UN Geneva Press Briefing: WHO, UNICEF, IOM, UNECE, ITU, WMO,

Very good morning. Thank you for joining us here at the United Nations Office at Geneva today, Tuesday, the 6th of October. We have, as usual, an important agenda for you. We have a number of announcements from WMO, from UNECE, from ITU, WHO, and we have a number of important topics as well with the briefers joining us remotely. on the situation in Darfur, and we'll start with Darfur, on the health needs, and then Ebola in the Congo, in the DRC, and then humanitarian needs in Djibouti vis-a-vis the situation in Yemen. Before we get to that, let me just recite from a statement which you will have received last night. concerning the three years since the attacks of 7 October 2023. So tomorrow marks this grim anniversary. The Secretary General shared a message last night, which we shared with you, through which he notes that three years ago, on 7 October 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched an abhorrent, large-scale terror attack on Israel. brutally killing more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals," the message reads. "A total of 251 people were abducted and taken into Gaza Strip as hostages, including women, children, and the elderly. And nothing can justify these atrocities," the Secretary General notes. The Secretary General also notes that three years on, the pain of 7 October endures for the family who lost loved ones, for survivors, for all those whose lives were forever changed. "I mourn those who were killed in the attacks and those who died in captivity. Their suffering and the enduring grief of their families must never be forgotten," the Secretary General mentions. It just goes on to say that the devastating hostilities that followed have inflicted untold sufferings on Palestinians in Gaza, including massive loss of life, displacement, and destruction. Civilians continue to endure intolerable conditions. Their suffering, too, demands an end now. Secretary General urges all parties to implement their commitments in full in advance to the next phase of the ceasefire on the basis of the comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict. There's much more in the statement, which again, we shared with you, so please do consult that. It was sent late last night. Before we go on to our briefers, I also just want to mention very briefly that the Secretary General landed in Islamabad and he just spoke to the media. I'll share with you as soon as we have it his remarks to the media. through which, among other things, he says that Pakistan he praised Pakistan as a source of solidarity and solutions and highlighted its important role in multilateralism, diplomacy, and regional peace. And his remarks conclude to say that the United Nations stands with the people of Pakistan and thanking Pakistan for standing up for the world. There's a lot more rich information in that statement, which we will share with you momentarily. have other announcements, we'll wait for the end of this briefing to share those with you. But without further ado, I'd like to turn now to Christian. Maybe if, Christian, you're online, if you can introduce your speaker who's joining us from Khartoum. Over to you, Christian.

Yes, and thank you very much, Rolando and colleagues, for letting us start with this. We'll have our head of the WHO country office in Sudan, the WHO representative, Dr. Abdi Nasir Abubakar, and he will be talking about Darfur, where the scale of health needs far exceeds available resources, as he has just come from a trip from there. Dr. Abdi, please go ahead.

Well, thank you very much, Christian, and thank you very much, colleagues. Good morning to all of you. I think I have, as colleague Christian have said, that I have just returned from Darfur after spending 10 days actually in Darfur. And I visited in West Darfur, South Darfur, Central Darfur, and also Northern Darfur. And before Darfur also, I visited Northern State, Khartoum, and Port Sudan. And during my visit in all these states, actually, I had opportunity to visit hospitals, primary health care facilities, warehouses, laboratories, and other facilities that are serving for the people who are most in need. Everywhere that I went and every place I visited, I witnessed an extreme humanitarian and health needs. But I also witnessed a resilience, hope, commitment beyond what words can describe in those areas, especially in Darfur. Nowhere was this clearer than in Tawila, which is the largest one settlement of IDP camps. in Sudan, maybe in the region, or maybe in Africa, where the scale of humanitarian and health needs actually far exceeds the resources and response capacity available in the ground. Tawila now is home to more than 700,000 displaced people. Across Darfur, the UNHCR estimates that 5.6 million people actually are displaced, representing 65% of all internally displaced people in Sudan. I spoke, I had an opportunity to speak to the mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, and they all described, you know, despite the hardship that they welcome me first with a smile, they spoke of their hopes, better access to healthcare, more food, education, and stable future free from fear and also war. I spoke to the healthcare workers in different facilities, including only psychiatrists working in Northern Darfur, especially in Tawila. He did not ask for more money. He did not ask about promotion. He did not ask for a better working environment or even a recognition about the great work that he's doing. He only asked for adequate supply of medicine, especially for mental health patients, and training for colleagues who could not provide psychosocial support, counseling, and help share his workload. I met also health partners too during my because there is a vibrant, healthy cluster of partners in Tawila, but also in other states. More than 23 partners actually are providing health care services in Tawila camp and outside the camp as well. Yet they are struggling to meet the mounting needs. Medical supplies, training personnel are in short supply. Referral system within and outside the camp are limited. The sheer size of the population in need are overwhelmed, and the response capacity on the ground is very limited. With the new arrivals reaching to Tawila every day, the demand for health, nutrition, protection, and other humanitarian services continue to grow, requiring that immediate scale of support and resources. Tawila is most extreme example, but it's not isolated. Across Darfur, Kordofan regions, as well as other parts of Sudan, health facilities are poorly stocked for critical life-saving medicine. Healthcare workers are few. Those who remain work under extreme difficult conditions, including fear of their own safety. Malnutrition is an increasing concern and is expected to worsen due to the poor rainfall crop failure, and also the anticipated impact of the strong El Nino event in the region. Further increases the food insecurity, the health risk among the vulnerable populations across Sudan and maybe about the region. Access to mental health and psychosocial support and services remains extremely very limited in Darfur, but also outside Darfur, in Kordofan, and also in Darfur areas, compounded by severe shortage of mental health medicine. Treatment for HIV, TB, and neglected tropical diseases and other life-saving health commodities need to meet the growing health needs are also extremely short in supplies across. WHO in Sudan is already supporting disease surveillance and outbreak response. And as you know, that there are multiple disease outbreaks concurrently happening in Sudan, including measles. We have a cholera, we have a dengue, we have a diphtheria, among others as well. We are also supporting health cluster coordination, primary health care and secondary health care, especially at the referral hospitals, nutrition interventions, especially for the stabilization centers, vaccination, and also the supply pipeline to fill the major gaps. We have strong and committed technical officers and teams actually working across Sudan and all different localities to better coordinate the response, but also provide the needed support that most vulnerable people need. But what I saw made me one thing very clear. Needs are growing faster than the resource available to meet them. And I think what I have seen that the growing demand of, you know, urgent humanitarian and life-saving intervention is actually, is a massive. And available resource in the ground, whether it's the WHO as well as other partners, is very little. We need to do more. And I think we as the WHO are willing to do more, but we need more resources and also safe, and any big access to those vulnerable people and different areas. WHO have appealed at the beginning of the year, 97.7 million US dollar for its health emergency response in Sudan. And so far, what we have received is only $22 million, which is about 22%, leaving a gap of approximately 75 million. And I think it's not only about the numbers, I think. It's about whether the mothers can access care, whether children fall ill, whether disease outbreaks can be prevented or responded in a timely manner, whether the patients receive the medicine they need on time, whether the healthcare workers have supplies and support to keep serving the community they are in need. The people in Darfur, as well as other parts of Sudan, are showing resilience. Health workers are showing extra-ordinary commitment. Health departments are doing what they can. But commitment alone cannot meet the needs. It needs to be backed by resources. The time to act for Sudan is now, and the time for peace is long overdue. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Dr. Abubakar. Christian just said that the notes are on the way, FYI, colleagues. So let's see if there are questions. Yes, Robin, AFP.

Good morning, Robin Millard from AFP. Last month it was reported that Sudan, sorry, that Darfur was experiencing its driest rainy season since the 1980s. I just wondered if that has come to pass and have you been able to detect a direct link between that and an impact on public health? Thank you.

Back to you, Doctor.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Yes, indeed. I think I have visited, I have traveled actually miles and miles, and I have seen in my own eyes where there is not even rainfall. Crops are failing, actually. And we feel the sense of food insecurity. And also we feel the sense of potential high, you know, public health risk. We already experienced cholera in Darfur, but also South Kordofan. Also, the cases are declining. We have measles, we have Indeed, if the situation gets worse, we will see more disease outbreaks and other more public health risk into that. And we are going to that direction, actually. The situation is getting worse by the day. Since there is not enough rain, there is not enough food security. And that's why you see more and more people are coming to Tawila camp, actually, every day in the sense of getting food, health services, and protection.

Thank you very much, doctor. Yes, Reuters, go ahead. Okay. Is this okay, it's a different subject. Okay, let's first take questions. Olivia is online, your colleague, Reuters as well, online. Go ahead.

Hi there, yes, morning. Thank you very much for the briefing. I just wanted to ask, and just to pick up on my colleague Robin's question there about the climate impact and how that map onto public health, you were mentioning about the anticipated impact of the strong El Nino. I mean, are you already seeing that as a direct impact? You said there it's anticipated, but do you already start to see that in terms of the poor rainfall, et cetera? And just sorry if you could just kind of spell out in simple terms what is the link as to why would that drive, for example, you were mentioning there about cholera, about disease, et cetera, but it'd be really interesting just to get an explanation about what is the kind of health link. And just my final question on funding, is this kind of slow, I guess, trickle of funding impacting your ability, for example, to preposition stocks of medicines, et cetera, needed, especially if you're having to help people with malnutrition, people who are suffering the knock-on impact of dryness and potentially El Nino.

Yes, thank you very much, Olivia. Indeed, I think, yes, I have seen when I was traveling by road, but also talking to the officials and also talking to the health partners, I feel the sense that the initial sign of El Nino actually is visible because there's not enough rain across actually. And you can see actually when you drive miles and miles that the crops actually are failing because there is not enough rain. And that's already leading actually to food insecurity, which already this area was food insecure. And that's why we've seen increased malnutrition, every hospital and facility that I visit actually. And I talk to the people and healthcare workers, we see that an increased number of malnutrition among children actually, also a pregnant women. And that is a clear sign that, you know, what's gonna come. If we are, the situation right now, it's already alarming. If the climate change and El Nino continue to affect the individual and also the countries, the situation would get worse, we'll see more food insecurity, more malnutrition and increase also a public health risk. Now, the question of the link, actually, how this is linked to the health link. If there is a food insecurity and there is a malnutrition, people will become more susceptible for disease, emerging disease outbreaks. As you know that in that area, we have a high epidemic prone diseases. And they are just waiting the opportunity actually to strike. And people become, the children, they become malnourished. And also the vaccination, there's another point where not that many children, there are a huge number of zero doses among children. So all those children actually, if they have a mal, if they experience malnutrition, they will be susceptible to vaccine preventable diseases and measles. We already have thousands of measles cases actually that we conducted, diphtheria, and that we will see that more and more cases if the situation got worse. So there is a clear link, actually, the impact of El Nino, the impact of food insecurity, malnutrition, but also we have a great impact of, you know, public health link. And as you rightly said, yes, exactly, one of the reason why we are appealing more resource, actually, is to preposition more supplies. We need more nutritional supplies. We need more medical supplies to preposition. And also cholera kits in the wake of high risk of a cholera that we may not have. But also we really need to conduct more vaccination campaigns, actually. As you know, the AFP cases that we documented in Sudan, most of them were from Darfur. So in order for us to prevent even more cases, we really need to conduct more vaccination campaigns in addition to So definitely, we, you know, some of the resources that we are looking actually is to proposition adequate supplies, but also to scale up the services that's available to the people. Thank you.

Thank you very much, doctor. Are there further questions on the situation in Darfur? So I think Jamie has a question, but it's on another subject, as do you, Emma. Thank you, Doctor, very much. It's always good to see you and to connect with you, and please do so as often as you can. Thank you so very much.

Thank you very much, Balise.

Thank you.

Have a nice day.

And you. Thank you. Okay. Before we go to our colleagues in Bunia in the DRC, and Ricardo, thank you for your indulgence, we have a couple of questions for you, Christian. on, well, let's take them, let's see, we have Emma and then Jamie's online, so starting with you, Emma, go ahead.

Hi, Christian, a question, please, on Ebola in Kenya. How prepared is Kenya and how concerned are you about the local spread? Obviously, this is after the first reported case and death. And I had a question about plague as well, but I can do it after Ebola, if you prefer.

Yeah, indeed, let's take it one by one. On the Ebola case, likely imported from DRC to Kenya, we do not yet have more information. Colleagues are working on it with the Kenyan authorities, with colleagues on the ground to get more details on that one. This will certainly develop throughout the day, and we should have.

Thanks, Christian. And that would be a good segue for our next briefers, but I think you have another subject, and I know you do as well, Jamie. Let's take those first. Go ahead.

If I may, just quickly, on plague in Siberia, I'm wondering if you can confirm that the plague lab worker who died in Siberia actually died of the plague, and just comment on how rare and how worrying that is. Thank you.

Thank you, Emma. And I know a couple of colleagues have similar questions. Let me do this. Let me read out the statement we have so far and then go into some of the what we knows, what we have. And then let's see if we have further questions. WHO is aware of reports that a laboratory worker in Irkutsk Oblast in the Russian Federation died of severe pneumonia on 2nd of October, 2026. To date, no cause of death has been officially confirmed and laboratory testing is reportedly underway. All of the patient's contacts have been reportedly been identified and are being monitored for illness and none to date have shown symptoms of illness. In accordance with Articles 9 and 10 of the International Health Regulations, IHR, WHO is in contact with the Russian health authorities to verify the event, its circumstances, the laboratory tests underway and their results, the rationale for contact tracing and the health status of the contacts, as well as any potential international public health implication. WHO has offered support if needed. Based on unofficial information available, the public health risk to the general population appears to be low. The risk assessment will be updated once more information is available. And we are actually expecting an EIS, an event information, already today, and the disease outbreak news will follow soon. So that's the statement. Now, a few more details on what we know, again. A woman who worked at a laboratory in Irkutsk Oblast has died, and the authorities are looking into whether pneumonic plague caused her death. Her workplace was an institute that studies dangerous pathogens, including plague, in a part of Siberia where plague occurs naturally in wild animals. The Russian authorities have identified the people she was in contact with. as we also had in the statement, and are monitoring them. None of them has shown symptoms so far, according to the reports, and early test results to date are reportedly negative, but unclear for which pathogens. WHO hasn't yet received a formal notification about this through the IHR channels. Under the IHR, each country assesses whether an event falls under the notifiable categories, and Russia may still be making that assessment. On 3 October, WHO asked the Russian authorities for more information. The IHR asked countries to respond within 24 hours, and we look forward to hearing from them. Now, just to complete this, let me go into the timeline we have so far. On 2nd of October, the internal monitoring system picked up the media reports of a suspected death from pneumonic plague in the Irkutsk Oblast in the Russian Federation and started monitoring the situation. On 3 October, WHO contacted the Russian health authorities to get more information under the IHR. We've stayed in contact with them since then. Between 3 and 5 October, WHO brought in technical experts at the regional office in Copenhagen and at WHO headquarters in Geneva, including specialists in high-threat pathogens. The WHO initial risk assessment from the information available estimates that the risk to be moderate to low for Yakutsk, a low risk for the Russian Federation as a whole, and very low for the WHO European Region. We will update the assessment as more information comes in. WHO is now following up the situation closely, working with the headquarters to keep other countries informed. That's our primary task, and ready to support the Russian authorities if they ask.

Thank you, Christian. Lots of important information packed in there, and I trust that you will be sharing that with our colleagues if you haven't already. Emma, are you okay digesting that? Let's turn to Jamie, as I think you may have a question on this subject as well, if you still have one after that, in fact. So go ahead, Jamie.

Yes, I did. Thank you, Rolando. Thank you, Christian. Yes, very, very important -- informative. Just a couple of quick follow-ups. Just gleaning from what you said, WHO has not been requested by the Russian authorities to participate in any way, take up your offer for support. So you don't have any people on site in Russia or have been invited to come to Russia. Is that correct?

According to the information that I have at this point, that's correct.

Okay. Have any other countries using the IHR been reaching out to you or to Russia about any concerns?

Various national focal points globally have been using this mechanism, the IHR. to ask WHO for more information, which is the common and the general way of doing this. Hence, the colleagues are working on this, what I said before, the EIS, the Event Information Site, to update that, which is a password-protected site for partners and national authorities in order to update them with the latest events, and which is then typically followed by a public DTON on the disease outbreak news.

Okay, and I have just one little last question. Can you confirm that several hospitals in Irkutsk have been put on quarantine in connection with this, on top of the one where the woman was treated in the city of outside of Irkutsk? Can you confirm about the other hospitals?

I don't have that information, Jeremy.

Okay, thank you. Thank you, Christian.

Thanks very much, Christian. Yeah, Jeremy.

Just to make sure I got that right, WHO assess the risk for the people there, not in Russia, but in the place, as moderate to low, is that what you said?

Correct, that's what I said. So should I repeat the whole part? So let me just repeat that whole phrase in case it was not clear. WHO's initial risk assessment from the information available estimates the risk to be moderate to low for Irkutsk, low for the Russian Federation as a whole, and very low for the European region.

I think that's clear, colleagues. Good? All right, thank you. John, John Zarikos is on the same subject. Go ahead.

Yes, good morning, Christian. Just a follow up to the questions by my colleagues. This facility, is that part of the list of the biosecurity facilities notified to the WHO? And what level of security does it have? Is it BSL 3 or 4? And has it been involved in biodefense research in the past? Thank you.

Thanks, John. So I believe it is part of that network, as you mentioned, but I do not have further information on the details of the lab or the category.

Okay, gotcha. Thank you so much, Christian. This is a moving story, colleagues, and of course, you can rely on Christian to update you throughout the day. So thanks very much for taking those questions. Okay, let's then move back to our program, which is moving to the African continent to DRC in particular, more specific to Bunia, where we have colleagues from UNICEF joining us with, um, very grateful for them, but I'll throw it to you, Ricardo, to introduce our colleagues joining us. Thank you.

Thanks, Rolando. Good morning. Bonjour. going to pass on now to my colleague, Halimatou Amadou. She's the UNICEF acting chief of communication in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And she'll be talking about how Ebola is taking away the people children depend so much on, and therefore unraveling their lives. Over to you, Halie. Thanks for waiting.

Thank you for welcoming me. More than 1,900 children have lost one or both parents or caregivers or been separated from them in Democratic Republic of Congo since the outbreak was declared in May this year. In Ituri, 1,581 children, in North Kivu, 322. And these are the children we know about because these figures cover only the area where UNICEF works with social affairs teams in the affected provinces. Lina is one of them. She's only seven months old. Her mother died and her father is missing. I met her last week at a UNICEF supported nursery in Bunia. next to an Ebola treatment center. Her grandfather lives nearby. He has already come to see her twice, and the team hopes that they will be soon together. Faiza, the nursery supervisor, told me, every time a child walks through the door, we hold on to the same hope. that the parent will recover and the family will be reunited. Feza also told me about Rafael, an eight-month-old who survived Ebola but lost eight members of his family. He stayed at the nursery for more than three weeks until his older brother could take him home. Ebola takes the people children depend on and unravels their lives. A parent's fall ill, a child may be exposed, the parent is taken for treatment or dies. At the very moment a child most needs someone, fear and stigma can keep relatives and neighbors away. And children are not only losing their parents. they're also losing their own lives. As of 29 September, at least 2,017 children had been confirmed with Ebola. At least 1,162 had died. Children make up just 1%.

I'm sorry, Halimatou, your connection is a little bit, maybe just repeat. I'm sorry, we're having difficulty connecting with you.

It was six in 10.

Hello.

Yeah, no problem.

Sorry, could you repeat maybe the last two sentences? Yes, we lost the last couple of sentences. You broke up, unfortunately. If you could maybe try just repeat the last two sentences only.

No problem. As of 29 September, at least 2,017 children had been confirmed with Ebola. At least 1,062 have died. Children make up just over one in four confirmed cases, but around one in three deaths. For the youngest, it's even worse. Seven in 10 children under five with confirmed Ebola have died. Just weeks ago, it was six in 10. Many die before the virus is ever detected. before they ever reach treatment. The outbreak persists in Ituri and in North Kivu. These provinces are already home for more than 4 million displaced people. But in Bunia, I also saw what works. I was there with the director of emergency, Lucia Elmi, last week. Next to the Ebola treatment center, we support 12 nurseries in the whole country. They care for babies and young children who have been exposed to the virus or on their own or whose parents are in treatment. Children are fed, they are held, they are cared for, they are also watched closely so that if symptoms appear, they get pediatric care fast. Nema was one of the caregiver in a medical treatment. She caught Ebola while working as a pediatric intern, and she survived. She lost doctors, nurses, including her supervisor, to the virus. Now she cares for the children The virus has left on their own. On their tent at the nursery, children were playing and laughing. Nema told me that when families are reunited, there are real moments of joy. This is what a nursery does. It keeps a child safe. But it also gives them something to hold them, a routine, a chance to be a child again. That's why UNICEF is calling for nursery at every Ebola treatment center. We need to maintain essential services so that children are detected early, referred quickly to the Ebola care, and protected from dying of other common childhood diseases. We are calling for quality pediatric care in sub-treatment centers, for more social workers in hotspots area. We also need to support to trace families to help relatives who take children in to get children back to school. UNICEF needs 113,000 for its Ebola response in DRC, so far we have received just over a third. On the way back from the nursery, I saw a scene changing. I saw where vendors had lined up coffins along roadside. A little farther ahead, a family walked slowly to a burial. That afternoon, I saw life and death side by side. Later at school, a child said something I will not forget. Ebola is angry. Those 3 words carried all the fear and confusion this outbreak has placed on children. With the right support, no child should have to face this alone. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Halimatu. Very sobering information you just shared with us. Let's see if there are questions. Yes, there are. NFI, en français, je pense.

Oui, en français, je pense. Bonjour. Juste vous demander peut-être des précisions sur le traitement en tant que tel pour les enfants qui sont atteints d'Ebola. Est-ce que vous pouvez expliquer un peu plus en quoi Le traitement de ces enfants est, j'imagine, très particulier, beaucoup plus compliqué que pour un adulte. Voilà en quoi consiste clairement le les soins pour un enfant atteint d'Ebola, surtout les enfants de moins de 5 ans. Vous l'avez dit, la le taux de mortalité est quasiment de 70%. Vous l'avez dit pour les moins de 5 ans, si j'ai bien compris. And also, you asked if, in addition to that, there is the difficulty of diagnosis. I imagine that with the reticence we know in the case of the Ebola crisis, there is even more reticence to test and diagnose children in early age. Thank you for this question.

I can only give you some elements regarding the work we do in the creches. It's important to know that when a child arrives at the Ebola treatment center with their parents, very often the parent is sick and hospitalized. From what I was told, a test is done to check if the child is positive or negative. If he is positive, of course, he will stay in the Ebola treatment center. And our UNICEF teams do not work on the medical side of the Ebola treatment center. So, that's what we do, we take care of the children who are tested negative and who are taken from their parents, in very difficult circumstances, as you can imagine. And so, our nurseries are really attached to these Ebola treatment centers, and we take care of these children during the period of convalescence, which can last 21 days. In the best case, the child can find their parents when they are cured. Et malheureusement, dans certains cas, les parents décèdent. Et c'est là que tout un travail commence avec la division provinciale des affaires sociales. Donc on travaille en collaboration avec le gouvernement pour identifier d'autres membres de la famille. Donc c'est le cas de l'histoire que j'ai décrit ici. Lina, on a changé son nom pour des questions de protection bien sûr, qui est un bébé qui est âgé de 7 mois, qui a perdu ses parents. And on that, we'll try to be some grandpa, and he's already been there, and I hope that in the next few days, we can, so he can join his father at home. Your second question, I think, concerned the questions of reticence and of mistrust. There's really a lot of work that's being done with our, our... And, as long as community, and, as long as we can break the chain of transmission of this virus, it's not a work that we can do alone. We work with all parts of society, and last week, during my visit with Lucia, we were able to meet community leaders who made us aware of all the concerns of the community that they were able to collect during.

Further questions? No, I don't see that's the case. So thank you very, very much for joining us, Halimatou, in keeping the spotlight bright on this situation, which persists, as you rightly said. So and do join us at any point in time. So thank you so very much for the important work you're doing. on the situation in particular. Okay, colleagues, we're going to move we're going to well, we're going to move north now. We're going to speak to the situation in Djibouti vis-a-vis the situation in Yemen. So Oumondi from IOM is with us. He's going to introduce a colleague joining us from Djibouti. So over to you, Oumondi.

Thanks so much, Rolando. Just to introduce to you Alexander, who is the chief of mission for Djibouti. He will be speaking to us on the situation in Djibouti and also trying to shed a light on the dire humanitarian situation in Djibouti amidst the arrival in Yemen and movements along the eastern route. Over to you, Alex.

Thank you very much. Thank you. Djibouti is facing overlapping emergencies. We see people saying the conflict in Yemen that are arriving in Djibouti's shore. In just the past three weeks, more than 3,700 refugees have reached the country after a dangerous crossing of the Red Sea. But this is only one part of what is currently happening in the country. At the same time, migrants traveling along the eastern route, mainly from Ethiopia, are increasingly becoming stranded in the country. Despite the conflict in Yemen, migrants are still making the journey. Since 10 September, more than 20,000 incoming movements to Djibouti from Ethiopia have been observed by IOM displacement tracking metrics. At the same time, migrants are revolt from Yemen are being observed as they return to their home country through Djibouti. Since the 10th of September, IOM has recorded 539 returning Ethiopian migrants arriving in Djibouti from Yemen. The returns happen under extremely hazardous journeys, often under dangerous conditions that leave migrants vulnerable to exploitation and violence. in Djibouti sits along the eastern route, the migration corridor connecting the Horn of Africa with Yemen and the Gulf, and one of the busiest and most dangerous migration routes in the world. Djibouti is therefore confronting movements in both directions. We see people fleeing Yemen that are arriving as refugees, migrants that continue to travel throughout Yemen, and other migrants that are returning. An increasing number of migrants are currently getting stranded along the way. We as IOM are particularly concerned about migrants stranded on Djibouti's road and in its deserts, often without access to basic services. Between the 20th and the 30th of September, more than 3,000 stranded migrants were observed along migratory routes in the country. They face the rotation, exhaustion, and shortage of food and water. They are exposed to very serious risks. And as the routes become longer and more difficult, reaching migrants in need is becoming extremely complex. IOM is already providing stranded migrants with immediate assistance, including food and water, and transferring those who request assisted voluntary returns to our migration transit centers. But migrants are increasingly using secondary routes, making some of those who need assistance harder to reach. The humanitarian assistance, therefore, must address both realities. The needs for migrants stranded in Djibouti include water, food, health care, protection, and dignity kits for women and girls. On the other hand, vulnerable migrants who choose to return home need access to safe, voluntary return assistance. Djibouti authorities have responded rapidly, but the scale and the complexity of these needs are stretching existing resources and services. More support is needed for people arriving from Yemen, for migrants in distress, and for the communities in Hobok that are receiving them. This is why international solidarity is urgently needed. The country is now responding to people moving in different directions for different reasons, but often facing the same immediate reality. They need safety, they need protection, and they need basic assistance. Our priority as IOM and our commitment is to make sure that those who are stranded or arriving in need can receive that support wherever along these routes we are able to reach them. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Alexandre. Let's turn to you, colleagues, should you have any questions. Yes, Reuters, go ahead.

I just would like a little bit more context, please, on why more are coming from Ethiopia right now. I assume it's to do with the unsettled situation in Tigray, but if you could just elaborate. And have any actually died that of, stranded in the desert? And then secondly, more broadly on Yemen, I was just wondering if there are updated figures for displacement there. Have we reached that 200,000 threshold? Thank you.

Thank you. Thanks for the question. So we've not seen an increase of movement since the, I mean, evolving situation in Ethiopia. We know that the reason, the main reason for which they're leaving, I mean, they're diverse. Some of them, most of them are economical reasons. Some express fears about what's currently happening in the countries. So it's different reasons. But in terms of movement flows, we've not seen an increased of movement from Ethiopia as compared to the flows that we used to see before. We are able to reach some of these migrants. What's shocking and very surprising to us is that for most of them, they are not aware of the current situation in Yemen or the evolving situation in Yemen. They hear that there is conflicts in Yemen, but don't have the details about what is currently happening in the country. So we're trying to do from our side some information sharing. We're explaining that currently in Yemen, you have Yemeni who are fleeing the country to seek refuge in Djibouti, but the determination of the migrants that we were able to access and talk with is It seems like nothing can change currently their willingness to leave their countries with the goal to reach not Yemen, but the Gulf, mostly Saudi Arabia and other countries within the Gulf for a better life. We've heard reports of migrants dying because of exertions in the desert where they were stranded. We are not able to access this group of people directly. In this specific case, it happens in Balro, which is close to the border of Ethiopia. Stranded migrants reach the authorities to seek assistance, and the authorities ask IOM to provide food and water. So we still have this connection with the authorities. When they see migrants in distress, they will call IOM for us to be able to access them. So yes, migrants, unfortunately, have dying because of the situation. We are not able to confirm the exact figures as of today.

Yeah, and just to add on the number of displacement in Yemen, what we have currently as of the 4th of October is 184,000 people who have been displaced. We do the roundup for the DTM on a weekly basis, and hopefully we'll have a more updated figure by Friday. Thanks.

Okay, thank you, Amondi. We have another question, and yes, AFP, go ahead.

Yes, hi, thank you. Thank you for taking my question. You say that 20,000 people have left Ethiopia's refugee.

We have an echo. Sorry.

And you say that the situation is not evolving. Could you explain how many people have left Ethiopia since January, to have an idea of how many people are fleeing this country? Because 20,000 people since 10 September, it's a lot. And if you could clarify if those are migrants or only Ethiopian people fleeing. Thank you.

Did you get the full question, because there was a bit of interference at the beginning. If you have maybe, Agnes, now we can hear you clearer. If you don't mind repeating the first part of your question, I think that would be helpful. Hi, Agnes, if you can repeat the beginning of your question, because there was some echo from your microphone.

Yes, sorry. So I will repeat my question. So it's about the 20,000 people who left Ethiopia going to Djibouti since 10 of September. You say that on the previous question that the situation hasn't evolved, it's not an evolving situation. So how many people have been fleeing Ethiopia since January? That would give us a broader idea. And is it only people from Ethiopia, Ethiopian people, or is it also other nationalities? Thank you.

Thank you.

Let me, I will have to go back with our displacement tracking metrics, colleagues, to give you an exact figure. So what I would suggest is like just after, through my colleagues in Geneva, we'll make sure that we provide you this exact figure. since January. There is some cross-checking that we need to do usually, the way a displacement tracking mechanism is organized in the region that require that we cross-check information with different countries in Yemen when we are able to still do this type of exercise in Yemen, but that's all with colleagues who are working in the border with Ethiopia. So I don't want to give you wrong figures. If you allow me, right after this call, we'll make sure that we send you the correct information.

Okay, I think that's what Omondi was going to say, so indeed, thank you very much for that, Alexandre. I don't see further questions for you, just double-checking. That's not the case. So thank you so very much. Merci beaucoup. Thank you for joining us here, Alexandre, and thanks for the great work you're doing, of course, as always. Okay. I'm going to looking at my three colleagues sitting in the third and fourth rows, if I can ask you to join me up here. Some announcements we have for you. We have Claire from WMO, Thomas from UNECE, and David from ITU. And maybe while you're coming up, maybe we can go quickly to Christian, who's been waiting as well. So maybe, Christian, if you can go to your announcements while our colleagues are getting settled in.

Yeah, thank you very much, Rolando. And before I go into the announcements, actually, I need to come back on the story we just discussed with the suspected plague. Point is, the Russian authorities have apparently just, while we were having the briefing, come back to our colleagues. And let me just look into the main thing here, because it's important. So A part being, as we had reported, that they hadn't replied yet, they now have. And a second, just without too many details, but what I have is maybe important. Sorry, I'm reading it while we're talking here. So an epidemiological investigation was conducted following the identification of a case of community-acquired pneumonia in an employee of the Irkutsk Order of the Red Banner of Labor Scientific Research Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia and the Far East. The illness initially presented as a typical acute respiratory viral infection. I repeat, the illness initially presented as a typical acute respiratory viral infection. According to the test results, no pathogens of dangerous infectious diseases were detected among any of the contacts. So that's from the message received from the Russian authorities from the focal point just now. And let me quickly go into our two announcements. One second. Sorry, it's a little bit on the fly today. So first this afternoon, there is the embargoed virtual press briefing on the launch of the Child and Adolescent Obesity Guidelines. That's this afternoon at 1500 hours. The embargo of this briefing and the associated press material is until Wednesday, 9:00 AM. 00 AM Central European Summer Time still. And last but not least, We have on Tuesday, on Thursday 8th October, new global roadmap to tackle pregnancy hypertension, a leading cause of maternal mortality. This will come as a press release on that day. WHO will launch a new global roadmap and it sets out the global agenda to accelerate prevention, early detection, effective management of conditions, including pre-eclampsia, and eclampsia, which remain major causes of maternal and newborn illness and death worldwide. That's for Thursday, and the other one was the embargo briefing for today. Thanks for the space, Rolando.

Of course, Christian. Thanks for these important announcements and for the previous commentary. And of course, we'll follow, we'll continue to follow the story in the Russian Federation. So thanks very much. Okay, Claire is here for a couple, with a couple of announcements from WMO.

Yes, good morning, everybody. The first Global Heat Forum has opened today in Bangkok. And obviously, Bangkok has been in the news recently because of the terrible flooding. But we are there to talk about heat. There's nearly 700 people at this event. And why is the World Meteorological Organization involved? We are one of the co-sponsors of the Global Heat Health Information Network, which is organizing this event. As we've seen this year from the many record-breaking temperatures that we've had, extreme heat It's not just a health problem, it really does have a cascading impact across all layers of society. So this forum is really bringing together many, many different. experts from health, urban city planners, government officials, meteorologists, philanthropists, decision makers, business leaders, importantly, bringing everybody under one roof just to talk about the solutions that we've got and the solutions that we need and the investment that we need. There was a, the UN Secretary General who two years ago issued a call to action on extreme heat. He delivered a statement to the opening event and he said, Today, I'm calling on every city to build lasting defenses against extreme heat. That means every part of government, health, housing, energy, and transport working as one, and it means heat action plans in place by 2030. So that was the message from the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo gave a keynote presentation, and she will be there, I think, for the next four days meeting with the decision makers. And she said and you have all of this information in the press release she said, "At WMO, we know from experience that El Nino literally turns up the heat. New maximum daytime and minimum overnight temperature records are not just a figure on the thermometer. Our bodies, our infrastructure, our farms, and our homes are not designed for the temperatures we are seeing. Prevention begins before the emergency. A forecast must give health services time to prepare, employers time to adjust working hours, and communities time to reach those most at risk. So we've sent out the press release. You should have it in your inboxes. If you've got any questions, I can connect you with people in Bangkok. And that transitions me into the next announcement. On Thursday, we will be releasing the monthly global seasonal climate update. This is so four times a year, WMO releases the full El Nino update. And in between, we have the monthly update, which talks about El Nino, factors in other climate drivers as well. That will be released on Thursday. We'll send you the press release under embargo tomorrow, hopefully in the main UN languages. And we're not having a press conference on it, but if you do have any questions, need interviews, please let me know. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Claire. Do we have questions for Claire? was crystal clear, so thank you so very much. Turning on my left, Thomas, ECE.

Thank you. Good morning. From affordable housing and safe and sustainable mobility to climate resilience, as we've just heard, and inclusive public spaces, local governments and cities are on the front line in addressing some of the major challenges we faced. And indeed, in turning commitments made at the global level into tangible results for people on the ground. Next week in Geneva, we have some 80 city leaders coming together that's from over 50 countries for the UN Forum of Mayors. And this is the sixth meeting of the forum. That's taking place on the 12th and 13th of October. This year, the forum will be hosted in WIPO headquarters across the square. Just a note for the accredited press that your UN accreditation here will work as normal on site. So as a unique platform within the UN system, the Forum of Mayors connects local and national authorities within an intergovernmental framework, contributing to a more networked and inclusive multilateralism. The Forum of Mayors, as a reminder, was established by UNECE in 2020. So under this year's forum, Cities Delivering for a Sustainable Future, the forum will focus on the local implementation of key targets of Sustainable Development Goal 11, which is all about cities and communities. Specifically, mayors will exchange experiences and best practices on the following topics. Sustainable mobility and road safety. innovation and creativity, green cities and environmental quality, inclusive planning and urban resilience, sustainable, adequate and affordable housing, and cultural and natural heritage protection. Mayors will also adopt an outcome document reflecting their shared priorities and calling for enabling frameworks for local governments to fulfill their essential role in delivering a sustainable future. To give you an indication of the breadth of cities that will participate, so from the pan-European region and North America, so that's from UNECE member states, a few examples, mayors and deputies from Baku, Sarajevo, Tallinn, Helsinki, Dunkirk, Tbilisi, Heidelberg, Cork, Florence, Bilbao, Geneva. Lviv, Bristol, and Savannah. The forum will also welcome mayors and deputies from other regions. And to give you a few examples, we have Buenos Aires, Douala, Nairobi, Saida, Windhoek, Ramallah, Dakar, Colombo, and Harare. We'll also have some side events focusing on disability inclusion and women mayors. The forum, as you know, is convened by UNECE, and as a reminder again, don't show up here in the Palais, but come over to join us in WIPO headquarters. And of course, we remain available to facilitate any interviews, any contacts that you might have with CITIES.

Thank you very much, very useful information. Also, thanks for mentioning the access for media procedure, which is pretty straightforward. So thanks very much. Questions for Thomas? No, I don't see that's the case. Last but certainly not least, David, ITU.

Thank you. A media advisory has already been sent, so just a quick reminder that media registration is open for ITU's Plenipotentiary Conference 2026, which is set to take place in Doha, Qatar, from 9 to 27 November. The Plenipotentiary Conference, PP26, this year is ITU's highest policymaking body. It meets every four years. At PP26, member states will elect ITU's five leadership positions, the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General, and the directors of its three bureaus, radio communications, telecommunication standardization, and the telecommunication development bureau. PP26 will also decide the member states to serve on the ITU Council and the member states that will serve on the Radio Regulations Board, the RRB. The conference reviews the Union's general policies and will approve its strategic and financial plans for managing the world's radio frequency spectrum, developing technology standards, and advancing digital development. For accreditation, there's a two-part process. For the UN press corps, it would start with sending an e-mail to pressreg@itu.int. And once ITU confirms your media accreditation, all reporters would then have to register directly for an e-visa through Qatar's individualized system. Full instructions are provided during the accreditation process, and full information is available on the ITU PP26 website.

Thank you so very much, David. Any points? Yes, go ahead, Emma.

Good morning, David. Is it web-streamed, is the first question? And secondly, I looked at the program, but I couldn't see it. Could you tell us the key dates for the different elections, because it's a long conference? And could you confirm whether Doreen Bogdan-Martin is actually being challenged in her election, her bid for re-election? Thank you.

Okay, I'll start maybe I'll start in reverse. All the information relative to the elections and the candidates is fully available and updated on ITU's website. So if you have access to the website, I would refer you to that website. There's an elections tab, and all the current candidacies from all five positions are there, and I can assure you they're up to date. As it relates to the program, there's also a There will be if not already, there will be a program online that will provide information on the calendar. Not all of those sessions will be open to reporters, but those that are, we'll make sure we flag to you and we'll make sure we also give you the relevant dates for that. The elections would take place toward the latter part of the first week of PP, but I'd like to confirm the exact dates with you and get those to you.

All clear. Okay, thanks very much, David. Thank you. Oh, sorry, Robin, go ahead.

Hi, David, just to ask, what would be the registration process for non-UN press, so people based in Qatar?

Right, so if they, if you have colleagues, for instance, are not accredited to, to the UN, they would need to go to our online portal first for the ITU. There's a link that's in the media advisory that was sent. Um, that would then come to us. Uh, they would require some documentation that you would not require as a, as a UN, uh, accredited correspondent. It will be reviewed, and presumably it would be the accreditation would be issued by ITU. Once it's issued by ITU, it would then that reporter would then have to go directly to a link that will be provided in Qatar for registering for an e-visa. So it's a two-step process that begins with the link that was provided in the media advisory. and then is handed over to the system that's operated by the Government of Qatar, who is the host country for PP-26, represented by its CRA, its Communications Regulatory Authority.

Okay. Thank you. I think we're clear. Thank you very much, Claire, Thomas, David, as always, for coming up here and joining me for these announcements. I have a few of my own before we wrap up. I mentioned at the start of the briefing the statements that the important statement we shared with you in connection with the 7th of October events, the third anniversary, three years since the attacks on the 7th of October, so do consult that. I also referred to remarks delivered by the Secretary General Antonio Guterres to the media in Pakistan upon his arrival there. The Secretary-General has a important program whilst in Pakistan. Mr. Guterres will be expected to meet with various senior government officials, including with the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Muhammad Ishaq Qadar. He'll also meet with the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari. Secretary General will visit the headquarters of the United Nations Military Observer Group, otherwise known as UNMIG, in India and Pakistan excuse me, which has been established for many, many years, since 1949, if I'm not mistaken. The visit will also be an opportunity for the Secretary General to discuss Pakistan's diplomatic and mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, including constructive role in supporting negotiations between the two countries. We'll certainly keep you informed of his activities while he's in Pakistan this week. In terms of well, there's another announcement from the region, which actually we shared with you yesterday. It's a note to correspondents based on the visit of our Under Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo, on her visit to Afghanistan, which wrapped up. So do take a look at that important readout of her meetings or rather, her visit to Afghanistan a few days ago. Press conferences two press conferences to announce, one this coming Thursday, the 8th of 00 a.m. in this room. We have the Universal Postal Union, which is launching its report, the release of the State of the Postal Sector report for 2026, which will provide a glimpse at the cost of disjointed postal import policies and points to concrete solutions to build resilience in this new trade environment. 00 a.m. this coming Thursday, the 8th of October. It's under embargo. The embargo will be lifted Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. Another press conference is coming Friday at 9:30 ahead of this regular briefing is with the UN Trade and Development to launch their Trade and Development Report for 2026. The Acting Secretary-General, Pedro Manuel Moreno, will be here to brief you, along with Ms. Anastasia Nesvatiaylova, excuse me, who is the head of the Macroeconomic and Development Policies Branch. So important report being launched this coming Friday at a press conference at 9:30. Meetings, we have the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW, reviewing Kazakhstan today. Later this week, they'll review the situation in Cook Islands, Kenya, and Moldova. And as you well know, colleagues, the Human Rights Council continues second day of voting on a slew of resolutions. They began yesterday afternoon. I believe there were 20 remaining for action between today and tomorrow. Do consult the update that Pascal shared with you. Lots of information in there. Almost done. Just to mention another meeting. You've heard a lot about upcoming meetings. Here's another one for you. We have CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, otherwise known as CITES. They are their standing committee, the CITES standing committee, will be meeting between 2 and 6 November at the CICG, the Center the International Center of Conferences across the way. important gathering, and we will be sharing with you a media advisory. They expect some 500 participants to discuss key issues concerning international trade and wildlife, including compliance, enforcement, regulation, and species conservation. So we'll share details with you, and they will be holding a press conference at some point, and we'll share that information with you. And I think that, well, no, there's one last note. In fact, we don't have an international observance today, but we have a week, World Space Week is this week. Who knew? It's from 4 to 10 October, and it was through the resolution of the General Assembly passed in 6 December 1999, which proclaimed World Space Week to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition. So we observe World Space Week this week. And that's all I have. If you don't have questions for me, I bid you a good afternoon, and we'll see you here this coming Friday. Thank you.