UN Geneva Press Briefing: UNHCR, IOM, UNFPA, UNOPS, UN WOMEN, WHO, OHCHR

Good morning. Welcome to the press briefing of the information service this morning, Friday 18th September. We have a very long briefing and we are going to listen from many colleagues. We are going to start on Yemen, with a spotlight on Yemen due to the situation there, and I'd like to welcome all the colleagues who are joining from the field. and elsewhere to tell us about the situation in Yemen. I just wanted to say that at 11:15, whatever we are speaking about, we will have to stop for a moment because we have a colleague who's calling in from Ukraine, and she will only have a very few minutes. She's calling from an underground location, so we will try to be on time at 11:15 to talk to her. So let's now start with the situation in Yemen. So in Yemen, more than 22 million people, nearly half of the population across Yemen, need humanitarian aid. And with the current escalation, that number is rising. Despite many challenges, including access and funding constraints, Our colleagues on the ground continue supporting vulnerable communities wherever they can. In this context, we would like to reiterate that the actions taken by the Houthi de facto authorities, including the arbitrary detention of UN personnel, the death of a colleague while in detention, the forcible entry and occupation of UN premises, and the seizure of UN assets, have made the delivery of UN humanitarian assistance in Houthi-controlled areas untenable, limiting millions of people's access to life-saving assistance. As of today, 73 UN personnel remain arbitrarily detained by the Houthi de facto authorities, some of them since 2021. In addition, five former UN personnel and dozens of personnel from non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and diplomatic missions remain detained. We reiterate our call on the Houthi de facto authorities for immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained personnel. We will continue to work tirelessly and through all available channels to secure their safe and immediate release. And I would like now to turn to my colleagues to also hear from their perspective, to have a briefing on their mandates in Yemen. And I would like to start just with a few words from OHCHR, who has got the latest numbers on the situation in the conflict-torn areas. Then we will hear from IOM and UNHCR. We have with us the chief of missions in Yemen and in Djibouti for IOM, and we have also the representative in Djibouti for UNHCR. Then we will hear also from UNFPA by the country representative from Aden, and then Tariq will also add something on the WHO side on the health situation. So let me start now with Shabia for OHCHR.

Okay, thank you, Alessandra. So in response to the question about casualties, we have documented 110 civilian casualties since hostilities escalated in August. And this is in 31 incidents. So in this total of 110 casualties, there are 28 killed and 82 injured. And these are across governorates, including Taiz, Al Hudaydah, and Marib. These are documented casualties, so they're not a comprehensive account of the toll. And insecurity and access constraints continue to impede verification, so the actual number is likely to be higher. So our office continues to monitor and verify civilian harm and gather testimonies and report on emerging protection risks. Yemen civilians are already bearing the consequences of renewed full-scale hostilities, and we urge all parties and those with influence over them to act immediately to de-escalate, protect civilians, and facilitate humanitarian access. Preventing further loss of life must take precedence.

Thank you very much, Shabia. So we have heard about the figures and the casualties of the incidents. I'd like now to go to Yemen. With IOM, we have Abdusattur Asow, who is the chief of mission in Yemen. Zoe, you want to start or we go directly to him to her, sorry.

Thank you very much. So yes, indeed, we do have our chief of mission from Yemen, Abdusattur Asow. who is there in Aden at the moment and will give us an update on the numbers displaced and particularly what our teams are seeing on the ground. Over to you, Chief of Mission.

Ambassador, good morning. Welcome.

Thank you very much. Good morning, Carl. So here again, the Yemen humanitarian situation has deteriorated sharply over the last recent days. And from the time that we have been in this briefing room, the number has tripled. As of today, the DTM team or I am on the ground have reported over 112,000 people displaced, the majority of them within the two weeks, as I mentioned, and within the West Coast and the Taiz. governorate. The heaviest impact is concentrated in Tayir and Lakhsh. In Tayir's Jabal Habashi district alone, over 21,000 people have been displaced, with nearly 12,600 in Al-Ma'afar, which is the Tayir's governorate. And also Lakhsh is the second governorate that are receiving quite a large number. In Al-Mudariba district alone, 21,000 displaced people, and Tuban receiving more than 10,000 by now. The has been recorded also in Aden, in Hodeidah, in Abyan, in Haydar Mawad and Mari. These are additional districts, two ties that have been seeing the spread of the spacing. The roads remain to be inaccessible, communication disrupted and humanitarian access severely constrained. Behind every figure that we are talking about is family who has lost everything, right? So they need shelter, water, humanitarian, food, household items, and everything that they need, especially for women and children. Above all these, they need safety and protection. My colleagues the other day have told me a very heartbreaking story that I wanted to share with you here that the that the story of a woman with four small children who has been displaced in Tait and shortly after being displaced and arriving to the district where she was displaced, she gave birth to a baby in the open area without shelter, medical care, and any other assistance. This family managed only to find a torn piece of plastic tarpaulin, basically, just barely covering their heads. These are the real cases that we are seeing in the field. There are families living with nothing in extreme precarious conditions. So we on the ground and with other humanitarian agencies delivering, assessing the needs of keeping track of the soaring numbers of this space. We are also gathering critical information that feeds into this joint response by the communities. Our displacement tracking metrics providing those numbers on daily basis for the humanitarian partners to be able to reach to these people and assist. Our resources are are very, very, very limited and our stocks will be depleted very soon. So therefore, we call on international communities to come to Yemen's aid and provide IOM and with other partners with the urgent support to meet the need of these people, which includes food, shelter, health, water, sanitation of the displaced population. So we urge all parties to protect civilians, humanitarian workers, and the facilities that is essential for delivering aid. And Yemen cannot carry this crisis alone. Let us act before the emergency becomes even greater. So therefore, let us just ensure that families who have been displaced, and unfortunately, we are seeing the increased number day by day, seeking safety and protection, dignity and hope, are given assistance and are protected. Thank you.

Thank you very much for this briefing. I'd like to stay for a moment in Yemen before we go to Djibouti, because we have the UNFPA representative, Francesco Galtieri. Welcome, sir. And we can hear from him on the situation inside Yemen for the maternal health situation. Francesco.

Thank you very much, colleagues, and thank you to all those who are attending and manifesting their interest and solidarity with the people in Yemen, which is absolutely needed. As we heard from Abdusattar, the crisis is really growing by the hour. And behind every number I was mentioning, there is a story of a person and his or her family. And so, as you can imagine, for women and girls, it is a crisis upon a crisis here in Yemen, because the situation has been very much difficult for them for the past 12 years. You know, the woman who had to deliver a baby in the open air that Abdusattar was talking about is not the only one. With our partners, we have been supporting over 1,000 births among the displaced communities in the past month, since the escalation started on the 10th of August. And, unfortunately, currently, we estimate around 2,000 pregnant women on the move, 200 -- more than 200 of them were expected to deliver in the next 10 days. And so, you know, we recently, one of my colleagues who's on the front line with the other UN colleagues met Aziza in Ras Al Kharah, and she's the only breadwinner of her family because there are many women-led households among the displaced households. She came from Mocha with her four daughters, and She's one of those who had to run away under the shelling, got burns because of the shelling, and did not stop running until she could reach a safe place. And she told to us that she's exhausted, and she really hopes that beyond having kept their lives, there will be something else they can build. So, this testimony is like the testimony Abdusatou was speaking about, capture somehow what women and girls are enduring on the front lines, because they are fleeing from violence, giving birth without any attendance, in a country where already three women every day are estimated to lose their life because of an obstetric emergency already under current -- under normal circumstances, the circumstances of the protracted crisis. And so, no matter whether they are on the move, displaced, or among the most vulnerable communities, women, pregnant women need antenatal and postnatal care. They need obstetric care for themselves and care for the newborn, very often blood transfusion to attend to severe complication, because this can make a difference between life and death. Not to forget the heightened risks on women and girls to be targeted and survivors of gender-based violence in displacement sites where inadequate privacy, poor lighting and sanitation, shortening of basic kits for everyday items, and the lack of safe shelter can lead them to an increased exposure of risk and exploitation. Because, you know, every time a safe space or a shelter closes, as it was the case in a number of them, in the majority of them in the West Coast, or a mobile team has no access to women, girls, and the people in need, we are basically incapacitated to deliver survivor-centered services and prevent death. So, the very meager progress we have made Since the crisis has stabilized somehow along the previously existing front lines, that meager progress is being eroded in front of our eyes every day. And so, as UNFPA, of course, we are continuing providing through our partners, both from the U.N. family and the nongovernmental organizations, assistance and coordination in reproductive health and maternal health, as well as protection services. And at the same time, we are leading on behalf of the United Nations.

Sorry, sorry. Go ahead, go ahead. I thought you had finished. Sorry. Go ahead. Maybe you want to conclude?

Sorry, there might be a slight delay. Yes. Now, I was saying that in addition to delivering services on reproductive and maternal health and protection against violence, UNFPA is leading the United Nations interagency rapid response mechanism, which is the current UN system first line response mechanism, delivering within 72 hours from the displacement emergency aid. And we have so far assisted about 60,000 people. But, of course, I will just echo Abdoulatif's call to the international community for funding support, because all humanitarian organizations are severely underfunded. And it is a ticking clock in front of us, because we are no longer in a position to continue provide assistance at the rate of the crisis affecting the people due to the depletion of our -- of our kids. So, let me close by making an appeal to the international community, through the voices of the colleagues who are listening to this briefing today, for the urgency that this moment demands, for helping us keeping open the services in the different sectors to the displaced families and to the communities under additional strains. so that no woman is forced to give birth under a tree, and no survivor of violence is left without assistance, because it is a life-and-death test, and we must choose action today. Yemen cannot wait additional words. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. And let's hear a very few points from WHO, then we will go to Djibouti, and then I'll open the floor to questions.

Thank you, Alessandra. And we already heard from colleagues on the ground. I will just add a few points on the health situation. So this escalation obviously is already putting additional pressure on the health system that is already overstretched by conflict displacement, outbreaks, food insecurity, malnutrition, and limited health services. This is manifested through increased trauma and emergency care needs, rising displacement, and greater demand for already limited services, supplies, and referral capacity. Unfortunately, the health needs are rising while the ability to respond is shrinking. Right now, the main constraints are lack of health workers, equipment, financing, and medical supplies. Yemen is facing multiple concurrent health risks, including cholera, measles, dengue, diphtheria, malnutrition, and trauma. In my notes, you will have the numbers on these particular diseases as they are reported. We have done assessment recently before the escalation, and already there, out of more than 5,000 health service delivery units that have been assessed, Only 60 were fully functioning, while 35 were partially functioning and four were non-functioning. And that, for example, to give you the example, trauma care is available at the full service package in only 6% of assessed facilities, particularly concerning as trauma needs are sharply rising with the current escalation. So I will stop here, and you will have more in our notes. We call for safe, sustained, and unhindered access to health care for all displaced people and for their urgent health needs to be protected and prioritized. Thank you.

Absolutely. Thank you very much, Tariq. And now let's go to Djibouti. We have to colleagues at UNHCR and IOM calling from there. I'd like to go, unless you, Eugene, I can go directly to Sandrine. Sandrine Desamour, who is the representative of the UNHCR in Djibouti, for a point on the situation in Djibouti, and then we'll hear from IOM too. Sandrine. Sorry, we can't hear you. I don't know if it should be.

Thank you very much.

Oh, now you're on. Now you're on. Okay, go ahead, please.

Thank you. Nearly already 3,000 people have arrived in Djibouti in less than a week, making the dangerous sea crossing across the strait as escalating violence has forced more families to flee. They are entering through four official entry points after difficult journeys in small vessels. Yet, they are reporting that they have left behind family members, and reports indicate that more people are trying to flee Yemen. However, there is a shortage of fuel, and thus the boats are not able to arrive. At the reception centers, the new arrivals recount fleeing sudden bombardment, shelling, gunfire and having to fear for their lives, mothers quickly gather their children and whatever they can. We saw them arrive with very little, some arriving without their family members. And others are also arriving for the second time, having already fled Yemen during the 2015 crisis. And here they are back in Obok, where they are again being They are again being welcomed by the community in Obok, including the refugee community itself. They are being registered and therefore receiving support and access to national services. UNHCR and its partners have been working in particular to integrate also the new refugee children in the schools villages. The children are quite happy for this opportunity. Djibouti families have really given all that they can. Already about 270 people are currently living in host families. However, the capacity of Markazi refugee village, which was designed for hosting 5,000 refugees, and already had over 2,700 Yemeni refugees, in addition to the 1,500 Eritrean refugees, And thus, while the government, UNHCR, and its partners are preparing for at least the arrival of 10,000 refugees, pressure that is already growing on shelter, water, sanitation, health care, and education need to be sustained. Existing schools will not be able to accommodate all of the new children, overcrowding itself in the transit center and as well in Markazi refugee village may face different communicable diseases in a region that is already known for having communicable diseases. UNHCR and its partners, though, are on ground providing temporary shelter, transportation, relief items, food, water, healthcare, while supporting the government of Djibouti and the national refugee authorities with reception, registration, and protection activities. Djibouti, you may remember, already has 36,000 refugees, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia. While the number may sound small, one has to remember the percentage that it represents to the Djiboutian nationals, and specifically to those who are in Obok. And the latest arrival of Yemeni places further pressure on the response, which was already stretched. Authorities in Somaliland and Puntland have also reported increased arrivals from Yemen, including Yemeni refugees and Somali refugee returnees. Numbers remain in the hundreds for now, but movement currently is constrained also by the El Nino-related sea conditions. These are expected to ease in mid-October, thus raising the possibility of further arrivals due to the insecurity in Yemen and also if it continues to escalate. UNHCR and partners are therefore closely monitoring the situation and evidently preparing for potential increase of movements across the Gulf of Aden. Meanwhile, the crisis inside Yemen is becoming more acute. More than 100,000 people have already been uprooted as fighting intensifies, particularly along the western coast. Families have been displaced across, and while insecurity and access constraints are making it difficult for humanitarian partners to reach people in need. Without improved access and additional support, further displacement within Yemen and across borders is increasingly likely. To date, UNHCR's Djibouti operation was only 15 percent funded, and UNHCR urgently requires an estimated 5.1 million U.S. dollars to ensure that refugees arriving from Yemen can access registration, reception, protection, and essential services. Our operations inside Yemen are just 18% funded, and an additional 14 million is urgently needed to provide shelter, relief items, and site management to support the newly displaced families. UNHCR is calling for urgent international support to respond to this rapidly growing needs in Yemen and in Djibouti. in order for us to be able to provide protection assistance to those who are forced to flee. Without additional resources now, already stretched protection and assistance risk being overwhelmed as displacement continues to rise. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. Thank you, Sandrine. And our last speaker, definitely not least, is Alexandre Poissac, the Chief of Mission of IOM in Djibouti. We could hear you for one second, sir, and then the voice... Now it works. Go ahead, please, for brief remarks. Thank you.

Thank you. Thanks a lot. I will skip the statistics that my colleague Sandrine just shared, and I will go straight to what I saw when I was in a book with Sandrine, actually. I saw people exhausted, frightened, and uncertain about what would come next. But that's a relief when they reach the port of Hobok. Many have traveled for hours in dangerous, overcrowded boats with very limited food and water. Some required immediate medical and psychosocial support after experiencing conflict, displacement, and separation from family. The majority, as we know, are Yemeni families seeking refuge in Djibouti. But we are also beginning to see smaller number of migrants, mainly from Ethiopia, leaving Yemen in the same direction. We remain extremely concerned about migrants who are currently stranded in Yemen and caught in the conflict. Many of those arriving from Yemen have already been displaced more than once, as explained in our share. A lot of them are women and children, including infants, as well as pregnant women and women who gave birth shortly before leaving or during their displacement. The government of Djibouti responding swiftly, mobilizing national authorities under the leadership of ONAS and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity, and working closely with humanitarian partners and United Nations agencies. This national response has been matched by remarkable generosity from the people of Fobok. Many refugees are being hosted by local families. We know that the president of the regional council of Hobok himself is currently hosting 15 Yemili refugees in his own house. The prefect of Hobok has also established a donation point at a local mosque where residents can contribute. Alongside these efforts and at the request of Djiboutian authorities, IOM immediately mobilized its existing present and capacity in Hobok. We are providing safe transportation from landing sites to the Markazi village, as well as drinking water, hot meals, food assistance, and immediate protection support upon arrival. Since the 11th of September, IOM served over 10,000 hot meals at the Markazi village, prepared in the kitchen and by the staff of our migrant response center. We mobilized this week migrants volunteer from our reception migrant center to help transport and install 32 tons at the Markazi for the use of refugees. This week, IOM has installed 3 large water tanks at the site, with a total capacity of 1,600 liters. This is a rapidly evolving refugee situation that requires A collective humanitarian response. No organization can respond to it alone. ION will continue working closely with the Djiboutian authority, with UNHCR, and other UN agencies and humanitarian partners, including the Red Crescent Society of Djibouti, to support this highly vulnerable population. Even with this mobilization, the pace of arrival is outstripping local capacity. The most urgent needs remain food, water, shelter, healthcare, and protection, particularly for women, children, and other vulnerable people. Nearly 3,000 arrivals of refugees may appear to be relatively small from the outside, yet it's not a small number considered against Obok's population, which is only around 20,000 people. It's not small for a generous country that is already hosting a large number of refugees, as Sandrine just mentioned before. It's not small when viewed alongside the significant migratory movements through Djibouti. In 2025 alone, more than 200,000 migrants traveled across Djibouti along the Horn of Africa corridor to reach Yemen. Now it is a small number at a time when any new conditions are expected to increase food insecurity across Djibouti. According to the UN, an estimated 256,000 people, 1/4 of the country's population, could be affected by food insecurity in the coming months. Our collective UN priority under the mandate of UNHCR is to ensure that every person arriving as a refugee in Djibouti can access safety, dignity, and essential assistance while supporting the authorities and local communities leading this response. Djibouti cannot be left to respond to this crisis alone. Additional resources are urgently needed to sustain lifesaving assistance and support the communities of Fobert that are so generously welcoming those arriving. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Thanks a lot for this appeal. Okay, so now let's go to questions. We have 15 minutes, then we have to turn into Ukraine. Okay, let me start with Olivia, Reuters.

Thank you very much everybody who's been briefing on this, really, really grateful. Just wanted to check, first of all, just the figures on number of arrivals. into Djibouti from Yemen, but also just to check the figure on the number of internally displaced within Yemen. And just a question for you, Tarek, just about the cholera concern. How concerned are you and have you seen kind of any early signs of potential spread, just you were mentioning there about the kind of health concerns. Thank you. That's inside Yemen. Thanks.

Thank you. So who would like, since we have speakers on the ground. I need people to raise their hands if they want to answer. So the first part of the Reuters question about the displacement, maybe UNHCR? You want to take it, or should I give it yeah? Okay, maybe I don't know if Sandrine, can you take that one? Or also somebody from IOM? Yes, Chief of Mission, can I take it? Ms.

I can.

Okay. Ms.

NABULSI: Hello.

QUESTION: Yes. Ms. HARF: Go ahead. And then we'll hear maybe from IOM. Go ahead.

I think the question, if I heard it correctly, was referring to displacement within Yemen.

And to Djibouti.

Okay. Overall, What we have been seeing is an increasing number of arrivals. The peaks were a couple of days ago. The very first set that I saw being on hand in the field, directly in Obuk, the very first set of arrivals were very small boats of fishermen arriving with their families with very, very little. By the second wave, we saw a little bit more of arrivals with certain materials from home. You could tell that they just quickly packed up and also were able to arrive with some family members. By the third It was more of persons that were able to take time to arrive with more of their luggages and packages and arriving with solar panels and also with their animals. But at the same time, that is why we also noted a lot of families being separated. People no longer arriving with all of their family members, but arriving alone. We have many men who have arrived stating that they have left their family members in Yemen and that they are hoping to be able to go back to Yemen to retrieve them. Unfortunately, as we were stating earlier, there is a shortage of fuel in Yemen, and they are not able to return. We are discussing with government here how it is that we can support them to be able to provide more of this lifesaving. We've noticed and witnessed ourselves the Coast Guard from Djibouti providing fuel to boats and being able to tug them into Djibouti, into safety and peace. And so we are discussing with government various ways that we can provide assistance so that people can reach the shores and are able to be provided with protection, peace, safety, and assistance.

Thank you very much. Abdusattur inside Yemen. You're muted, sir. OK, now you're on. No, we can't hear you, but I see you are muted, but we can't hear you. You can come in, Zoe.

Yes, so just to come in, because we seem to have a technical issue, we are seeing that as of today, more than 112,000 people are displaced in Yemen, to your point, Olivia, and then in recent days, nearly 3,000 people have arrived in Djibouti.

Oh, yeah. And on top, sorry. Sorry, Abdul Sattar, we can hear you now.

Hello, can you hear me?

Yeah, yeah, go ahead.

So, and just to add on what my colleague Joe had mentioned, Zoe, the number that I've said, it was 112,818 as of yesterday. So we are still waiting for today of the TM team or by the TM team that are collecting those information on daily basis and updating it, that the number would probably go high as of today, but we don't have the numbers as of yesterday. What is important also to note that this over 100,000 of them have been displaced within the last two weeks. There were some numbers that were before, but the magnitude in terms of the numbers is quite for the last, let's say, two weeks or 10 days. And 60% of them, over 60% of them remain to be in tight governance, but also in other districts. In other words, people are trying to not flee far from where the residence is so that they can go back when the time will permit or when they will be allowed to go back. That number will probably be changing every day, so we are issuing every day the DTM update to the partners that would be then updated as the new numbers will be coming forward.

Yes, that's very clear. Jin, one more.

Yeah, just on top of just to highlight on top of the 3,000 refugee newly arrived in Djibouti, we're also seeing the newly arrived refugees from Yemen in Somaliland and Puntland, as well as Somali refugee returnees arriving. The number is a few hundred for now, but we're expecting more to come if the sea journey getting safer.

Thank you very much. And I haven't forgotten Tarik.

Yeah, just thanks, Olivia, on cholera. So the cholera has declined from its peak in 2025 that happened, but it's still there. And the problem really right now is disease surveillance. As we have less access and access becomes major constraint, it's more difficult to detect any resurgence. So just to give you one number that 90 out of 150 five health cluster priority districts, and that's 86% are in the north, and they are becoming increasingly more difficult to reach.

Thank you very much. So I had seen another hand in the room before I go to the platform, Mohammed. Thank you, Alessandra.

My question is for S.W.A.V., for Mr. S.W.A.V. Thank you so much, sir, for the briefing. You called for the protection to displaced people in Yemen.

My question is, are you and other international organizations facing any restrictions in distributing aid to displaced people?

And in this regard, what is the current situation in government-controlled and Houthi-controlled?

So, Abdusattar, if you can answer the question from our correspondent of Anadolu Agency.

Hello, can you hear me?

Yes, go ahead.

Okay, thank you very much for your question. Indeed, the partners on the ground are facing, as I said, difficulties. There are the access to the roads are blocked and not all areas are accessible because of the current situations. So the people who we are able to assist and those who are arriving to Lash, for example, within Taiz, where we still have access, we are still the government control areas, when people are arriving, as I mentioned, they are within Taiz themselves, most of them. So we are able to access them. So within government control areas, all support and all possible assistance are provided and people are being reached. However, those districts like the two districts in South Hodeidah, the Hays and Al-Hokha, and the Al-Mokha itself, the city, Dubab, these are the districts that unfortunately we have difficulties of accessing the people. So therefore, the numbers from those places are not that It's just because it is difficult to access them. However, in coordination with the government, very closely with all partners on the ground, we are able already to assess the situation with those who are more arriving to Lajj and within Taiz governorate where the government control area is. And also Aden, as I told you, Hodeidah, Marib, these are the districts, sorry, the Hodeidah, the Hodeidah and Abyan and Aden is a district that is under the control. control of the government that we can provide assistance. Over.

Thank you very much. Jamie Kiton, Associated Press, who's been patiently waiting. Hi, Jamie.

Hi, Alessandro. Thank you, and thank you for all of the presentations. I'm particularly interested in the situation in Yemen with regard to hospitals, if Tarek or one of your other participants can address that. What do you know, Tarek and others, about how the hospitals are currently being affected by the fighting? And what's different in the conditions in the areas controlled by the Houthis and the areas controlled the government. I will note that you did mention a statistic in your preliminary notes, Tarek, about 5,000 health care health service delivery units. Can you try to break that down a little bit, please? And you mentioned that that seems to be before the escalation. So could you give us some up-to-date figures after the escalation? Thanks so much.

Thank you very much, Jamie. I'll ask Tariq to answer, but maybe also Francesco has some information on the situation of hospitals, in particular with regards to the maternity wards.

Tariq. Yeah, thanks, Jamie. I don't really have a breakdown, but you're absolutely right. This assessment has been done before the escalation, so obviously the situation is becoming more difficult for several reasons. Every time there is an armed conflict, you have increase in trauma cases. So that's something that needs to be dealt. And as I said, only 6 percent of health facilities have the full package, trauma service package, available. Other thing is also referral, referral corridors, as we call them, when you have a military situation which prevents people to use usual referral roads, you need to find the alternative ones, and especially this is the case right now with what's happening on the West Coast, where those referral routes have been disrupted, and then we need to find alternative corridors, and we also need to strengthen those hospitals that will be receiving. patients, and that's particularly in the east and Aden area. The other problem, obviously, is the disease surveillance, as I have said, because that's something that once it's disrupted, then you can't really see what's happening and you can't really respond. And that was what we mentioned about cholera as well. So we really need access. So we need to be there. We need to be able to reach. And we need, obviously, funding. And in my notes, we will have some numbers of funding.

Thank you very much. I'll give the floor to Francesco. Just as a housekeeping, we have two more questions, then I will have to turn to Ukraine because our colleague is waiting. So, Francesco, a brief answer. I don't know if you have an update.

Yes. Thank you. I will be very brief. So on the areas that changed control and passed under the UFI's de facto authorities, the majority of hospitals and primary health care centers closed for the first 48 hours. But they are slowly reopening the services to provide. And you will find the details in the flash update UNFPA published yesterday on Yemen. When it comes to the areas under the government of Yemen, the main pressure in this moment is that a number of hospitals are prioritizing the wounded and the big trauma people. Therefore, the referral systems have changed, and there are only fewer hospitals that, for example, receive obstetric emergencies with a major impact on the quality of care and even the access of care. Therefore, we are also trying to combine strengthen support to these hospitals with mobile teams and the network of community midwives to at least relieve the pressure for the cases that are not the most urgent to be attended somehow. The important element, last element to mention is that at least We were able to preposition 55 metric tons of reproductive health commodities, also in the districts that changed control, for highly specialized obstetric emergency medicines that could cover the next three to six months. And so at least in terms of commodities, we feel relatively comfortable that those health centers and hospitals are not going to run out. Over.

Thank you very much. That was really important. Christiane, you had a question on numbers, I think.

No, no, thank you. I'll make it brief. This goes straight to Mr. Essof. Can you give us an idea of how you are dealing with the Houthi authorities? Are you in contact? What kind of communication is going on there between the UN agencies and the Houthis?

Thank you.

Abdusattur.

Thank you for the question. Unfortunately, at the moment, there's no communication between us and the authorities in the north. It is also because you may know that there was a pause of UN operations in the north last year, the Secretary-General's decision. So therefore, at the moment, it is almost non-existent in terms of having communication with the de facto authorities. However, saying that, so while UN does not have direct communications, we have the partners on the ground, the NGOs that are still working under the control areas of the de facto authorities. So therefore, because we as part of the humanitarian communities and sitting in the humanitarian country team, we have those partners that are actually kind of talking and engaging still with the authorities. that are helping us to unlock some of the issues whenever we need any support.

Thank you very much. John Zaro Costas from Swan Cat and The Lancet.

Yes, good morning. My question is to the representative from IRM in Yemen. I was wondering, so if you can bring us up to speed, if you're scaling up your health services in Yemen, I know your organization has been very active for many years on the ground on the health issues. And also if you're scaling up psychosocial support, especially for children in view of the increased conflict. And I have a question to Tariq. Tariq, has there been a spike in Yemen cases? We know from January to July, there were over 5,000 cases reported and quite a few deaths. So are you seeing a spike? Thank you.

Abdusattar.

Yes, thank you for your question. Absolutely. Currently, our emergency response is spread across all the sectors that we are working. You're right, you like to mention about the fact that IOM has been on the ground and working particularly with the displaced population here for so many years. So we have been working in the West Coast. We have been one of the agencies that have been working with among all those communities who have been displaced, the IDP camps in the Marib and across the southern Yemen, I would say, those districts that are controlled by the government. And we continue our operations, and particularly on the health, of course, we are scaling up and we are trying to support as one of the health partners under the sector, through the sector, as usually we work under the health cluster within the humanitarian the country team, IOM is also scaling up its this operation on the house, particularly what we are seeing as already my colleague Francesca has mentioned. So the scarcity of the services within the government control areas are quite obvious because there are increased number of the people coming and here in Aden and also in Bari, because in Bari we have had report that there are a lot of numbers of the people are also being provided services. So now the the capacity of those health services and health facilities that we have been working and supporting them are now becoming more and more kind of limited. So therefore, in our call to intercommunities, in our appeal on the support, we have also put a special emphasis on our health sector, in addition to the shelter, water, sanitation, and other sectors that is also life-saving, important sectors. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Last word to Tarek.

Yeah, thanks, John. You will see in my notes, I have some numbers on what we have seen in terms of diseases. More than 18,000 suspected measles cases and 106 deaths, alongside 380 diphtheria cases and 13 deaths, and also an estimated 30,000 children experience severe acute malnutrition.

Thank you very much. I'll conclude this part of the briefing here. I would like to thank very, very much all the colleagues who are here with me on the podium, but especially those who are in Yemen and in Djibouti. Thank you for being with us and for briefing us on this dire situation. Please stay safe. Good luck with your important work, and come back to brief us on the development of the crisis in Yemen. Thanks again. And just as a housekeeping, we have now Nepal with UNOPS, Congo with UN Women, Sudan again with IOM. We have another topic from WHO, but before all this, I'd like to ask our colleagues from OHCHR. Shabier, can we go directly to Daniel? You go first. Okay. So I'd like now to give the floor to Shabier Mantou. Shabier, you brought us Daniel Bell, who is the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Daniel, welcome. You are calling in from Kiev. I understand the connection situation is not easy, so thank you for being with us. Shabia, you start, and then we go to Danielle. Can you sit here, please, because- Ms.

Hi. Good morning, everyone. We've just issued this morning a new report on sexual violence in the context of the Russian Federation full-scale armed attack against Ukraine. The report details a shocking pattern of sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war. More than 1,000 cases were documented by our human rights monitoring mission colleagues from the 24th of February 2022 to the end of July this year. Individual victims recounted deeply distressing experiences to our colleagues, and these include violations such as rape, gang rape, genital mutilation, and other degrading acts of a sexual nature. The youngest documented rape survivor was a four-year-old girl, and the oldest an 82-year-old woman, and both cases were perpetrated by Russian authorities. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk is deeply alarmed that such abhorrent acts are almost certainly continuing amid the unceasing violence, and he urges their immediate halt. He is also calling for prompt, thorough, and impartial investigations into all credible claims of sexual violence, and for those found responsible to be brought to justice. The High Commissioner renews his call on the Russian Federation to immediately, completely, and unconditionally cease the use of force against Ukraine and to withdraw all its military forces from Ukrainian territory in line with relevant UN General Assembly resolutions. Our colleague Danielle Bell, who heads up our Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, is joining us online from Kyiv. She will brief us more on this issue and answer any questions you may have, so we'll go over to Danielle now. Thank you, Danielle.

Thank you so much, Shabia. I'm joining you from Ukraine at a time where risks to civilians have been escalating. For example, in Kyiv City, yesterday, we had 10 air alerts accompanied by explosions with drones, missiles throughout the day. More civilians were killed and injured in the first eight months of this year compared with all of last year. So it's against this backdrop of escalating violence that today we released a report that draws attention to a far less visible dimension of the war, that is conflict-related sexual violence that Shabia just covered. So what's important to highlight is that the report covers sexual violence against both Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war, civilian detainees held by both sides, and civilians in residential territory or residential areas of occupied territory. I'll just touch on a couple of key findings. The key finding of the report is that sexual violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war and Ukrainian civilian detainees held by the Russian Federation authorities is widespread. So why do we say it's widespread? Almost three-quarters of the prisoner of war survivors and almost half of the civilian detainee survivors held by the Russian Federation experienced sexual violence more than once. We documented cases at over 164 facilities, both official and unofficial. in every region of occupied territory and across 25 regions of the Russian Federation from the early days of the full-scale invasion through 2026. It occurred throughout captivity, from capture, admission procedures, transfer, interrogation in the cells, in the shower, even before release or exchange. And we documented the same practices occurring across facilities. Rape, gang rape, beatings while nude, electric shocks or beatings of the genitals, sexual degradation, and prolonged nudity and forced nudity. These violations involved personnel from multiple Russian state structures, including armed forces, FSB, police, and penitentiary staff. I'm going to give one example. Over a three-year period, one Ukrainian POW described being subjected to electric shocks to his **** while he was being raped with the same taser. Another time, he was raped with cell keys and forced to lick Throughout the three years, he was on multiple occasions subjected to beatings of his genitals, and he was raped with a rubber baton. The report identifies the conditions that enable these violations to take place. It details the basic procedural safeguards that are either absent or ineffective. There is little evidence of accountability and independent monitors, including our mission, continue to be denied access. The report also covers sexual violence that took place against civilians outside detention contexts. So we documented sexual violence against 95 civilians. mainly women and girls, including 57 survivors of rape, 15 of whom were gang raped, including children. The report also covers violations by the Ukrainian authorities, including sexual violence against Russian and third country nationals. and conflict-related detainees. These violations are serious and they require accountability. But the pattern is different in scope and scale. Almost half of the 112 cases of sexual violence that we documented attributed to Ukrainian authorities exclusively comprised threats. Ukraine also provides our mission with unfettered access to the prisoner of war camps and to other detention facilities. Why is this report important? Why does it matter? The report covers the broader patterns. Who was at risk? Where and when this risk arises and the conditions that allow sexual violence to occur. It also sets out recommendations to both parties and the international community on prevention, accountability, survivor support, and reparations. The full report is available on our website and I stand by for any questions. Thank you so much.

Thank you, Danielle, and thank you, Shabbir, for these important, terrible reports and numbers. Okay, yeah. If you don't mind, this time I'll start with Alex, AFP.

Yes, thank you so much for this briefing and this report. You're referring to documented cases, but do you have any idea of the actual number of violations of this path committed since the start of the conflict?

Thank you, Daniel.

Thank you, Alex. The 1,004 cases only represents a minority of the cases. Why do we say this? We interview approximately 10% of exchanged Ukrainian prisoners of war, or POWs, and then we interview the same number of Russian Federation prisoners of war at the camps. So we've interviewed over 950 Ukrainians. 10%. So the patterns have stayed the same. So we know with the prisoners of war, the numbers are obviously much higher. With civilian detainees, we can only interview them-- civilian detainees held by the Russian Federation who have been released. We can only interview them after they've been released and if they travel to government-controlled territory. Third, we do not have access to occupied territory, so we can only get the women and girls and other survivors if they decide to leave occupied territory and come to government-controlled areas. So it's only a fraction, so that it's representative, the 1,004 cases are just a fraction of the reality. Thanks, Alex.

Olivia.

Thank you. Just my question in terms of what happens next with this report. It would be really helpful just to, I think we get asked this a lot actually by readers, when these reports are issued, what are the next steps that we can expect of how perhaps it could be either prosecutions or used impetus into other UN systems. That would be really helpful. Thank you.

Danielle.

First and foremost, The recommendations of the report were developed with the survivor community. They told us where the gaps are in the current systems in terms of providing them short and long-term psychosocial support. We hope that the report will trigger additional support to be given to survivors. Second, we needed to put the facts on public record about the reality of sexual violence. And we hope that these facts will allow it to be given greater attention. So, for example, sexual violence takes place mainly in the context of widespread and systematic torture against Ukrainian civilian POWs, prisoners of war, and civilian detainees. And we hope that it will be taken into consideration when there's broader discussions over exchanges, you know, eventual releases. So this report is just the beginning. We will also be doing a lot of advocacy around the realities that take place. So this is only one of the very first steps. Thanks, Olivia.

Thank you very much, Jemiki, to the press.

Thank you, Ms. Bell, for coming to see us again. Always a pleasure to see you. Could you Two things, there's some pretty striking findings here. I know personally, I've written about the cases of sexual violence in Ukraine multiple times already over the course of this four and a half month war, four and a half year war. So what really is standing out here in terms of your findings? Because some of the evidence that you mentioned, which is quite jarring, of course, seems to be familiar to past cases. So that's the first question. And then the second one is just kind of riffing off of Olivia's question. What has the communication been with the Russian authorities, if any, And do you expect any change in their reluctance, let's say, to prosecute wrongdoers based on this report or communications that you've had with them? Thank you.

Thanks, Jamie. A few things that stand out in the report, and you've heard me brief about torture in detention, so you're familiar with the findings. What stands out? First, that sexual violence is widespread in Russian Federation facilities that are interning or detaining Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees. That's the key finding. Second, sexual violence in conflict is often misunderstood to be mainly affecting women and girls, where in the Ukraine war context, the majority of survivors are men, and men need special-- men and women require different solutions and approaches to their recovery. In terms of communication with the Russian Federation on this crucial issue, as always, we shared a copy of the report with the Russian Federation in advance of release, requesting their comment. We did not receive any response. Do we expect any change? Do we expect prosecution? We certainly hope there will be change. We hope that there will be attention drawn to it. In terms of prosecution, this is a bit of a tough question because the Russian Federation has revised its penal laws to allow impunity or to remove from exemption Russian service people who have carried out acts of violence that would otherwise be criminal if they're carried out in the context of the special military operation. So accountability is something we will continue pushing for, but in the current context, it is difficult. Regardless, my team will continue to document these cases. work with the Ukrainian authorities, have the facts on record, including on the public record, so that it will contribute to accountability in the future.

Absolutely, Daniel. Very important work. Okay, I see Nick. Then we'll go to the next question, to the next topic. Nick, New York Times.

Yeah, thank you. Just a quick one. We've had reports of sexual violence from the Commission of Inquiry as well over past years. I'm just wondering, is there a new pattern here? Is there an escalation? Is there either in the incidents or in the ways torture is being inflicted? And is there anything that you think links to the progress of the actual hostilities? Is there increasing frustration evident on the part of, say, Russian forces that is increasing the level of torture? Thank you.

Danielle, maybe when you answer, because I see in the chat, Christian Enrique is also asking, what exactly is the perpetrator here? Rape perpetrated by Russian authorities, what is exactly Russian authorities? Thank you. If you can answer these two questions, and then we will go to the next one.

Nick, are we seeing new patterns of sexual violence? No. The patterns that are set out in the report have remained consistent over since the full scale invasion. It may move from different different facilities, but essentially it's it's the same. So no improvement. And then the second question was, I just forgot the second question.

Miki, you want to repeat that?

Yeah, just whether You can associate the treatment that's being delivered with the actual progress of the war and whether we're seeing any escalation in relation to the fortunes on the battlefield. Thank you.

In terms of sexual violence and in terms of the broader patterns of torture and ill treatment, we're not seeing improvements and we're not seeing things getting worse. while we are seeing civilian casualties rise. So we don't see the link. I'll just move to the other question, which is, who do we mean when we say Russian authorities? Who are we talking about? Russian armed forces on the ground when they're taking POWs off the battlefield. FSIN, which are the penitentiary authorities running the internment facilities, police, guards. So we see when we say Russian authorities, we're talking about multiple different entities.

Thank you very much. That was really clear. And maybe just to remind the journalists that on the 22nd of September at 9:30 in this room, the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation this time is going to be the object of a press conference by Marianna Kotsarova, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation. Thank you very much, Daniel, for this incredibly strong report and for your work and for your future work also. And Shabia, thank you very much for bringing Daniel to us. Let us go on with the other we have quite another list of speakers. I'd like to go to the situation in Nepal. We have with us the director of the Asia and Pacific region of UNOPS, Sara Netzer. Sara, you've been patiently waiting. Thank you very much for telling us What is the situation at the moment of the destruction in Nepal and the UN work on it?

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you today. I've just come back to Bangkok from Nepal, where I was with our UNOPS rapid assessment team in the field in some of the hardest hit areas. What I saw there was total and complete devastation, very different. I was there after the earthquake 10 years ago. This is completely different in that whole communities have been completely washed away. We visited one community where there were around 400 houses, 1,200 people. Everything was completely obliterated by this wall of water and mud. It looks like an apocalypse. You see people's lives in the debris. It's five to eight meters deep. The debris has everything you can imagine you can see in it. Eyeglasses, school books, shoes, blankets. Sadly, also likely the remains of loved ones as well in the debris. The sheer force knocked homes 100, 150 meters from where they stood. Those that were living in those communities have been displaced into what the government of Nepal is calling holding centers. Our team visited those holding centers where the displaced are, and there's urgent need for adequate water and sanitation. Many are living in what are schools. And very much the government of Nepal would like to be able to reopen those schools. So emergency temporary shelter is also needed. This is particularly important for children who have experienced this tremendous trauma of seeing loved ones washed away in front of their eyes. Many of them now do not have parents, and they're also in these holding centers. So as soon as they can return to some sense of normalcy and return to school, that would be beneficial for them. As we think about reconstruction, normally two to three weeks after a disaster, we would start to see communities rebuilding. But that can't be the case in these communities in Nepal. What we've seen is that the river has completely changed its course. So it's not even clear where it is safe for these communities to rebuild and to return to. The land is, when you stand there, it's very much like Jell-O. It's uneven underneath your feet. The land hasn't even settled yet to begin to think about rebuilding and reconstruction. So what we've done as UNOPS so far is to mobilize funding to support urgent engineering assessments, infrastructure risk mapping, and bridge criticality analysis. There were over 40 bridges in this area, and only one is remaining. This is leading to communities being completely cut off. And so our colleagues at the World Food Program have had to rely on helicopters to reach some of these remote and cut-off communities. Overall, it's a crisis with tremendous human cost, tremendous cost in terms of infrastructure. Some of these communities were displaced after the earthquake 10 years ago, so they've been displaced to this new area, and now their homes have been destroyed yet again. And speaking with our team, they're very concerned, of course, about rebuilding infrastructure and rebuilding communities, but also the deep psychosocial impact that these families are facing. They've lost everything. They've lost loved ones. Many family members are still missing. Some have lost the economic earners in the family. And I think what we're seeing in Nepal is something that could be repeated across the Himalayas as we look at climate change going forward. So it's a crisis that maybe today is affecting Nepal, but has the likelihood of affecting another community or another country going forward.

Indeed.

Thank you. Happy to take your question.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much for this, for telling what you have seen now. Is there any question to UNOPS on Nepal? in the room or on the platform? I don't see any hands up. So thank you very much for your briefing and for telling us what you've seen. And that gives me the opportunity, because some journalists were asking, to ask all our speakers, please, to send in the notes, because there are lots of numbers and lots of names and it's important that they have it from you. So not only you, Sarah, but I'm also talking about the previous speakers. Thank you again for being with us today. And now let's move back to Africa. We have with us Dr. Tshetsheme Mongbo, who is the UN Women representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Welcome, Doctor. You are here to tell us about the situation of women in the context of the Ebola outbreak. I give you the floor. Thank you. You're muted. I can see you're muted. Yeah, now it should be fine. Please go ahead.

Yeah, I'm muted now. Thank you very much. I have returned from Bunia, which is the epicenter of the Ebola 17th outbreak in the DRC, and what is now the fastest growing outbreak on record, has shown me a bleak picture of what this kind of outbreak does to women and girls. In fact, women and girls are on the front line. Just a moment. They are on the front line caring for the sick, whether young or old, as not only health workers in health centers, but also as caregivers in the communities at home. Women and girls are washing also dead bodies, doing other things for burying dead, while they are the ones collecting and providing water and food to family members. And care is very critical in the transmission chain when it comes to Ebola. And what we see is that the distribution, the redistribution of care responsibilities mirror a lot the chain of the transmission. And that is why women and girls are paying high price, accounting for most cases, and therefore, children under five are also being affected. Latest available official data indicate that more than 54% of confirmed cases in the DRC are among women, while girls account for 61% of the category of people between 10 and 17 years old. Children are 60%. And, you know, the frequency rate in DRC is six. So, when women are affected, it directly affects children as well. Also, there are likely to be deaths occurring in communities that may not appear in official Ebola figures. I'm saying this because In Bunia, I heard accounts of women becoming sick and dying at home. In some cases, they did reach out with alert, but got no response throughout. Community members also told me that four women had died at home in a single day with no official record. And we are not able to verify whether they had subsequently captured those figures. But the reports look very concerning. When people become sick, and die outside the formal health system, there is a risk, a high risk, that the circumstances surrounding their sickness and death will not be adequately handled or captured in the official response. As of how women are disproportionately affected, they told me, the women, that They put the health of their children and family members first before this. They care for children and relatives without protective equipment. One woman told me that actually entering the treatment center, the Ebola treatment center, felt like a one-way journey. being separated from her children, and unsure of whether she was ever going to return home. According to recent data, two-thirds of deaths recorded in a single day, I mean, 24-hour period, occurred in communities rather than in treatment centers. For women, the fear of going to a facility is made worse by concerns about stigma, harassment, separation from children, as I said earlier, in some cases, their own safety. And despite what we can see as accelerated response, women are losing access to maternity, more access to maternity care, losing more Because before, few, just few of them were able to have those cares, reproductive health services and other essential care, putting them at additional risk. For some of these women, getting into the facility is even impossible. Because of decades of conflict and security and road conditions, that means that regular transport cannot get into those communities. The crisis is translating in worsening livelihoods. Women make up in the areas affected about three quarters of-- two quarters, actually, of traders. Restrictions on movement that may be necessary in some cases and closures of borders have stripped women, many of them, of their income. Women traders confirmed that their daily income has reduced by $20 to $30, which may seem little, But these are leaving them unable to feed their families and children, making them even more vulnerable to health infections. And the situation was confirmed by eight out of 10, every 10 women's organizations that UN Women surveyed. And we have to say that-- actually, I'm getting to the end, that women-led organizations are critical in the Ebola response. They have spent several years building trust. Their communities know them, and they can reach women in places where others cannot. In this current situation, that is critical to reach out to women who are afraid of treatment, and distrust the response, they need those kind of trust place to go to. They are also reaching women who may never appear in the official response, and this includes women taking the risk of treating people who are sick. I want to emphasize that it's not healthy people who go to the treatment centers, it's ill people who have already been touched and tried to be treated by women and young girls. UN Women's data found that the vast majority of women-led organizations, 86%, have not received any type of Ebola response funding, and 9 out of 10 were not part of the response decision-making, despite doing incredible work in extremely challenging conditions and being on the front lines of the response and most trusted sources of support and information. UN Women is supporting the Ebola response in DRC, in general, a lot of things by working to ensure that women and girls' specific needs and risks and even capacities are valued. This includes working with women-led organizations and community to improve the Ebola awareness and prevention, increase women's participation in the response, and prevent gender-based violence. We are ready to launch a comprehensive gender strategy of the Ebola response next Tuesday. The Women and their organizations are the key to stopping Ebola outbreak in the DRC. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Dr. Mung, for this update. I see Emma Farge, Reuters, has a question for you. And, madam, the line was not always very good, so if you could ask your colleagues to rapidly send the notes to our journalists, because sometimes it was not very clear. Emma.

Yes, good morning. Two questions. One may be too scientific, but I'm wondering if there's any sign that survival rates are different among women than among men in this outbreak? And secondly, in previous Ebola outbreaks, we had lullaby mothers, essentially survivors who were protected by their own immunity and able to care for infants orphaned by the disease. I'm just wondering if you're seeing this in this outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain. Thank you.

Dr. Mungua.

Okay, thank you. I was muted. I got the second question, I didn't get the first one. The second was about taking care of survivors, if I understand.

I think what she was asking is if you have noticed a difference in surviving, right, surviving rates for women compared to men.

Ah, okay. We are not sure about that. What we know is that women who have survived are unable, in most cases, to return directly to their places. Some of their places have been burned because of the fear of community members to be infected. As for more data, one of the pillars of our response is to generate more sex, gender, disability disaggregated data to inform the effectiveness of the response. But we know that the vulnerability of women are much higher, and the Ebola outbreak is affecting them disproportionately. And the second question-- Go ahead, Emma. Go ahead, Emma.

Sorry, are you seeing women survivors of Bundibugyo taking care of children and orphans because they have immunity? Is that a trend in this outbreak?

What we heard from when I was in Bunia, what I heard and what our team deployed in the field brought back also is that Women did express fear of not getting back to their children. But we are not able now to tell you if there's a systematic separation among them and their children. But 60% of the children under four are being affected by Ebola, and that is a fact that women cannot be in contact with those children as they are being sick of Ebola.

Thank you very much. I don't see other questions for you, madam. So thanks very much for this update, for telling us about the specific situation of women in the Ebola outbreak. Oh, Gorki, no, there is another question, sorry. Gorki Wade, Noye. Gorki, bonjour.

Vous, en tant qu'organisation internationale, il y a quelque part une. Est-ce que, par exemple, pour être beaucoup plus précis, parce que le briefing commence à durer, est-ce que concrètement, il y a une coordination entre les différentes structures des Nations Unies dans des activités pareilles? Parce que nous, nous savons, en tant qu'Africains, effectivement, quand vous voulez que les choses marchent, Il faut mettre les femmes devant, ça c'est clair. En espérant un jour que nous aurons partout des chefs d'État femmes. Mais avant d'y arriver, est-ce que concrètement vous et l'OMS, madame de UN Women, est-ce que vous coordonnez sur place pour mettre fin à cette tragédie? Je vous remercie.

Docteur, vous voulez répondre en français si possible? On vous entend pas, on vous entend pas, madame. Vous êtes mutée. Vous devez vous.

J'étais muette.

Voilà, allez-y.

Oui, je pense. Is it fine now?

It is, we can hear you.

L'équipe humanitaire de. L'équipe de coordination humanitaire. ce à une réunion chaque 2e semaine, y compris sur Ebola, à part les instances de coordination qui sont gérées par le ministère de la santé. Et donc oui, nous coordonnons. Ce qui manque, c'est l'intégration systématique du genre dans. la réponse. Et nous sommes en situation de life saving. En moins de deux semaines, on a perdu 500 personnes. On comprend la cause, mais la cause sans la bonne arme ne va pas donner la réponse. Et c'est pour ça que nous sommes en train de nous focaliser. Et nous avons déjà soumis notre suggestion sur demande, bien sûr, du coordonnateur humanitaire, coordonnateur résident. Nous avons soumis un plan d'intégration du genre dans toute la réponse et nous allons délivrer avec le ministère du genre le lundi prochain un plan pour toute la nation, une stratégie pour toute la nation. Donc la coordination se fait, mais évidemment, les faits sur le terrain inspirent l'amélioration de cette coordination et il urge de mettre à la disposition du système ce plan que nous avons soumis, mais de faire le suivi de la mise en œuvre afin que les So, I said, 'Sib, oh, community, because that's what they said, it's not possible, so send a community and respond on, oh, the one, oh, capacity, the family, the only. requis de façon flexible à leurs organisations pour agir, nous n'allons pas atteindre les résultats. Et nous avons vu l'exemple en Sierra Leone et au Liberia que lorsque la coordination basée sur le genre et la communication et le soutien sont coordonnés et bien menés, on peut atteindre plus rapidement le zéro cas. Merci.

Merci à vous, madame. Et pardon, je ne vous ai pas présenté Gurkhi, qui est notre correspondant du Soleil de Dakar et continent premier. any other questions. So thank you very much again for briefing our journalists here in Geneva. Good luck with your important work. And let us stay in Africa with another briefing from IOM on Sudan.

Merci.

Merci a vous. Zoe, so unfortunately, your chief of mission cannot be here, but you have an update on Sudan. Thank you.

Yes, thank you very much, Alessandra. So, Chief of Mission for Sudan cannot connect, unfortunately.

Actually, I can see him. Sorry.

OK, let's see.

I can see Mohamed.

Oh, wonderful.

Mohamed, sorry for... You've been very patient in waiting, but thank you so much. I think you are connecting from Port Sudan, right?

Yes, and...

Yeah, and so maybe we'll give you the floor. Thank you. No, go ahead. Go ahead.

Okay, I'm to read out the statement and then Mohamed is there for questions. So we are sounding a warning today. In less than two weeks, Sudan's emergency relief supply via the IOM common humanitarian pipeline will run out. This shared logistics mechanism helps humanitarian organizations deliver critical shelter, non-food items, and hygiene kits to people in need quickly and efficiently across Sudan. Since July 2023, it has reached 2.84 million people. The pipeline operates with a network of more than 100 registered partners. As fighting continues, alongside floods and heavy rains, this is an immediate concern for millions of displaced people. It is of concern to those rebuilding their homes, returning, and those in urgent need of emergency shelter materials and other essential relief items. Today, 8.6 million people remain internally displaced, alongside 4.9 million returnees. Nearly 70 percent of internally displaced people are living with host families or in informal settlements. For these families, inadequate shelter carries risks far beyond exposure to the weather. It can increase the risk of disease, gender-based violence and family separation, and eviction, particularly in overcrowded sites. There are now two deadlines we need to be clear about. The first is immediate. Shelter aid through the pipeline will run out in two weeks. The second concerns the pipeline itself. Its warehousing and operational capacity can currently be sustained only until December. If that operational capacity is lost, it cannot simply be switched back on when funding becomes available. Reestablishing it will be costly and time-consuming. This is why funding now matters. IOM requires $15 million to maintain the common humanitarian pipeline at its minimum 2026 capacity for 12 months, supporting 305,000 people. $27 million would restore assistance to approximately 2025 levels and reach 570,000 people. And $42 million would allow the pipeline to scale up and provide immediate life-saving support to as many as 1 million people. The choice is therefore not simply whether the pipeline continues, It is also about the scale at which it can operate and how many people humanitarian partners will be able to reach. As conflict and displacement continue, the humanitarian community cannot afford to lose this capacity. We urgently call on donor support to ensure this lifesaving assistance continues to reach the people of Sudan. Thank you. So over to questions.

Thank you very much, Zoe, and thanks, Mohamed, for being with us. Is there any question? Olivia, Reuters.

Thanks, Zoe, for that. I noticed as well the warning a few days ago, and I was just curious since then, have you seen any sign of donors coming forward? Because I'm aware that $15 million ultimately is not that much, but yet the impact if it doesn't come through is major. And just a second question as well, and I don't know if you can answer it or if not, anyone else listening on the call. It's just about IOM's level of concern about drinking water. As I understand, in Sudan, there's been quite a shortfall of rainwater and potential impacts on agriculture, food security, and drinking water for people. And if anything's been done to address that, and maybe that's linked also to the pipeline concern. Thank you.

Yes, absolutely. Thank you very much, Olivia. So I'll hand over to Mohamed Rafat, our Chief of Mission in Sudan, who I hope can answer both of those questions for you. Over to you.

Thanks a lot. And indeed, it's a very critical situation. So far, we have not secured any confirmed funding, but we have, after our statement and with the engagement we have regularly with the donors, we have Engagement with partners like the Turkish government, like ECHO for the EU, nothing solid materialized yet, but so the situation remain very dire, I would say. And it's good to clarify the situation, we are also looking either in kind donation like tents and non-food item baskets or looking for cash assistance and direct donation, which IOM can materialize into procurement process and supply by In terms of water, it's definitely critical. It's different from one state to another, from one area to another in Sudan. We can definitely see that places like Khartoum is massively impacted because of also the destruction in the water purification points, the Red Sea, adding to this Nino effect. And as we discussed with our colleagues in WFP and FAO, definitely we are looking into a very like stressful agricultural season in Sudan, which will also exacerbate both the cholera situation plus the, because of the water shortage and the hygiene-related issues to it, and the agricultural situation because of the cultivation this year, which will impact definitely the food security situation in Sudan as well. Thank you.

Absolutely. Any other question on the situation in Sudan? don't see any hand up. So thank you very much, sir, for this complement of information, and thanks to Zoe and Omondi for bringing so many colleagues to the briefing. And now I'd like to thank you so much for your patience. You've been really patient from the beginning of this briefing. I'd like to ask our last speaker to come to the podium. Tariq has brought us a colleague, Dr. Kassoum Diallo, who is the acting unit head of health workforce policies and data at the WHO Academy. And you have new data on global health workforces, sir. And again, thank you very much for being with us until the end. This is an interesting issue and one that will touch upon all our lives in the future. Please.

Thank you very much, and dear colleagues, it's a real pleasure to be here today to share with you the latest findings of the health workforce data, in particular through the National Health Workforce Account, which is the system through which we collect data. But beyond the data collection, this system is a way to bring different stakeholders together to work together on health workforce-related issues. Health workforce goes beyond the health sector. You need finance, you need education, you need labor, you need gender, you need many other sectors, and bringing those sectors together is the best way of making sure that we plan in a comprehensive way and collect the right data. So we have established this system, and it's the most comprehensive data set that we have now on health workforce globally, and then the different sectors, the different ministries, and the different countries have appointed a focal point that are coordinating data collection at national level and reporting to us. So this report that we have today is the report that brings together all this work and try to give a global picture of the situation of the health workforce in the world. And this global picture is really bringing two main aspects. The first is that it's really encouraging, but at the same time, it's concerning. It's really encouraging because we have seen global numbers increase and global densities increase, which means that people have more health workers. But unfortunately, it is not evenly distributed, so we have real concerns. Not evenly distributed because if you take, for instance, the density in high-income countries is more than 10 times bigger than the density in low-income countries. So this is a real concern. So in spite of the increase, then this lack of evenly distributed workers creates some challenges in health system of both high income and middle income and low income countries. That's the first point that is coming very clearly from the report. The second is really another emerging pattern that is a real concern is the aging of both the workforce and the population. And when we talk about aging of the workforce, we're talking about those that the share of those workers will be retiring in the next 10 years, 55 years and above, so age. And this might be your family doctor. It may be your nurse working in your facility. These people, and then you have to start thinking about, if my family doctor retire in the next five years, what's the plan for replacement? What's the transition plan? And in many countries, the system is not strong enough to replace them easily. And that's what we are. And the report highlights, the report has two components, and it will be an annual report, the global levels and trends, but the second component is the thematic focus, and this year, the focus has been on the aging of the workforce. This has been an alert in 2022 already, but only for high-income countries in Europe. But this is now becoming a global pattern that we are observing, with many middle-income countries and some low-income countries having the health workers, maybe one-third or one-fourth of their health workers will be retiring in the next 10 years. So this is a real concern, and we have to see what would be the best approach to address these things. from a multi-sectoral perspective. And addressing this concern means that we have also to anticipate what would be the impact of the aging of the population and the health workforce. When we talk about aging of the population, the impact is that more and more people will require support, will require care services, will require health and care services. And this is something that we have been observing, we are already observing in many high-income countries. But what is the impact? The impact is that there is a need for more health workers, and given the aging of the health workers themselves, then the problem becomes even double. So, and one of the strategies that some countries are using, for instance, just there are many strategies, People are adopting different methods and approaches to address the issue, but one of them clearly is the migration of the health workers from low-income countries to high-income countries because of the attractiveness of their health system and their labor market. And this has some challenges. WHO and partners are working to make sure that this migration is managed in an ethical way and through bilateral agreement and co-investment between high and low-income countries. I'm aware of the time, so I'll be stopping here. I'm sure that you have some of those documents already shared with you, but I'm happy to take questions if any. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Doctor. This is really a worrying situation. I think it deserves a lot of attention, and I'd like to open now the floor to questions. if any, in the room or at home. I think this was a long briefing, but it is a very important issue. And I was looking at Tarek. He has already the statement of Dr. Diallo ready to send. So I really hope that the report will get attention. And thank you very much again, sir, for your patience and for being with us until the end of this very long briefing. Thank you very much, Tarek, for bringing the doctor to us. And please, yes, send the notes. Thanks again, sir. I am just left with a couple of announcements on the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, which will conclude today the review of the reports submitted by Belize. at 3 p.m. And also today, the Committee on the Rights of the Child will review the report submitted by Tajikistan. I think they've already started this morning. Two more press conferences to remind you, one on the 22nd of September at 2 p.m., Human Rights Council Investigative Bodies. We will have an update on the human rights situation in Nicaragua by the UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, and that follows the release of the latest report, the three members of the group will be briefing you. And then on 24th of September, I think this press conference has been moved. Now we have a new date for it. It's the 24th of September at 2:00 PM. The UN Trade and Development will present you the report 2026 on the developments of the economy in the occupied Palestinian territory. And there is an embargo on this, which is the 24th of September at 3 p.m., so one hour after the beginning of the press conference, which will be led by Pedro Manuel Moreno, the UN Trade and Development Acting Secretary General. He will be in remote. But Mutasim El-Agra, the UN Trade and Development Coordinator for the assistance to the Palestinian people, will be in person here in the press room. That's all I had for you, except to remind you that I've already said, but that the big week in New York is starting Sunday, 18th of September, with a conference that comes every year, which is the SDG moment. It will be taking place from 10 o'clock, I think yeah, 10 o'clock to 1 o'clock New York time, and with four main segments, and it will be webcast, so you will be able to start looking at what happens in New York already on Sunday. And as you know, Tuesday morning, New York time, the debate the general debate will start. But we will tell you more on Tuesday. So thank you very much to you all for following this very long, very interesting briefing. Thanks to all the briefers and whoever has been listening, and I wish you a very good weekend. Thank you.