 90 percent were from Sudan, where the situation was dire. For the Refugee Agency, one of the most concerning consequences was the increased risk of cross-border movements, as when people could no longer meet their most basic needs, they may feel compelled to move again in search of food, services, and safety. Indeed, some refugees had already requested that UNHCR help them return to Sudan. However, UNHCR did not promote nor support return to Sudan as the current situation in that country was not favorable for the return. UN agencies, in collaboration with the Government of South Sudan, had made tangible progress in advancing refugee self-reliance. Authorities were thus allocating agricultural land and humanitarian agencies provided vocational training and enterprise training, to help families move into a sustainable livelihood and wage employment. Early results were very promising. This was why the timing of this funding gap was so damaging. Journalists asked how much money both agencies needed to get their operations back on track. Mr. Effendi said the World Food Programme was looking at approximately USD 86 million to sustain the rest of its operation during the last quarter of 2026. Overall, over 50 percent of the 14 million persons living in South Sudan required food assistance during the lean season. One must take into accounts the effects of floods, which had been the trend in these past 5-6 years, and the adverse consequences of El Nino and other climate shocks pushing additional population into extreme hunger. Mr. Degefu said UNHCR needed USD 286 million for the entire of 2026: it had received only 28 percent of this sum. Between USD 20 and 50 million would permit the Agency to continue life-saving assistance until the end of 2026. Update on the Earthquake in Colombia Eujin Byun, for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said the earthquake in Colombia was particularly concerning because it had struck areas – 69 affected municipality across eight departments – that were already facing significant humanitarian and protection pressure, including living with the consequences of armed conflict and forced displacement. Families who had already been forced from their homes were now facing the prospect of losing them once again. UNHCR had a long-standing presence in three communities and was already supporting the government-led emergency response with teams on the ground in affected area, including Cali and Buenaventura. They were working closely with the national and local authorities, community organizations, and humanitarian partners. The Government of Colombia was leading the response, with UNHCR and other UN agencies supporting through established coordination mechanism under the UN Resident Coordinator. The most urgent needs included shelter, food, clean water, healthcare, and psychosocial support, particularly for families whose home had been damaged or destroyed. UNHCR had activated its emergency procedure and was preparing the distribution of critical relief items already available in its stockpiles in Colombia, including more than 18,000 hygiene kits, 3,100 solar lamps, and 30 refugee housing units for temporary shelter. Announcements Alessandra Vellucci, on behalf of United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), said the ninth session of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) would take place in the Assembly Hall from 17-21 August, under the presidency of Brazil. [Interested journalists can write to Daniel Feakes (daniel.feakes@un.org) for off-the-record briefings or contacts with the Chair.] While the norm enshrined in the Convention was strong, the Convention lacked an institution and a verification system. The Working Group was expected to make recommendations to strengthen and institutionalize the Convention in these aspects and develop institutional mechanisms. This was especially important in a context where the convergence of AI and biology was lowering the technical barriers to developing biological weapons, and where some terrorist groups expressed interest in these weapons. The focus of the discussion next week would be the comprehensive draft of the Working Group's final report. Negotiations on this report were approaching a crunch point, the Group being due to adopt its final report by consensus at its tenth session, next December. If adopted, the report would represent a significant strengthening of the 50-year-old convention, enabling it to better guard against the misuse of biology and the risk posed by the artificial intelligence. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was reviewing today the report of Sri Lanka. Next week, it would review the reports of Lithuania (17-18 August), Chili (18-19 August), and Slovakia (20 August). The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) would review the report of Finland next Monday, 17 August, in the afternoon, and the next day in the morning. A ceremony would be held on 19 August, at 4 p.m. in the Salle des Pas-Perdus of the Palais des Nations, to celebrate World Humanitarian Day. A testimony would be heard from a survivor of the 2003 terrorist attack against the UN Mission in Baghdad. Finally, answering a question, Ms. Vellucci reminded that the election of the new UN Secretary-General was a matter carried out in New York by Member States, that would choose the successor to António Guterres, who had been fulfilling his functions as Secretary-General for ten years, ending in 2026. Full information on this process was available on this General Assembly webpage.
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Good morning. Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva. Today is Friday, 14th of August. And I have the pleasure to have with me on the podium our colleagues from WHO. Tarik has brought us Altaf Musani, who is the director of the Humanitarian and Disaster Management at WHO, to tell us about the attacks on healthcare.
Yeah, sure.
Let's go straight to Altaf.
Good morning. Thank you, moderator. Please. So allow me to start with the scale of the problem. Through the World Health Organization's surveillance system for attacks on healthcare, since 2018, more than 10,400 attacks have been reported across 29 countries and territories, this resulting in approximately 5,700 deaths and over 8,000 injuries. Between January and August in 2026 alone, the World Health Organization has recorded more than 900 attacks, and again resulting in at least 900 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries. This accounts for almost more than four attacks per day. Currently, Ukraine, Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territory account for a majority of these incidents. However, other contexts also report attacks on health care. This includes Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, the Russian Federation, Syria, and Nigeria. What we are witnessing are multiple forms of violence: heavy weapons, followed by destruction of healthcare, and then of course the psychosocial violence are the top categories. Forty-four reported incidents involving the abduction, arrest, or detainment of healthcare workers and patients have been recorded in this period. Specifically, the detention of healthcare workers account for the majority of these cases, directly affecting 94 healthcare workers in this reporting period. These numbers matter, but do not tell the whole story. An attack on health care does not end when an attack gets verified. When a hospital is attacked, the impact is not only on the people inside the hospital that day. It is the patient who cannot receive health care tomorrow. It is the ambulance that cannot make the next referral. It is the health care worker who cannot return to work or medicine supply that can no longer reach facilities. We now have the evidence that these consequences can be substantial and long-lasting. For example, in northwest Syria, a study of 69 attacks found that outpatient consultations fell by 51 percent that day after the attack, with the reduction continuing up for 37 days. Facility births fell by 23 percent, lasting days. In Sudan, 37 percent of facilities have been reported nonfunctional in 2026, while only 3 percent of assessed facilities had inpatient care. In Gaza, all 36 hospitals have been damaged, with only half remaining partially functional, and the same is true with primary healthcare. In Ukraine, WHO has verified more than 3,000 attacks since the beginning of the conflict, affecting not only health facilities, but ambulances, warehouses, and supply chains. Most recently, the World Health Organization's own warehouse was attacked in Dnipro. And finally, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, during the Ebola virus outbreak response, Twelve attacks on healthcare have been verified since the declaration of the outbreak in May 2026. These attacks have disrupted surveillance, case investigation, contact tracing, treatment, and community engagements, and show how undermining not only the availability of health services are needed at a time as such, but also further affecting the capacity to detect and contain this outbreak. These are not simply statistics. Behind every percentage is a patient. Behind every damaged facility is a service lost. Behind every interrupted service is someone who will be left without health care. There is also the impact we cannot see easily, fear. When a hospital is attacked, people may delay seeking health care. Health care workers may stop coming to work, and communities will eventually lose trust. During an outbreak, insecurity can disrupt vital surveillance, contact tracing, treatment, and potentially making it harder to contain an outbreak. We must move beyond counting the attacks and measuring the impact of the consequences. We need to ask, how many services have been disrupted? How many patients could not access healthcare? How many treatments, surgeries, and referrals have been delayed? How long will this last as healthcare tries to rebuild? And ultimately, what outcome will this have on people's health and well-being? This is not a question of simply better data. It is a question of making the human consequence visible and using the evidence to protect healthcare and the people who depend on it, as well as holding parties to the conflict accountable. Our Director-General has repeatedly called and appeal for that healthcare is not a target. Thank you, Chair.
Thank you very much, Altaf, for this information, this very dire situation. I'll open the floor to questions. Robin is our correspondent of AFP, the French news agency.
Good morning. Have you noticed any changes in the nature of these attacks over time? say for example, such as drone strikes or whether facilities are now being deliberately targeted, perhaps more than they were in the past? And secondly, although it's not the WHO's job to do it, for all of these attacks that you've spoken about, has anyone been brought to account? Thank you.
Thank you very much for your question. So as I mentioned, the type of attacks that we're seeing are the physical destruction in addition to the denial of healthcare. And we can go context by context, as I mentioned in the case studies, which we will have additional case studies to share with our partners, that when we look at the physical destruction, the use of heavy weaponry stands out, but it's not just the destruction of health care. It is the denial and/or obstruction of health care. And some of the statistics that I mentioned to you clearly outline health care workers and patients either being arrested and/or abducted, hence denying health care. And WHO addresses the definition of attack on health care, which includes all these elements. With regards to your second question, of the more than 10,000 verified incidents that I spoke of, not a single one has entered the accountability system. You're absolutely right. WHO has neither the mandate nor the expertise to hold parties to the conflict. However, we do and as I mentioned, the Director-General has repeatedly called for parties of the conflict to be held accountable.
Yeah, go ahead.
So just on that point, would these attacks on healthcare be something that comes under international jurisdiction? So perhaps if they can't be prosecuted in the country concerned, that there would be the possibility that they could be brought to prosecution elsewhere, if countries wanted to do that.
It's important to remind colleagues that health facilities and the health system at large falls under the protection of international humanitarian law. international human rights law and are protected by certain Geneva conventions. So the accountability agenda for those who are managing it, there's a wide range of accountability that can happen locally, nationally, as well as internationally.
Thank you very much. Any other question in the room? Let me go to the platform. Catherine Fiancon-Bokonga, France 24. Bonjour, Catherine.
Bonjour Alessandra. Good morning and thank you for this very interesting and important briefing. I know that it's not to complete the question of my colleague. I know that it's not in your mandate, but we've seen attacks of health care and particularly the deny of access to health in Palestinian territories. And recently, we've seen a family, a Palestinian family that has been, there has been a siege of a Palestinian family in Kusra in the south of Nablus. And I'd like to know how and if you have direct contacts with, for instance, the Office of Human Rights or other entities that have the mandate to, I mean, I don't know how to express that. To investigate. Monitor these events and bring these people accountable. And by the way, Alessandra, is there anyone of human rights that could comment the situation of the siege of this Palestine family where journalists and ambulances have been denied access to?
Absolutely. So you're absolutely correct in the sense that the World Health Organization's mandate is centered around 3 aspects, the data collection and the evidence base that I just spoke of. the advocacy, calling out and appealing for the protection of the medical mission or healthcare at large, as well as the coordination with other partners. We work very closely with a wide range of both UN and non-UN partners to be able to address the prevention of such attacks, but also encouraging the use of the evidence base to be able to fall into the accountability agenda. I am aware that the Human Rights Council has also recently passed a resolution integrating the importance of attacks on healthcare to protect the medical mission. And as both reporters have rightly pointed out, that the trend increase 10,400 verified attacks since 2018 is alarming. In 2026 alone, we see a massive upsurge in some of the settings that I've reported to. And then specifically on Gaza, we actually, as the World Health Organization, have operational teams, our own staff, as well as partners on the ground. We're the only United Nations agency that has the mandate to address the verification of such attacks. And I think this is really important because There is a lot of information flow in this area. The responsibility of the World Health Organization is to verify such attacks, and it puts an additional pressure on our teams. In addition to providing healthcare, coordinating healthcare, and working with partners, we use some of our teams to be able to verify attacks when it happened. And as I pointed out in the case of Gaza, whether it's the 36 hospitals, whether it's the primary healthcare network, whether it's ambulances, healthcare workers, patients, we have clear, documented, and verified incidents. All this is available on our website. Thank you.
Catherine, and on your second question, unfortunately, no, we don't have anybody from OHCHR, but I'd like to refer you to the story written by our own Daniel Johnson yesterday, where he has been speaking with the head of the UN office in the occupied Palestinian territory, Ajit Sangai. You find the story on UN News. And in this story, the head is speaking extensively about the situation and also appealing to the Israeli security forces to stop the siege and also speak extensively about the protection of Palestinian communities across the West Bank. I'd like to refer you to that on this particular subject. I see Olivia, Olivia Le Poidevin, Reuters.
Hello there. Good morning. Thank you very much indeed for this briefing on such an important topic. I just have a couple of questions if I may. You mentioned there about attacks, more than 3,000 verified attacks in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict, affecting health facilities, et cetera. I just wanted to understand from your perspective of whether in the past month you've seen also an uptick in strikes specifically in the past month. in Ukraine, I noted the new figures released by the UN today showing a 30% increase between July and June in terms of civilian casualty. And I'm just wondering whether you've seen that map on also to attacks on healthcare in Ukraine and therefore your concern. during that protracted conflict. And just the second question I had is I believe back in April, we reported that the WHO said that attacks globally on facilities, health facilities and staff once averaged about 3.7 per day, but now that increased to 4.3. Is it still around the 4.3 figure or has that also increased again since April, that daily average? Thank you so much.
Thank you for that question. So on Ukraine specifically, since the start of the conflict, the World Health Organization has verified more than 3,100 attacks. We're now heading into the fifth year of this conflict. Specifically, in 2026, we have-- we're six months into this year, and we have more than 156 attacks that have been recorded, specifically one that has affected even our own warehouse capability as of last week. So it's-- and it's very difficult to be able to assess the uptake and the upsurge of attacks. recalling the fact that one attack is too many. And so whether it's an average of 3.7 or 4.3, we are witnessing and verifying a substantial increase in the number of attacks. And in the case of Ukraine, it is clearly affecting our ability to provide supplies to health facilities both on the front line and doing the back-end work supporting rehabilitation. This is having a direct impact on both patients and providers who are actively providing lifesaving support. And I think to your point, in terms of overall data, again, the World Health Organization relies on its partners and relies on its own staff to be able to verify such incidents that take place. So there is obviously a lag time between what is actually officially reported on our website and what may be witnessed or reported by the media. The other thing is we do put a lot of pressure on our staff to be able to ensure the verification of, in a world of information flow, we need to be able to have that precision that attack has happened. Too often, Attacks have had both indirect and direct impact on the functionality of healthcare. We've seen a six-fold change in functionality alone in fragile conflict and vulnerable environments. And again, that is testimony to the fact that humanitarian and aid partners are trying to provide support, both material as well as technical, to ensure functionality of healthcare, particularly in places like Ukraine and Gaza and in the West Bank right now.
Thank you very much. Nick, coming Bruce, New York Times.
Yeah, good morning. Thank you for the briefing. The WHO has probably addressed this before, but I just wanted to, how many major hospitals or health facilities in Iran have been damaged or hit in the course of the war since February? And in relation to Gaza, How many medical staff, doctors are still held in detention? And since the ceasefire, have you seen any significant effort by Israeli authorities to release medical personnel who were detained in the course of the actual war? Thank you.
So I don't have the actual figures in front of me for Gaza in terms of health detainment and healthcare workers released since February. Happy to circle back with you offline to be able to share that information with you. And the same is true. We have recorded attacks on healthcare in the Middle East conflict, specifically in Lebanon, as well as Israel and Iran. And again, happy to share the updated numbers. They're available on our website. You can go there and see what has been verified, but happy to get a little more granular in terms of the actual impact of such those attacks in the locations you mentioned.
Thank you very much. And Tarik, you have sent the notes, so this is also in your mailbox in addition to yeah.
Yeah.
Okay, so I don't see other hands up for you. I'd like to thank you very much, Altug, for this important briefing, really. Keep us updated. It's very important. Thank you, Tarik.
Yeah, thanks.
So let's go now to Altaf has spoken about Sudan and on Sudan, we have the pleasure to welcome Pernille, I don't know if you want to come to the podium, but we have the pleasure to welcome Fabrizia Falcone, who is the UNFPA Sudan country representative. She's speaking now from Carrara in Italy, but she will tell us about the maternal health situation in Darfur from where she just come back. Fabrizia, welcome and you have the floor for your introductory remarks.
Thank you very much. I hope you can hear me well. And also just to say that yes, I'm in Khartoum, but I'm in Khartoum, but on leave and normally based in Khartoum. And so good morning and thank you for the opportunity to brief you today following my return from Darfur last week. And I would really wish that the women I met in Darfur could speak directly to you, to the UN General Assembly and to the world. I traveled to the region to see and hear firsthand what women and girls are facing and what we urgently need to do to strengthen reproductive health services and protection. And to understand the reality in Darfur first, we have to understand what it takes to simply reach the people in need there. From Al-Jenina in West Darfur near the border with Chad to reach Golo, Central Darfur, it was a nine-hour drive, only an hour on paved Rd. and the rest across mountain tracks that are made for donkeys and camels. Mountainous area where there is only one hospital capable of performing a C-section. Most women reached from mountain villages on foot, often walking for hours or being transported on crude wooden stretchers through the mountains when they're already in labor or bleeding. Those who can afford it hire a donkey, but many women cannot. Many arrive when it is already too late for them and also for their babies. The hospital itself, which has very dedicated staff, including doctors and midwives, is often short of supplies and at times even missing anesthesia. A few days after a C-section, women return to their villages on the mountain, again on foot. From Golo then we traveled another eight hours across the mountains to Tawila. And again, these are paths for donkeys and camels, not actual roads. When the rainy season comes, just like right now, parts of these paths become impassable even by the four by four and the trucks that are transporting supplies. Then we arrive in Tawila. And arriving in Tawila displacement camp puts you in front of an unimaginable picture. The camp stretches across the desert in all directions. You can't see the beginning or the end of it. With more than 700,000 people displaced, we're now sheltering there, and the new families are arriving daily and are erecting their makeshift tents. Many humanitarian actors are present in Tawila, including UNFPA and its partners, and they're all doing an extraordinary job under very difficult circumstances. We do want to do more, but we're operating in a war context and with very limited resources. UNFP and some NGOs are providing basic emergency obstetric care in Tawila. One hospital provides comprehensive emergency obstetric care, and that is the only place where a woman can have a C-section. These services bring women from areas in north and central Darfur to seek care when it is already too late for them. and for the babies. What I saw and listened to in Darfur made three priorities very clear. First, we have to bring the reproductive health care closer to the women. We can't give pregnant women no other option than going across this vast and difficult terrain to reach a hospital to give birth safely. We need to decentralize health care, expand mobile services to reach those most difficult to reach. We need to support the community midwives. They're everywhere and they're a well-trained and a properly equipped midwife can meet 90% of the medical needs before, during, and immediately after the delivery. And the midwives I spoke with in Darfur told me that for helping a woman deliver, they're paid with what women may have, a bottle of soap or some sugar. Midwives are life-saving health professionals and they must be treated and paid as such. The second is that we need to urgently get more reproductive health supplies, including family planning, into Darfur. Reproductive health supplies save lives, but these supplies are often not prioritized when it comes to funding. UNFPA is very grateful we just received support from the regular allocation of the Sudan Humanitarian Fund to cover part of the current needs of service providers, more funding sources are also needed. And getting equipment, medicines and other life-saving supplies into these areas and maintaining the cold chain where needed is extraordinarily difficult. Health facilities in Tawil and across Central and North Darfur are running out of their stock of oxytocin, which is used to stop fatal bleeding during childbirth. The hospital in Golo has only one month cover to go. the next one month. And the same is for Tawila. And I will end by saying what a woman in a hospital after having given birth and after having lost two of her children due to the war told me. We can deal with many things, but we're human and we need peace. And I thank you.
The one thing we need the most. Thank you very much. I open the floor to question. Robin, AFP.
Morning. Those limited places that can provide emergency care for pregnant women, how are pregnant women actually getting there and what sort of distances are they having to cover to reach them and how long would it take to actually receive care? Thank you.
Thank you. And yes, so as I was saying, it's actually extremely difficult for them. First of all, they often have absolutely no money, so they cannot even rent a donkey. They either have to walk when they're lucky enough, or the community can give them money to get a donkey. They will take a donkey, or in the worst also cases, they will have to go on a wooden stretcher brought by some men on foot. I was told even by health service providers in Tawila that women come even from Golo to get a C-section when they know that their situation is desperate. Now, if it took us by four by four, 9 hours, you can imagine how long it will take a woman on a donkey from Golo to Tawila. And that is exactly why the medical health providers told us when the women reach here, it's definitely often too late and they cannot do anything and they lose their lives, their lives and those of their babies. Also to say that this is why our appeal to make sure that the services get decentralized. Tawila definitely needs more support as the other areas of Darfur need enormously support. We want to avoid that also Tawila becomes a pull factor and sometimes by becoming a pull factor, then women are made to go through extremely long journeys that become really fatal for them.
Thank you very much. Uh, if there are no other hands in the room, I'll go to the platform. Uh, Antonio Broto, the Spanish news agency.
Good morning. Uh, I would like to know if this access to Darfur is, uh, common, uh, right now for, uh, UN agencies. Uh, if, uh, you need to negotiate this with, uh, rapid, uh, support forces and if other UN agencies, uh, were granted access during your, your visit and, and you were accompanied by, by others. Thank you.
Thank you. So access now for the UN is definitely easier from a permit point of view. So yes, in Tawila there are already a number of UN organizations that are present as well as including UNFPA. In Golo, the only UN, which is central Darfur, the only UN agency that is present is UNFPA. We do need to request the permits on all sites, but we are getting the facilitation that we need. So it is getting easier to get access. I was also with two colleagues of mine coming from Khartoum as well. And immediately after my mission, I've already started the approval processes for more colleagues to go in order to increase the humanitarian response from UNFPA side. So yes, we are getting easier access.
Thank you very much. Paula Dupraz, Geneva Solutions.
Yes, good morning. I have a question regarding funding and amid the funding crunch that you've been, that UNFPA has been facing, I'm wondering if in Sudan itself, whether you're working more closely with UN Women, as there's been that merger proposal as part of UN 80 that's come up. And yeah, that's what, and also where the funding, whether you're getting any funding from OCHA through the pool funding. following, you know, whether you received any of this funding, pool funding following the US funding installments that were announced to OCHA.
Thank you. So first of all, yes, the funding situation is extremely complex and funding are limited to the point that we have to select which areas and we go by priority needs, the highest priorities will then get the dedication of the funding. So unfortunately, there are places where we are obliged to close some services in order to continue the service delivery in the area with the highest needs. In terms of pooled funds, as you all know, UNFPA is not receiving the US funding to the SHF, to the Sudan humanitarian funds, the American ones. However, through the regular allocation, as I was saying earlier, we have just received 1.8 million for supplies, and that is for reproductive health supplies. And that is going to then help the service providers in the areas with highest needs, is the great majority in Darfur. Also in relation to, yes, we work very closely with the other UN organizations, particularly those UN organizations and the NGOs who are working in delivering the humanitarian aid in health and in protection. In Darfur, we work very closely with our colleagues from OCHA, UNHCR, IOM, WFP, WHO, obviously. We work closely also with UN Women, particularly on the issue of women-led organization, which require a really strong and dedicated attention. Women-led organization receive very limited funding. I've met also with them during my mission in Darfur with a large group of them. And they need assistance, number one, in coordinating more closely with the other humanitarian actors, with the donors, in making their voice being heard. And the other thing that they're asking for is to really develop their capacities. They need support in order to become the partners where also the humanitarian entities can go and work with.
Thank you very much, Fabrizio. Let me see if there are other questions. I don't see any other hand up. So thanks very much for coming and telling us, uh, what you've seen, uh, there. Good luck for your future work, and thank you very much, Pernille. for bringing Fabrizia to us. So let's stay in the very same region with the last of our speakers, agencies. We have a -- Eugene, you want to come to the podium? We have a joint briefing from WFP and UNHCR. And I'd like to welcome Adam Effendi, the WFP Deputy Country Director for South Sudan, and Mesfin Degefu, the UNHCR Deputy Representative in South Sudan, both of them speaking from Juba on the critical funding shortfalls which is threatening life-saving assistance to refugees in South Sudan. Eugene is here and Asfar is online also, so I don't know who would like to start. Yeah, we start with WFP then. Okay, so let me give the floor to Adam Effendi. If, let's see if we can see him.
Yes, good morning. I hope you can see me and hear.
We do. Go ahead, sir.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much for having me. WFP in South Sudan is teetering towards a humanitarian funding cliff. Despite unprecedented operational efforts, humanitarian needs continue to outpace available resources. In South Sudan, WFP has already delivered more than 55,000 metric tons of food assistance this year. distributed the cash assistance worth $70 million and reached 2.9 million people until the end of July. Yet these efforts are no longer enough to keep the pace with growing needs. Without immediate and urgent funding, the final food and nutrition assistance for the most vulnerable 240,000 refugees across the country will be provided in September, cutting off lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people already living on the edge. This is not a future scenario, it is sadly reality that will all within weeks. After more than two decades on the humanitarian frontlines, I have rarely seen such a painful gap between scale of human suffering and the resources available to respond. Needs are rising while the lifeline to the most vulnerable is running dangerously thin. The impact of funding shortfall is much wider and I'm afraid this is set to continue beyond September. I will have to add some numbers here from October. Food assistance for approximately 180,000 internally displaced people will also cease because of pipeline breaks affecting general food assistance. By November, 600,000 people living in famine risk areas will no longer receive life-saving food assistance. Around 800 nutrition sites will be forced to suspend preventive and curative nutrition services. More than 220,000 children under five and pregnant breastfeeding women will lose access to essential nutrition support. In a country where 7.8 million people face acute food insecurity and 2.2 million children are acutely malnourished, In South Sudan, shrinking humanitarian funding is no longer just a resource gap. It's a direct reduction in life-saving assistance for those least able to cope. When food assistance stops, families are forced into impossible choices. People reduce meals, sell productive assets, withdraw children from school and adopt negative coping strategies. Women and children face heightened risks of exploitation and abuse. When resources shrink, the cost is not measured in dollars, it is measured in lives, dignity and future lost among those with the least capacity to cope. Back to you, Chair, please.
Thank you very much, Mr. Efendi. And I'd like now to go to Mesfin Degefu, the UNHCR representative, deputy representative in South Sudan.
Thank you very much for this opportunity. And I thank very much my WFP colleague who have already highlighted the situation in South Sudan in terms of lack of funding for food assistance. I just want to also highlight some of the critical components on the protection implication of the impossible narrative. And today we are sounding the alarm not just about hunger, but about severity of the broader protection consequences that arise when refugee families lose access to assistance. That means that assistance they depend on to survive. It is very critical for them to continue to receive assistance in order to survive. Funding cuts have already forced us to scale down in many services. The more than 240,000 that WFP has mentioned are the vast group of refugees who have been receiving food assistance are 50% of the food ration. And by September, by end of September, 1st of October, these people will not also receive food, which means that by 1st of October, no refugees in South Sudan will have access to food in addition to other critical services that has been reduced due to lack of funding. And also, it comes at the worst possible moment as the rainy season is picking and access become harder and food prices are actually increasing due to the crisis in the Middle East. And families have been having only fewer options to survive. As my colleague already mentioned, the 240,000 people who have been receiving ration so far are part of the 650,000 refugees currently in Sudan, in South Sudan. And 90% of these refugees are actually from Sudan, where our UNHCR colleague also explained the dire situation happening in Sudan itself. We are still receiving around 3,000 people every week from Sudan. These are combined of refugees, Sudanese refugees, and also South Sudan returnees. that are coming into South Sudan due to the deteriorating services in Sudan. For many refugee families, food assistance is not simply a source of nutrition. It is a critical protection intervention. When they get food, they keep their children in school, reduce the risk of exploitation, And it also allows the family to pursue opportunities to rebuild their lives. From the UNHCR side, one of the most concerning consequence is the increased risk of onward movement, which means cross-border movement. When people can no longer meet their most basic needs, they may feel compelled to move again in search of food, services and safety. And across the region, we have repeatedly seen food insecurity and declining assistance contribute to population movements. And especially with movements back to Sudan, we have witnessed that many people are taking the risk to go back to Sudan where they have fled from in the last several years. And It also impacts often exposing vulnerable women, men, and children to additional protection risks along the dangerous routes when they are going back to Sudan. The most recent refugees, they have requested that UNHCR help them to facilitate their return to Sudan. if they do not continue to get or receiving support in South Sudan, including food. As you all know, we, UNHCR, do not promote or support return to Sudan as the current situation in the country is not favorable for the return. We are already hearing from refugees who are reducing meals, selling their belongings, withdrawing children from school, and taking on debt survival. These are coping mechanisms that can quickly evolve into serious and long-term protection concern. At the same time, UNHCR and WFP, in collaboration with the government of South Sudan, We have made a real tangible progress in advancing refugee self-reliance. Our government are allocating agricultural land and we are humanitarians providing vocational training, enterprise training and helping families move into sustainable livelihood and wage employment. Early results are very promising. But this is precisely why the timing of this funding gap is so damaging. Self-reliance is a multi-year transition. It doesn't happen overnight. And it cannot take root in absence of basic service support. Families still need a sustained bridge of food assistance while livelihood and local markets mature enough to sustain them. Cutting food now risks reversing years of investment and pushing families who were on the path of self-sufficiency back into acute vulnerability. What refugees need is not less time to transition, more time to sustain flexible funding to see this transition through. I thank you very much and back to you.
Thank you very much. Mr. De Guefu, the sound was not perfect, so I'm asking your colleagues, Eugene, but also as far for WFP to send out the notes as soon as possible to the journalists of your introductory remarks. Is there any question in the room? Yes, Robin, AFP. If you could tell to whom.
Yeah, so a question for both agencies, really. How much money would it take to get your operations back on track and to get them, uh, to where you'd like them to be? Thank you.
Maybe we can have a question, an answer from each one of you, so we know what are your needs by agency. I don't know if, uh, Adam, uh, if you want to start and then, Masvindegefu.
Yes, thank you very much for the question. For World Food Program, Just the immediate needs for next three months, and by that I mean October to December, for refugees alone, we are looking at approximately $37 million in general, and $86 million to sustain the rest of the operation, just to cover pretty much the last quarter of this year. Back to you, please.
And maybe we can hear from, uh, Masfin.
Yeah, our situation is not different from WHF. We are actually in need of $286 million for the entire of 2026. However, from this 286, we got only 20%, 28% of funding, which means that there is still a huge gap. We want to do self-reliance, livelihood projects. However, We are so limited to pursue on this direction. So anything between 20 or 50 million might take us up to the end of the year. Where I'm saying this, I'm not saying that this is fully sufficient, however, to continue life saving assistance. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Paula Duprez, Geneva Solutions.
Good morning. Thank you for this briefing. I just want to follow up on the funding and wanted to ask you in particular WFP, but also UNHCR, how much money you have received and that's in the bank from the OCHA full funds and the 800 million in direct contributions from the US. This is both referring to the additional funding or the funding that was announced since late last year, the two installments through OCHA's pool funds, as well as that direct contribution to WFP in South Sudan. And I guess the how much you may be expecting out of that funding to reach you by the end of the year?
Maybe this time I will start with UNHCR.
Okay. As long as UNHCR is concerned, from the 100 million SSHF fund, from the US government, we have received 12 million in the first tranche. We are still working for the second tranche, which is I think 50 million for South Sudan. We are expecting in the range of 3 million out of this 50 million. So what I can confirm is we received 12 million from the first allocation. Unfortunately, this year UNICEF did not receive any other funding from OCHA, whether it is CERF or any other full funding, we did not receive those from those allocations. Over to you.
Thank you. Maybe WFP?
Yeah, thank you very much. First, I would like to acknowledge also the support given to us by the donor community to help us sustain our operations in South Sudan. That's why we have come this far away. In terms of the direct question, OCHA pooled funds, which my colleague also mentioned, the 100 million, WFP received approximately 32.5 million, but with those 32.5 million, we were able to cover the gaps which we were facing during the lean season, which pretty much ends in a month's time. Now, in South Sudan, unfortunately, if you look at the integrated classification, as I also mentioned in my brief, overall, 7.8 million people are acutely food insecure, and we are unable to even reach people who are in a higher category requiring food assistance. We have to make very difficult choices. who to leave behind and who to help the most vulnerable groups. Even within the integrated phase classification for emergency levels, we are only reaching a percentage of that crisis load. But overall, over 50% of the people in South Sudan out of 14 million require food assistance during lean season. And let's not forget the potential effects of floods, which has been the trend in these past five, six years. El Nino is also gonna have adverse effects, other climate shocks, pushing additional population into extreme hungers. Back to you, please.
Thank you very much. I see Paula has a follow up.
Yes, sorry, for, for WFP, um, There was that direct contribution that was announced of 80, sorry, 800 million by the US to WFP. I'm wondering of that, how much you would have received. You spoke about the pool funds, but I would be interested to know how much you had received of that additional contribution directly to WFP in South on and how much more you may expect from that as well as the full funds till the end of the year. I don't know if you're able to specify that, please.
Yeah, thank you very much. Sorry, I was trying to unmute myself. We are expecting approximately additional $11 million for nutrition activities. So that's pretty much, I would say, a drop in the ocean. Indeed, it's still important. We need all the resources which could be made available to us, but that's all the visibility we have for right now from the 800 million and from the 100 million, we did receive 32.5 million, which we have already expensed and we are expected to exhaust all the resources within next 30, 40 days. Back to you, please.
Thank you very much. That was pretty clear. Any other question? If not, I would like to thank very much Adam Efendi and Mesfin Degefu from Juba, but keep Eugene on the podium for a little while. So thank you very much to our colleagues of the WFP and UNHCR Juba office. And Eugene has just received an update on something that should be of interest to you about the situation in Colombia. So I'll give her the floor on that.
Thank you, Alexandra. As Alexandra just mentioned, we received the update from our colleague underground in Colombia who is dealing with the tragic earthquake in Colombia. The earthquake in Colombia has hit community already living with the consequences of armed conflict, forced displacement, and confinement in the country in some of the worst affected areas. Families who had already been forced from their homes are now facing the prospect of losing them once again. Um, I will just give you the more detail, but the UNHCR has a long standing presence in the three community and is already supporting the government led emergency response with the team on the ground in affected area, including Kali, uh, Buena Ventura and Kiptoo. Uh, the earthquake is particularly concerning, uh, because it has struck areas already facing significant humanitarian and, uh, protection pressure among the 69 affected, uh, municipality, uh, across the eight, uh, departments, namely, uh, Forgive me if I mispronounce it, but I will try my best. Choco and Valle del Cauca, two of the hardest hit department, accounted for around 93% of displacement and confinement recorded across affected municipality in 2025. So we can see that how that displaced population is impacted by the earthquake. Refugee and other in need of international protection are living in significant numbers in affected urban areas among the municipality impacted Cali, for example, host more than 133,000 in these categories, followed by Pereira, Armenia, and Ibague. For internally displaced people and refugee who are already trying to rebuild their life, this earthquake risk becoming another displacement on top of displacement. Colombia continue to host one of the world's largest internally displaced population while also responding to ongoing armed conflict, mixed movement, and climate-related shocks and natural disaster. Our teams are working closely with the national and local authorities, community organization and humanitarian partners on the ground. The government of Colombia is leading the response, of course, with the UNHCR and other UN agencies supporting through established coordination mechanism under the UN resident coordinator. The most urgent need includes shelter, food, clean water, health care, and psychosocial support, particularly for family whose home have been damaged or destroyed. UNHCR has activated emergency procedure and is preparing the distribution of a critical relief item already available in our stockpile, stockpiles in Colombia. These include more than 18,000 hygiene kit, 3,100 solar lamp and 30 refugee housing unit for temporary shelter. UNHCR will continue working with the government and humanitarian partner to ensure that people affected by earthquake, particularly those already exposed to displacement and protection risk, receive the protection and assistance they urgently need. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Eugene, for this update. Sorry. Thank you very much, Eugene, for this update. Let me see if there are questions on Colombia. There are some more questions, sorry, on South Sudan. I'll come back to that afterwards. But let me see if there is any specific question on Colombia in the room or online. I can't see anymore. Just one second. I see Paula. Is that about Colombia?
Yes, and it's just a quick question to know how many staff OCHA now has in Colombia? OCHA or UNHCR?
Paula, did you mean UNHCR? I think so. I mean, otherwise she wouldn't have asked you. Go ahead, maybe you have the answer.
Yeah, as I said, we have offices on the ground, as I mentioned before, but I can get back to you on the exact staff member in the country at the moment, Paula.
Yeah, yeah, I see she was intending to ask about your staff. Thank you very much. If there are no other questions on Colombia, let me go back a second. I don't know if Mesfin is still connected, or maybe Eugene, you can answer this. I think there was a question from would it be possible to have UNHCR repeat the figures given? She just want confirmation if you said 28% funded.
Yes.
Yes, yes.
Correct. Out of 2,800, I will give you, you will receive the note with the funding update, but 28 is percent is funded, is correct number.
I think she's saying it was in response to Robin's question on how much would be needed to get operations back on track.
That I will check. I think the math been mentioned at the end and it wasn't clear for me as well, but let me double check with operation and then I will get back to you on that. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Oh, but I see that Masfin is connected. So maybe Masfin, you could answer this part of the question, how much more you need to bring the operation back on track on your side. It's true that the audio is not perfect. So it's a little bit difficult to understand the numbers.
Sorry for that. I'm just talking about, you know, the life saving intervention, not the, you know, what we wanted to do, but the life saving intervention includes, you know, service for new arrivals. I will mention we still have new arrivals from Sudan and these activities are not in market, under in market contribution. So, in order for us to continue receiving those new arrivals, providing shelter, health services, wash activities, we still need to have more funding. We will give you the actual figures, the gap to reach to the end of the year, but I was estimating around 50,000 will at least keep us going to provide, you know, to continue to provide life saving intervention, not really the bigger, you know, livelihood intervention because we have foreign assistance, three-year, three-year multi, multi year strategy to transition the campus into settlements from 2026 to 2028. Those are not yet even received, you know, a single dollar. So for us, what we are saying is we have to promote self-reliance and livelihood. And, uh, uh, refugees become, uh, self-reliant. We need to have this transition between, um, providing services, basic services, and, you know, uh, moving into a more, um, uh, a more, uh, self-reliant, uh, intervention, which requires years of, uh, engagement. Thank you.
Thank you very much again to our colleague in Cuba. Thanks to Eugene for this update on Colombia. I'm just left with a few announcements for you. The first one, I have been asked by our colleagues of the Office of Disarmament Affairs to inform you that the ninth session of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention will take place in the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations from the 17th to the 21st of August. It will be chaired by Ambassador Federico Mayer, the Brazilian disarmament ambassador here in Geneva. As you know, while the norm enshrined in the Convention against biological weapons is strong, the Convention lacks an institution and a verification system. Given developments in science and technology, especially the convergence of AI and biology, which are lowering the technical barriers to developing biological weapons, And also the interest expressed in biological weapons by some terrorist groups, it is urgent to strengthen the biological weapons convention. So they have created this working group by the ninth BWC review conference back in November, December 2022 created this working group, which is meeting now. It met for the first time in March 2023. The ninth session next week will be its penultimate session. The tenth and final session will also be held in Geneva, but from 7 to 11 December. The group is expected to make recommendations to strengthen and institutionalise the Convention in all its aspects and develop institutional mechanisms. It's now reaching the end game and the negotiations are approaching a crunch point. There's a comprehensive draft of the final report which has been negotiated and is available to you on the website of the convention. We will distribute the link. The exact link is pretty long to read, but it's available on the internet. And this will be the focus of the discussion next week. The group is due to adopt its final report by consensus at the tenth session in December. We understand that the report would then be submitted to the tenth review conference next year. While the report may appear quite dry and difficult, if adopted, it would represent a significant strengthening of the 50 old convention and enable it to better guard against the misuse of biology and the risk posed by the artificial intelligence. Ambassador Meyer is also available for interviews upon request. So we will share this with you and if you are interested in having an interview with him, with the ambassador, we will be happy to help you organize it. Also, let me remind you that the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is reviewing today the report of Sri Lanka, and next week we'll look at Lithuania, Chile and Slovakia. while the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will report the will review the report of Finland next Monday and Tuesday. And then let me reiterate something that you probably know because we do this every year. But on the 19th of August, the international community comes together to commemorate World Humanitarian Day. So the commemoration ceremony this year will be held at 4:00 PM at the Palais des Nations. As you know, we normally do it in the Building E, but this year Building E is closed, so the ceremony will be held in the on the third floor of Building A. And as usual, we'll hear from a testimony of a person who has survived the 2003 terrorist attack against the UN mission in Baghdad. I think this is all I had for you. Yes, Hassan.
Thank you, Alexandra.
The current UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, will complete his term on December 31, and his successor will take office on January 1, 2027.
Do you have any updates on this matter? As you know, this is a matter that is held and carried out by the General Assembly. Member states are the masters here. They are going to decide who will succeed our current Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, as you have mentioned. He has carried out his functions as Secretary General for 10 years and will end at the end of this year. So I would invite you to follow the, there is a lot of information on that on the General Assembly page. As you know, there have been hearings, there have been hearings even in Geneva, but there have been hearings from the General Assembly in New York. There's been a first vote, so I would invite, but this is really happening by the Security Council, but this is going to be really happening in New York, so I would invite you to follow the information that has been and will continue to be published on the General Assembly and page. We will keep you informed, of course, when there are votes and when there, if there is any news, we will keep you informed. But it's in the hands really of New York. And we will follow this very closely, of course. If there is no other question, I thank you all very much and wish you a good weekend and see you next week. Thank you.
