Middle East, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Venezuela & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

I'm just here for work. How are you, Tom?

It's been okay for the last 2 days at least, but the weekend has been rough for everybody. Really rough.

So when we're fighting a lot, it's just miserable. Yeah, right. You know, I'm usually pretty calm. I think that the same I remember him pulling me out on a Saturday because I had to do some history shopping. It was part because, you know, there were some things in the book, the grammar was a little bit harder than I thought it was going to be, and other things. He just realized what happened. What happened was that I was like, I've never been eating this messy jacks before, and I've been eating it for 6 months, and I feel like I'm going to throw up. Watching football games every 4 years. Once every 4 years I get to watch football games.

Once every 4 years?

Just— I'm very, very— Yeah, something like that.

Do you guys do football too?

Yes, football is also very popular. They have a lot of football matches here.

Yeah, and the football is popular too?

Yes, football is very popular. They do— I know they do like popular games like this in front of the building all week, but it didn't happen until Saturday. They have a soccer team as well.

Plus de dames que de messieurs pour une fois. Gentlemen, thank you. I hate to be late, so I don't want anything to delay this briefing. Everybody's very chatty today. Okay, yeah, she's always disturbing other people in class.

Yeah.

All right, good afternoon. In a short while, I will be joined in person by UNFPA's Executive Director, Diane Keita, and she will also be joined by Alessio Cangiano, the Chief Ad Interim of the Population Development Branch at UNFPA. They will brief you on the launch of their new global report based on the findings of the Demographic Futures Survey. Tomorrow, my guests will be also in person: Ana Claudia Rosbach, the Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat. Also joining us will be Ambassador Rustus Ekitema, Stella Lokale, Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN, and they will be joined by Shirley Price of the Jamaica Household Workers Union. They will be here to brief you on renewing commitments on sustainable cities and communities and the launch of the SDG 11 Global Synthesis Report 2026. And as we enter the— yes, and part of that will be The report is expected to highlight progress achieved and identifies key gaps, recommends prioritizing adequate housing, transformation of informal settlements, and urban resilience to accelerate progress towards more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities worldwide. Turning to— excuse me— turning to the situation in the Middle East, as I've been asked, and I can tell you that the Secretary-General is alarmed by the renewed military confrontations in the Gulf. The incidents that we have seen over the last 24 hours risk derailing the diplomatic progress achieved between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States. A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences for the people of the region and for international peace and security and for the global community— the global economy as a whole. The Secretary-General calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, avoid any further escalatory action, and take immediate steps to de-escalate. He further recalls the obligations of all parties to fully comply with international law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and respect for navigational rights and freedoms. The Secretary-General urges Iran and the United States to urgently resume negotiations and address outstanding issues through diplomacy. We, of course, remain committed to supporting all efforts to prevent a return to conflict, to restore stability and advance a comprehensive and durable solution to this conflict. Turning to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, earlier today our colleague Tom Fletcher, the Emergency Relief Coordinator, who, as you know, is in Venezuela. But he did also have a virtual meeting from Venezuela with the Prime Minister of Palestine, Mohammad Mustafa. They underscored the importance of close collaboration and accelerated efforts to improve the living conditions in Gaza, particularly around safe water and waste management. Both agreed the urgency of needs in Gaza is too great to wait for progress on broader political and security tracks. They both welcomed the encouraging milestone that 41,000 students in Gaza were able to sit for their high school exams this year. They also discussed the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, including increased settler violence as well as Palestinian displacement. Also today, Humanitarian Coordinator Rami al-Akkaroff, who is also the Deputy Special Coordinator, started a 2-day visit to the Gaza Strip. In Gaza City, he visited a UN Mine Action Service team whose teams have been assessing and mitigating the risk of explosive hazards, which, you know, continues to be very big in that area. Accompanied by the representatives of UNDP, Dr. Alakbarov visited the Firas Market dumping site, also in Gaza City, to review solid waste management efforts. Since 2023, that market has been used as an improvised dumping site after municipal crews lost access to Gaza's two landfills near the Strip's eastern land perimeter. Since April, thanks to the project supported by the, uh, Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund and implemented by UNDP, teams have transferred about 300,000 metric tons of solid waste from that improvised site to another location farther away from pe— where people are seeking shelter. But access to sanitary landfills, which are east of the so-called yellow line, remains banned. Dr. Al-Akbari then met with colleagues from UNICEF to discuss ongoing efforts to reduce infestations associated with rodents and parasites, something we've been telling you about regularly. And he also met with WHO and they discussed ongoing medical evacuations. As you might recall, the medical referral route to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remains closed. That is, of course, undermining our efforts to expand medical evacuations from Gaza. According to data from WHO, a little more than 2,100 patients were able to be evacuated since the declaration of a ceasefire in October of this— of last year. However, thousands more need medical services that are just not available today in the Gaza Strip. Um, and going to Venezuela, where, as I mentioned, Tom Fletcher, emergency relief coordinator, is continuing his visit. This morning, he briefed member states from Caracas, calling for an additional $296 million United States dollars to provide life-saving support over the next 6 months to 1.3 million people impacted by the devastating earthquakes that shook the country nearly 2 weeks ago. The addendum to the 2026 humanitarian response plan, which already required $632 million, will help the UN and our partners support the government-led response with food, shelter, healthcare, water sanitation, hygiene assistance, and many other critical interventions. To date, around $300 million has been received for response efforts in Venezuela. The addendum— with the addendum, the current funding gap stands at some $600 million United States dollars. Tom Fletcher thanked donors for the contributions made thus far and called on Member States and other donors to translate their solidarity into practical support and investment in essential services as the response moves from search and rescue to broader humanitarian response and the needed recovery phase. As you're aware, Tom arrived yesterday in Venezuela. He's scheduled to be there for 4 days. On his first day in the country, he witnessed firsthand the scale of the devastation in La Guaira, one of the areas hardest hit by the quakes. Tom spoke to families impacted by disaster and people still searching through rubble alongside first responders, holding on hope of finding loved ones alive. Mr. Fletcher also met with the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, and other senior Venezuelan government officials. Also joined— he was joined by the resident humanitarian coordinator and the head of OCHA in Venezuela, Gianluca Rampolla. To discuss the ongoing response efforts and how we can continue to support affected communities as the relief efforts move into next phase. We and our humanitarian partners remain on the ground working with national authorities to support survivors and address people's most urgent needs. Uh, from Ukraine, our colleagues at OCHA tell us that drone and missile attacks have continued across the country, causing multiple civilian casualties and widespread damage to homes and other civilian infrastructure. The Kharkiv and Kherson regions were among the hardest hit. Across several other regions, there were also reports of civilian casualties and damage to homes and civilian infrastructure. This is what Ukrainian authorities are telling our colleagues on the ground. Meanwhile, the WHO reports that nearly 70% of people in Ukraine have experienced worsening health since the full— the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Common problems include sleep disorders, headaches, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, while prolonged stress is contributing to a higher increase in chronic diseases. WHO also warns that Ukraine's healthcare system faces growing workforce shortages due to displacement, burnout, and insecurity. And on Sudan, the UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan said a new report which provides more evidence that atrocities committed by warring parties in North African nation constitutes distinct markers of genocide. The report states that Sudan's Rapid Support Forces carried out brutal attacks against civilians, including mass killings, systematic abduction of women and girls, mass gang rapes in al-Fasher. The fact-finding mission warned that similar patterns of violence and devastation are now emerging in al-Ubayyid, where it is launching an urgent inquiry into alleged human rights violations and abuses.— and that is following a resolution passed by the Human Rights Council earlier this week. The fact-finding mission reiterated its call for effective accountability, including prompt cooperation with and action by the International Criminal Court. As civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict, the fact-finding mission will continue its investigations and report on the situation in and around al-Obaid to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly as it is mandated to do. And moving south to South Sudan, our colleagues at the Peacekeeping Mission there, UNMISS, tell us they've intensified engagements with authorities, community leaders, youth representatives, security actors, and civil society in efforts to ease tensions following concerning reports of intercommunal violence and cattle raids across several counties in Warrap State. Initial reports indicate that several civilians have been killed, others have been injured or displaced. Property destroyed. The mission is patrolling impacted areas and advocating with all stakeholders to strengthen the protection of civilians and help prevent retaliatory attacks. We'll update you as the situation develops. But these tragic events come as South Sudan marks today 15 years of independence. In a message for the day, Anita Kiki Gbeho, the Special Representative and Head of the Peacekeeping Mission in in South Sudan, reaffirmed that the peacekeeping mission remains a steadfast partner to the people of South Sudan. Her full message is online. And if I could ask my colleagues who are listening to see if they can get some air conditioning in this room, because it is starting to get very hot and rather unpleasant.

What?

It's true.

I know. Meanwhile, before the— as we hope that you have some air conditioning, we'll go to the Central African Republic.— where, as you will recall, there were clashes last week in Amdafok, in the Wakaga Prefecture. Our colleagues report that the 3 Zambian UN Peacekeepers injured last week, including the one who suffered severe injuries, are continuing to receive treatment and are in stable condition. The Mission's immediate priority remains the protection of civilians. More than 16,000 people are safe because they have found refuge at the UN Mission's temporary operating base in town, where protection measures are put in place by peacekeepers, have saved lives during the attack and prevent— help prevent even more violence. Also to note, our colleagues say the mission's logistical support and protection enabled the local administration to remain operational throughout this crisis. MINUSCA has also facilitated the delivery of emergency humanitarian assistance, including the delivery of more than 3 tons of medicine and other essential supplies to affected communities. And finally, we can confirm that the armored personnel carrier that had become inoperable last week has now been recovered and it is safe— in the safe hands of our peacekeeping colleagues. And in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, we join our humanitarian colleagues who are deeply concerned by the escalating violence against Ebola responders. They say say this is undermining efforts to contain the outbreak in the eastern part of that country. On July 6th, unidentified attackers raided an Ebola treatment center in Butembo in North Kivu, setting fire to a facility. Since the outbreak was declared on May 15th, humanitarian partners have recorded security incidents targeting Ebola response personnel and other aid workers in Ituri, South Kivu and North Kivu provinces, where humanitarian— and humanitarian workers were among those injured. National health authorities continue to report that the outbreak has expanded geographically, with confirmed Ebola cases now reported in Boga Health Zone in Ituri Province. We and our partners continue to step up efforts to engage with community leaders, with local authorities, with civil society representatives, and affected communities to address concerns counter misinformation and foster broader understanding, uh, to— of those response efforts. We reiterate our call that the protection of health workers, treatment facilities, and response teams must be protected. Without a secure environment that enables health workers who are putting their own lives at risk to help, uh, other human beings, without protection, they cannot carry out life-saving work. And which includes efforts to detect cases, trace contacts, and provide life-saving care to those who are infected. A quick note from Afghanistan, where a— the UNDP Administrator and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Alexander de Croo and Bahram Saleh, today called for an international community to provide urgent, sustained investment in Afghanistan. UNHCR notes that since the Since 2023, more than 6 million Afghans have returned back to their home country, including 2.9 million in 2025 alone. More than 750,000 people have already returned so far this year, with a further 2.5 expected by the end of this year. Both de Croo and Saleh urged international partners not to turn away from Afghanistan, warning that aid cuts and declining international risk risks deepening poverty, fueling further displacement, and under— excuse me— undermining fragile gains. The call came at the conclusion of a joint mission to Afghanistan by the two, where they met with de facto authorities, visited UN-supported projects in Mazar-i-Sharif. The mission— the joint mission underscored our joint commitment to meeting urgent humanitarian and protection needs while helping lay the foundations for longer-term recovery, stability, and durable reintegration. And back here, you saw the Security Council is currently holding an open debate on women, peace, and security with a focus on conflict-related sexual violence. Briefing Council members was the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Ms. Pramila Patten. She highlighted findings contained in the Secretary-General's latest annual report on the issue. The report verifies nearly 9,800 cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025, more than double the number recorded the previous year. 90% of the victims are women and girls. Ms. Phan stressed, however, these figures can never capture the full scale of a crime that remains chronically underreported. Calling for the international community for greater action, Ms. Phan said the goal is not simply to document these violations, it is to end them. And also today, here in New York, the 5th UN Chiefs of Police Summit, UN COPS, brought together 145 delegations from the highest— the highest level participation to date. That meeting is to discuss the future of UN police innovation, new technologies, and international cooperation to address transnational challenges. The police advisor who you had here earlier this week, Faisal Sharkar, said in his opening remarks that UN Police plays a unique role in advancing international cooperation by connecting efforts at the national, regional, and global levels, strengthening partnerships, and supporting member states in building capacity. I want to flag to you a rather depressing report from WHO that shows that cancer claims more than 26,000 lives every day. With an estimated 20.6 million new cases and close to 10 million deaths annually. It remains the second leading cause of death globally after cardiovascular disease. WHO warns that without urgent action, the annual cancer cases are projected to rise to nearly 35 million by 2050. The report also reveals persistent and widening inequities in access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care. Its analysis shows, for example, that while 87% of women with breast cancer survive at 5 years after their diagnosis in high-income countries, only 42% survive in low-income countries. The report is online. I also want to flag that tomorrow at 11 AM, the International Day for the Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica will be marked with an observance in the General Assembly Hall. The International Day itself is marked on 11th July, which is Saturday, and there will be ceremonies in Bosnia-Herzegovina in which the UN Country Team will participate. Courtney Rattray, the Chef de Cabinet, will deliver remarks on behalf of the Secretary-General. The observance organized by the Srebrenica Genocide and UN Outreach Programme will also feature remarks from two survivors of the Srebrenica genocide and the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The proceedings will be hosted by Chaloka Bijani, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and the observance will honor victims and reaffirm the international community's, uh, to remembrance, justice, and the prevention of genocide. It will also be shown live on United Nations Web TV. We have no money, we have no quiz, so we will take questions Questions, should there be any?

Wow.

Yes, please, Xinhua.

My name is— you can call me Sean, like Sean in Champs-Élysées, as it's easier for you. Since there are no matches today, so let me ask you a broad question. The Secretary-General has expressed concern on different occasions about, quote, the great fracture. Where there will be two worlds, one led by the United States, one led by China. Does the Secretary-General have an update on this theory, given the fact that he's just back from Geneva, the AI conference in Geneva?

I mean, you know, I would say it remains a concern of his, and the fracture really for him has to do with two distinct spheres, two distinct two distinct internets, two distinct global economic systems, and I think that the concerns that he's expressed repeatedly continues to exist.

I'm asking this because the Chinese President has just said that China needs to participate in global governance in science and technology. Does the Secretary-General have anything to say about this?

We welcome all member states, participating in global governance, including and especially on technological matters, as, as we saw in, in Geneva, as you really put. And I think China, given its, its leading role on issues having to do with, with technology, computing power and AI, it is critical that they participate actively.

If I'm—

Hello, Steph. Thank you so much. On the fact-finding missions on Sudan again, the finding that there has been a genocide in al-Fasher, the situation continues to escalate in al-Ubayyid. This comes after many pleas we've heard you say from Mr. Havishto, from Mr. Fletcher to the RSF to stop what they're doing in al-Ubayyid, and it's not happening. My question is, what would the Secretary-General like to see as a reaction or action from international community in the light of this recent report?

What he wants to see is a redoubling of unified action to put a stop to the conflict in Sudan. And of course, we're all, in a sense, rightly focused on the fears of what may happen in El-Obeid. We've seen what happened in Al-Fasher, but there There are many other places in Sudan where the violence continues, where civilians continue to be hit indiscriminately by drones. We've seen repeated use of drones in, in, in destroying humanitarian goods.

Why?

Why destroy trucks filled with food? Why destruct trucks filled with, with medicine? There is a there is an opportunity for member states, those who have influence on the parties, to decide to stop sending weapons and send messages of peace instead and reconciliation. Yes, Evelyn, and then we'll go.

You called on me?

Yes, ma'am, I did.

Thank you, Steph. We have a constant description of the Russia-bashing Ukraine. Has the Secretary-General received any kind of explanation for this?

Explanation for what?

For why Russia keeps attacking Ukraine.

I would—

I think we can all listen to the public statements delivered by Russian representatives here at the UN and from the Foreign Minister and the Foreign Ministry in Russia, which explains their actions. Yes, please.

Welcome back, Azim.

You know, as far as Sudan is concerned, the situation is really worsening. Is there any possibility of sending any peacekeepers over there to maintain the peace and security of the country?

I think you know as well as I do any deployment of peacekeepers would involve a Security Council resolution, and the deployment of peacekeepers would imply that there is a peace to keep. We'll go to Andrea at Reuters.

Hi, Steph. Thanks for doing this. So I just have a couple of quick follow-ups. One is on this report on Sudan. Um, you just say it's a new report, so who compiled— I'm sorry, who compiled the report?

Sure.

Can we see it?

Yes, uh, we, we will circulate it.

It is—

it was compiled by the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, which was created by the Human Rights Council. So, and they are mandated to report both to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly. Earlier this week, uh, there was a They were given an additional task, which was to report on the situation in and around al-Obaid, which they will do. But we will circulate that report after— right after the briefing.

Okay. And then the other follow-up was on Gaza. This $296 million for 6 months, that's new, right? On top of the $632 million, the request or the recommendation?

Let me look again, because I have to pay as much attention as you when I actually read things. Bear with me 2 seconds.

I don't think I—

you were talking about Venezuela, no?

No, I think that was Gaza, wasn't it?

No, I think— no, we were talking about monies for—

Oh, I'm so sorry.

That's okay. So yes, the additional—

it's 300—

it's additional It's additional money.

Okay, great. And then finally, on Iran and the US, you know, I know the Secretary-General has expressed concern about what's happening there and is urging the parties to return to negotiations. But is he planning any action, having any phone calls? Is there anything that the UN can do in these circumstances to to avert, you know, what would be a very costly return to active, more active conflict. I mean, we just heard today from the IMF that they're lowering their forecast for world growth again slightly, you know, and but they're warning that things will look much worse if the conflict escalates.

The Secretary-General spoke earlier this week to the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and other contacts have being had at various levels. All right.

Thank you all.

Please stay seated for our guest, who I will come and get. Please take your seats at the table.

Thank you.

I will just start you off.

Great.

We're delighted to be joined by Jen Keita, who, as you know, is the Executive Director of UNFPA, and with her is Alessio Cangiano, Chief Ad Interim of the Population Development Branch at UNFPA, and they're here to present to you the New Democratic Futures survey. So, Diane, please.

Thank you so much, Stefan. Good afternoon. Thank you all for having us. Ahead of World Population Day this coming Saturday, UNFPA has launched a new report, Lives, Choices, and Futures: What Young People Want and what shapes their decisions about relationship and parenthood. It is based on our Demographic Futures survey, which comes at a moment when debates about population change are growing louder and more divided. In many places, we are concerned about declining marriage rates and falling fertility. Too often, young people are blamed for turning away from partnership and parenthood. The Demographic Futures Survey starts somewhere else. It helps fill a critical global evidence gap, bringing together the voices and experience of more than 100,000 people across 73 countries, one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys of its kind. We asked them what they want when it comes to relationship children and the future, and what they feel is standing in the way of fulfilling their aspirations. The findings are striking. Most young people aspire to partnership and parenthood, but many do not feel the conditions are in place to achieve these goals. Economic and housing constraints were the most commonly cited barriers to both partnership and having children. Some people have suggested that younger generations are rejecting marriage and family life. But our data shows this is simply not true. Two-thirds of the respondents say their ideal relationship involves marriage. Yet, among those aged between 25 and 39 who want to have a partner, one-quarter are single and not dating. Most respondents said they want to have children, with 2 children the most commonly reported ideal family size. Financial security topped the list of conditions young adults say they need to feel ready for parenthood. This was cited as important by 88% of the respondents. Stable employment followed closely at 87%. And emotional readiness at 85%. They are asking for the conditions that would make real choice possible: decent work, affordable housing, healthcare, sexual and reproductive health services, childcare support, parental leave, and gender equality at work and at home. Simply put, it is uncertainty, not unwillingness, that is making young people question whether they can start a family. And that uncertainty is not only economic. For many young people, conflict and insecurity also shape whether the future feels safe enough to plan for a family. And that distinction matters. If we misread the problem, we risk designing the wrong solution. Many countries are worried about falling fertility, population aging, shrinking workforces, and pressure on care systems. These are real concerns. They matter for economies, public services, and society's future prospects. And demographic change is really about more than birth rate. It is about how society is changing as people have children later, live longer, move, migrate, and form families in different ways. But as we know, demographic futures are not set in stone. They are shaped by the politics— policies we choose, the investment we make, and the opportunity we create. And this is the principle that has guided UNFPA for decades. Everybody should be able to decide freely and responsibly whether, when, and with whom to form a family, free from coercion, discrimination, and unnecessary barriers. Of course, those shifts affect schools, hospital, jobs, housing, care system, and public financing. And this is exactly the kind of work UNFPA has a role to play in. We help countries understand these changes clearly and respond with evidence and rights-based solutions, not assumptions. Hence this survey. Although it is clear that young people are worried, but they are not without hope. Two-thirds of the respondents say they feel positive about the future. Even as conflict, economic insecurity, and inequality ranked among their top concerns. And a rights-based response to demographic change is about ensuring every person has the agency, the support, and opportunity to make some of the most intimate and consequential decisions of their lives. And that drives the work we do in helping governments strengthen population data, understanding the demographic trends and development data-based population policy that uphold rights and expand choice. And we know there is something that is important to mention here: all these issues are deeply, deeply political. This is precisely why open, evidence-based dialogue is so important. Now, here, more than 100,000 young people have spoken. It is time to listen. In the fragmented world with shrinking resources, we need future generations to try for people and for the planet. But let me give for a few minutes the floor to the mind behind the data, my colleague Alessio. Thank you.

Thank you very much for this opportunity. Let me provide a few additional observations on the relevance of this project. And, um, on the key findings of the report. Uh, first, let me highlight that, um, until now there has been very little comparable data directly capturing, uh, young people's own choices and perspectives across, uh, such a diverse set of countries. And this survey contributes to filling this gap, um, generating new evidence on an early stage of the life course, the transition into adulthood. And this is a time when aspirations, concerns, circumstances are still prospective. So the survey examines the context in which these transitions are embedded. Uh, its broad geographical scope enables a cross-national comparison of internet-connected young adults across all world regions. The survey also incorporates a range of emerging and relatively unexplored factors that might shape young people's decision-making. For example, housing constraints, environmental concerns, and the daily patterns of social media use. Ultimately, as emphasized by our ED, the survey gave voice to more than 100,000 young people. It's now up to us to listen to them, and at UNFPA, we are committed to doing our part in ensuring that this evidence directly informs forward-looking rights-based policies and programs that support young people in achieving the, their desired futures. With regard to the survey findings, I would like to elaborate on two aspects. The first is the gap between parenthood aspirations and realities. Ouri D. has already highlighted that our data does not support the idea that a desire for children has vanished. In fact, in 5 out of 7 regional groupings, a 2-child family size remains the highest rated lifetime ideal. 3 or 4 children are cited most frequently in West and Central Africa and Eastern and Southern Africa. An ideal of 3 children is more frequently reported than an ideal of 0 or 1, also in all other regional groupings. Yet when we look at our respondent group aged 35 to 39, those who have basically nearly completed their reproductive age, we found that the average number of children that they have is lower than the average reported ideal lifetime family size. Further, we looked at the subset of respondents in this group who have no children, and we found that the large majority of these individuals are not childfree by choice. 72% of childfree women and nearly 80% of childfree men aged 35 to 39 explicitly report that they ideally wish to have children. The second part I want to highlight a bit more is the gender dimension of the findings. Mean ideally family size is higher amongst male than female respondents in all regional settings. Female respondents are more likely than male respondents to rate as very important all preconditions for parenthood, and barriers to having children, with the largest differences observed for, uh, health and reproductive concerns. And respondents are also more likely to disapprove of women than men working full-time while raising the children. The report does not directly examine the reasons for these differences, but these findings suggest that gender equity in both the home and labor market remains an important consideration in policy discussions related to family formation and and demographic change. There is, of course, a wealth of additional findings in the report, and I encourage you to read it. And look out for the regional reports that will be published later this year if you are interested in more country-level data and analysis. We look forward to your questions.

Thanks. Thanks very much. I'll now turn the floor over for questions.

Yes, please.

Thank you very much for this briefing. My name is Noreen Hossein with IPS News. You've mentioned that the— you— that you surveyed over 108,000 internet-connected people. I wanted to ask, what, uh, what does that mean exactly? Does that have to do with how the survey was conducted, or What was— what is that distinction for exactly? Just to start with.

Yes. So we chose this methodology because we used basically companies that have online panels from which we can promptly collect data in a large number of countries. These are companies that have a global outreach. And therefore, the advantage of this approach was that we could quickly collect this data. And it was also fairly cheap to collect this data. So it was an approach that was highly cost-effective. This comes, of course, with some limitations, as any survey approach. Of course, we are— we don't claim to have nationally representative data for all countries. Particularly because we have some countries with relatively low internet connectivity, where we know that those collected— those connected are a selected group of respondents that typically represent the, the parts of the population with a higher social status. So in that sense, that is the kind of caution that we need as we looked at the data and, and how we interpret them.

Yes, Tao Xu.

My name is Tao Xu from Xinhua. Did you find any geographic imbalance in the willingness of having children, for example, in developed regions and developing regions, in Africa, for example, and North America?

Yes, as I mentioned, the ideal family size changes quite a bit. We have 5 of our 7 regional groupings where the ideal family size is 2, essentially. Well, the most reported. Then of course some people would like to have 3, some 1. That's, that's of course normal. In East and Southern Africa and in West and Central Africa, The, the most reported ideal family size is 3 or 4, depending on the countries. So I think that is the most remarkable difference that we, that we observed.

Uh, yes, is there a follow-up? Is there an explanation for this difference? Did you do any analysis for, for this difference?

This is fully consistent with, um, what we know about the stages of the demographic transition in the different countries. We have essentially collected data from a very diverse set of countries that we know in some context fertility is higher, in some context fertility is lower, in some it has declined very rapidly. So obviously we need to take into account this diversity. The data we have actually reflect this diversity that is entirely expected. And of course, you know, further analysis is also possible to look at the contextual factors that affect the different preferences.

Okay, Evelyn.

Hi, Evelyn Leopold. Thank you for the briefing. Fascinating. Where can one see the report? Can you give us the URL for it?

Of course.

And secondly, for— in families that have more than 3 children, what's the reason for that? Are they afraid one might die? Do they need them for labor, or— well, what did you find?

The, the report did not look at the, the, the factors, um, of the, the why people have different, uh, preferences for, for families. Um, as I think, you know, every research, um, we start collecting new data, um, that provides some some results that answer some questions that raise other questions. And I think, you know, this is one of the other questions that looking at the findings, it's definitely something worthwhile further investigation. So this kind of the why question, I think it's really what we are considering as a follow-up for the analysis of this, of the data we have collected.

Thank you. Another— I have at least one more question. Who is this report intended for in terms of like the find— based on like the data that's been collected and the findings from the report, who do you see— who should read the report apart from, you know, us journalists and anybody in the system?

The report is intended for everyone, starting first by the researcher. As I said at the very beginning, this is the first report of its kind, and if it's internet connected, it allows to really pinpoint data that we didn't have before. And we have been working very long time now on young people aspiration and what they want, so this is the first of its kind. But ultimately, the report is intended to government, member state to help shape policies for their demographic transition, demographic future mainly. But so far, since it's the very beginning of it, it's a way to continue the studies regionally, you know, and then sometimes by country as well, because countries are requesting for it. Some member states, some donors are behind this report, finance it, some foundation as well, just to ensure that we can continue deepening the issues because there are so many— there are science behind it, but there are values and cultural aspiration behind it as well.

Sure.

Um, uh, to what you said about that you worked with several companies to collect the data and to reach out to surveyors, can you share the company, like some of the name, some of the companies that you worked with?

Yes, these were Recounter, Lightspeed, and Geopol.

And I have one more question, sorry.

Was the—

among like the data collection, were there any other trends or perhaps disparities between male and female respondents when it came to parental responsibilities about around gender roles, for example? And were there any differences between regions as well?

The, the main differences is, is what I, is what I already mentioned. There are quite marked differences when it comes to some gender norms and expectations in the labor market, in particular the idea that women work while they have young children. I think that was definitely one. The other factor that emerged quite— it was quite cross-cutting in many of the questions is that for all the barriers and preconditions— so we asked for, okay, what are the preconditions for having children for you? What are the most important preconditions? And of course, they could rate the, you know, the preconditions. Women always rated the preconditions as higher than men. The same thing when we talk about, okay, what are the key barriers that, that you face And same thing, women always rated this barrier higher than men. So clearly, I think the data showed that they face more the pressure of these decisions than men. I think that is the overall conclusion. Then why this is the case, again, we haven't got to the point where we have analyzed the factors shaping these differences.

Any further questions? Are there any questions online? If not, I would like once more to thank our guests, Diane Guita, the UNFPA Executive Director, and Alessio Cangiano, the Chief Ad Interim of the Population and Development Branch of UNFPA. Thanks very much, and thank you all for coming. Have a great afternoon.

Thank you so much.