Democratic Republic of the Congo, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Haiti & other topics - Daily Press Briefing

All right, good afternoon everyone. In a short while, I will be joined virtually by our guests, Julian Harniss, who is the UN Senior Ebola Coordinator, and Carl Skau, Acting Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme. They will both be connecting from Bunia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to update us on the Ebola response on the ground. Concerning our Ebola response, our humanitarian colleagues note that Julian Harniss is calling on the international community to ramp up support in response to the rapidly rising number of Ebola cases and deaths. The government of the DRC is expanding its response, but the epidemic is growing, and our partners on the ground don't have enough medical supplies, specialized health personnel, and Ebola treatment facilities. Last week, Mr. Harness joined the Prime Minister of the DRC, Judith Suminwa Tuluka, U.S. Representative in the DRC, Ian J. McCary, and the Humanitarian Coordinator, Damian Mama, on an interagency mission to the city of Kisangani, where 5 cases were recently confirmed. The mission aimed to strengthen containment efforts in the city— in the city of 1.6 million people and along the Congo River corridor towards the capital, Kinshasa. Next Monday, Mr. Harnett will travel with the authorities, the World Health Organization, and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to the Nyanya area, an Ebola hotspot at the junction of the provinces of Ituri, Hautewele, and Tshopo. We'll hear from him shortly on that. For its part, the World Food Programme is urgently scaling up food assistance, logistics, telecommunications, and air services in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Ebola has evolved from a localized health emergency into the fastest spreading outbreak on record. And you'll hear more from our guests. The Secretary-General concluded his visit to Cyprus and he is now on his way to New York. Today he held a meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader, Nikos Christodoulides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhurman. The meeting took place in the United Nations Good Offices Mission compound. Following today's meeting with the 2 leaders, the Secretary-General told journalists that the discussions, held separately and jointly, were frank and constructive. He added that based on the discussions on the way forward, he decided that he would convene another 5+1 meeting after adequate preparations on confidence-building, methodology, and substance, taking into account the convergences already achieved. Mr. Guterres stressed that the UN will work in consultation with the 2 sides and the guarantors to create the conditions for the meeting's success. In conclusion, Mr. Guterres said that the UN cannot impose peace, but it remains fully committed to supporting the people of Cyprus in this crucial moment for the island and the wider region. His full remarks were shared with you. Turning to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that civilians in Gaza face major public health risks, adding to the insecurity and displacement. Widespread rodent and ectoparasite infestations were reported in 83% of displacement sites assessed earlier this month, and that is alongside sewage in streets, stagnant water, and poor sanitation conditions. In response, our humanitarian partners are scaling up rodent control this week. The UN Development Programme and other partners are distributing 9 metric tonnes of rodenticides every day, thanks to supplies brought into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates. To reduce public health risks, sustained access to critical equipment and supplies such as spare parts and engine oil is urgently needed. It is also critical that partners managing solid waste in Gaza are permitted to reach landfills in areas where access is restricted by Israeli forces. That's about 65% of the Strip. Access to water also remains a daily challenge for families. The UN and our partners are doing what we can to support hundreds of thousands of children and their families with access to essential water, sanitation and hygiene services. In Khan Younis, UNICEF is supporting the construction of a central water well that is expected to benefit some 7,000 people. In Gaza City, the Agency is joining efforts to clean up the Sheikh al-Jinn Ajleen wastewater treatment plant, which served some 700,000 people before it was damaged in the hostilities. On the education front, UNICEF and partners estimated this week that about 430,000 kindergarten- and school-age children— about 56% of the estimated student population— were enrolled in more than 600 temporary learning spaces across Gaza. In some of these learning spaces, programs are underway to help children catch up ahead of the new school year. However, nearly half of school-aged children still lack adequate access to learning opportunities. From Haiti, our colleagues at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us there's been an alarming surge in gender-based violence in the country, particularly against women and girls, driven by ongoing insecurity and displacement. Our partners have recorded more than 3,000 incidents of gender-based violence between April and June this year, with more than 1,000 incidents reported in June alone. This brings the total number to 5,500 in the first half of the year, representing a sharp rise in numbers since last year, when partners recorded just over 8,000 incidents. Our humanitarian colleagues note that nearly 70% of the cases in the last 6 months involved rape, many of them gang rapes. Reportedly perpetrated by armed groups. More than half of the survivors were displaced. Our partners on the ground report that available resources have enabled some survivors to access medical, psychosocial, and protection services, such as safe spaces for women and girls, but needs continue to far exceed current capacity. Our partners also note that the situation is unfolding against a backdrop of mass displacement and forced returns. According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 1.5 million people are displaced within Haiti, with more than 140,000 Haitians forcibly returned to the country between January and June 2026. Many return without identity documents or resources. Despite extremely challenging operational conditions, we and our partners continue to provide essential protection services, including support to obtain civil documentation and information on rights and available services. However, insecurity, access restrictions, and funding shortfalls continue to limit the reach of humanitarian assistance. We have an update from our peacekeeping colleagues in the Central African Republic on disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, and repatriation. From July 24th to July 28th, 100 combatants from the armed group Retour, Réclamation et Réhabilitation, voluntarily laid down their weapons in Bissou and Pehoury, in Nanamambere Prefecture, as part of the National Disarmament Program. The operation, which was supported by our peacekeeping operation, led to the collection of 69 weapons, more than 4,400 rounds of ammunition of various calibers, and 24 rockets. Earlier this month, another DDRR operation conducted in Bangui enabled 34 ex-combatants, including members of the UPC, 3R, and Anti-Balaka, to voluntarily lay down their arms, further contributing to efforts to reduce the circulation of weapons and support community stabilization. With these 2 operations, 134 ex-combatants voluntarily laid down their arms during the month of July, while 88 weapons, more than 6,800 rounds of ammunition, and 26 rockets were collected through the National DDRR Program with the support of our peacekeeping mission, MINUSCO. The mission continues to work alongside the Central African— MINUSCA. The mission continues to work alongside the Central African authorities and national partners in support of peace, security, and the implementation of the peace agreement. The Security Council this morning held consultations on the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Central Asia, Kaha Ebnadze, briefed Council members on the work of that office. An analysis by our colleagues at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization tells us that by 2050, Latin America will have 38.3 million fewer school-age people. The decline will reshape demands for teachers, infrastructure needs, and the distribution of education resources. The study estimates that demographic change could free up around 30% of the financial resources currently used at each level of education if per-student spending remains constant. While migration, geographical disparities, and persistent educational gaps will impact how demographic trends affect educational systems, the challenge will be to use demographic change as an opportunity to close gaps in education, rather than simply reducing the capacity of education systems. The study therefore recommends integrating diverse data, including about migration, births, enrollment, and geographical location, to safeguard investment in education and direct resources towards the people and territories that need them the most. And we have a quiz for you today. The name of this country translates to 8 standing together. Any ideas what country that is? I'll give you a hint. It's a Polynesian language. It's not one that any of us necessarily know offhand. It is a tiny island nation in the Pacific Ocean known for being one of the world's smallest countries. Its total land spans just 10 square miles, and it has a low elevation. The highest point sits a mere 15 feet above sea level.

Tuvalu.

Yes, it is. You're right. You got it. It is Tuvalu. We say thank you to our friends in Funafuti for their regular— for their full payment to the regular budget. Tuvalu's payment brings the number of fully paid-up member states to 122. You get the first question.

Thank you, Farhan. Does the Secretary-General have any comment on the upsurge of attacks in the Middle East, both by the US and Saudi Arabia and Iran?

Well, the Secretary-General has been worried for some time that if the parties do not return to negotiations, again return to the diplomatic efforts, including the mediation efforts being pressed forward by Pakistan, Qatar, and others. Yes, Namo.

Just to follow up on that, how— like, where does the Secretary-General stand on Saudi Arabia joining the strikes against Iraqi militia groups that are aligned with Iran? They say it's in response to those militia groups attacking Saudi Arabia in the first place.

Well, the one thing we don't want to see is, again, is any expansion of the conflict. So having more parties involved in the fighting, having the fighting spread to a larger number of countries, all of these are adverse developments and could get us into a much worse situation even than before.

Just one, one question about accountability. There is an American journalist, Lindsay Snell, says that the acting ambassador, Syria's acting ambassador in Washington, D.C., used to be her captor in Syria when he was a member of the al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra. And I just want to know whether the Secretary-General believes that there should be accountability even for those that win their struggle, like let's say the new Syrian government, or accountability only applies to the losers?

No, of course that's not the case. Obviously there has to be accountability for everyone. Anyone who's committed atrocities in the past, they should be made to face justice. And so the Secretary-General has been calling for accountability, including by the way, in his travel to Syria just a few days ago. Yes, Dulcie.

Hi.

You mentioned in the Haiti section that there were several hundred thousand returnees in the last few months. Do you know where they're returning from?

I believe a lot of this is internal returnees, that there have been people who've been displaced by fighting from their homes to other areas, and now they're trying to get back to their homes. But as the note I just read made clear, there continues to be a tremendous amount of danger, including the, the threat of sexual assault and rape.

On those numbers, increased numbers, is it a possibility that more people are reporting these cases, or that there actually are, you know, an increase in numbers? Because there doesn't seem to be any clear explanation for it.

Well, there has been— we've been reporting for some time in recent weeks and months about the increase in gang violence, so it may be the result of that. But yes, as cases become reported, we know of them. It's not clear whether that's a factor, but certainly the numbers are going definitively up.

Thank you, Farhan.

I have 2 questions. One is, there is a drone attack on a gas depot in the Egyptian port of Dumyat. Does that indicate that the war is expanding to include Egypt?

Do you have any comment on that?

We don't have any firsthand information about this. But of course, our worry has, has been for some time that more and more countries have been getting attacked as, as the conflict proceeds.

My second question is that the Israeli prime minister said that soon they will start a major military operation in the West Bank. What do you say to that pledge that Israel it will become a very—

a large military operation in the West Bank?

We certainly would stand against any military conflict in the West Bank. There's no justification for that. You heard what Ramesh Al-Aqbarov said in his briefing yesterday to the Security Council and his warnings about the situation there, and those remain our position today. Yes, Aziz. Yes, please.

Thank you, Farhan. On Sudan, does the Secretary-General have any reaction to the recent announcement that the Sudanese armed forces have regained full control of a major highway linking the capital Khartoum with El Obeid?

I don't really have any reaction about this. Obviously, different sides have sometimes had military gains. But our general standpoint is that there's no military solution to this conflict, and as you know, our envoy Pekka Havisto is working with the parties to get to a halt in fighting and to a negotiated solution. And with that, I will now turn to our guests who I believe are on the line from Bunia. Oh, there they are. And as you can see, We have Julian Harniss, the UN Senior Ebola Coordinator, and next to him, Carl Skau, the Acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme. Mr. Harniss, I think we'll start with you and then turn to Mr. Skau.

Thank you and good afternoon. In the last 24 hours, 50 people have died of Ebola in Congo. And the number of cases is growing exponentially, doubling every 20 days. This is a far faster growth than the growth in our response. And so the gap between the epidemic and our response is widening. Of course, I've also seen some extraordinary work. I've met people in the community like Grace and Christine cooking WFP supplies for patients in the center next to their homes. I've seen Red Cross volunteers in burial teams, nurses and doctors, Congolese from the African continent and from around the world. I've seen the leadership, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health, Roger Camber, And the incident manager, Professor Steve Ahooka. However, the virus is pitiless, and what we did yesterday does not mean that we are winning on the virus. All the good we have done is not yet enough. So in support of the government, I'm calling that we step up. So that our staff can travel into Congo to respond, so that we can bring in supplies quickly and freely, and then when colleagues come out, that they are able to return home. The epidemic is worsening an already difficult humanitarian situation in eastern DRC. We see a worsening of the food security situation, the availability of medical services is been degraded by the epidemic, and across the board, the challenges are greater. I'm particularly privileged to be here with my friend Carl, leader of the World Food Programme, and I'm particularly grateful to the World Food Programme for their work. They have their planes, their helicopters, their logistics keep us moving. They're providing hot meals for patients, and food rations for people across eastern DRC. We could not do this without them.

Thank you. Thank you, Julian, and let me begin by also recognizing your leadership, for which we are deeply grateful, but also really paying tribute and expressing my gratitude for all the workers in this health and humanitarian response who are literally running towards the fighting to try to contain this crisis. I've spent a full day here in Bunia visiting treatment centers, speaking— treatment centers where also WFP is delivering food to health workers, to patients, but also to relatives of those who have been isolated. I've had the chance to speak to the authorities, to UN partners, to other NGO partners, and also to the affected population. And my number one message is that this situation requires much, much more attention. And so I welcome this opportunity to speak to all of you. This is the fastest-growing Ebola crisis ever, Ebola outbreak ever. To make a comparison, in the past 2 months, 1,000 people have died. That took 8 months for 1,000 people to die in West Africa. So that means that there is a fourfold in terms of the number of deaths in this short period of time, and I think that itself requires world attention. So like Julian said, when it comes to the response to Ebola, we really need a scale-up. We need to step up. I think all the strategies, all the lessons are here, all the elements are here in terms of the strategy, but it needs to be done 4 or 5 times more, and it needs to be done urgently. The second is that we need an all-rounded response. You may think that it's just about treating the identified patients, but no, this requires, from all the experience we have, a broader set of tools, and that includes food. We cannot isolate patients unless we provide them also food. We cannot have health workers working around the clock in these dangerous environments unless they're also being fed. And frankly, we also have whole communities who have been closed off and that we expect to remain in their homes, and they also need to be fed. WFP has served some 160,000 hot meals so far, and we continue to deliver on that. We have delivered food parcels to some 20,000 affected families who've been closed off. And so I think that's an important message here, that food is essential in this response. You cannot force people to choose between hunger and health. But I've also had the chance to sit down and speak to people, you know, about their broader sets of concerns, if you will. And what really strikes me, what really strikes me, colleagues, is that people here are exhausted. They are exhausted from years of conflict, from repeated displacement, from crisis after crisis after crisis that has been hitting them. And I think to understand this exhaustion, it's important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. And let me just point to 4 layers, if you will. The first one being the conflict and the displacement. I mean, 7 million people have been displaced in the Eastern DRC and 2 million of those in this province of Ituri. And it's not happened to them once. I mean, since 2019, most of the people that I have spoken to have had to move 4, 5 times and been completely uprooted every time. You know, when they have fled, they have been looted. They have no safety. They have no proper shelter. They have no land of their own where they can grow the simplest food. And so what we see also is that many children are drifting around, are turning to child labor, including in these terrible informal mining industries that we all know about. So that's the first set, if you will, of pressure on the people. The second is really around hunger. Some 10 million people, I mean, 10 million people, that's the population of Sweden, the country I come from, are acutely food insecure in the eastern DRC. And 3 million of those are in IPC 4, as you know, emergency level of food insecurity. That is one step away from famine. That means they go to bed every night hungry, they wake up hungry every morning. In the past, the only way for people to survive was to be in camps, because those camps were serviced by NGOs and by WFP for food. But we are dramatically cutting that food. We have gone from a year ago assisting some 3 million people here to now assist around 1 million people. So what you see are desperate people turning out from those camps, trying to find ways to survive, including selling the little belongings they have left, or turning to very small-scale farming, putting some beans in the ground on a plot of land that they don't own and they don't know if they will be able to harvest. So that is really the overall food— dramatic food insecurity situation we have. I mean, the health— I'm not a health expert, but I think it's important also to say that this place lacks any kind of of basic healthcare. I heard today that some 1,000 healthcare centres have been closed down in the past couple of years because of lack of funding. And that's in a situation where some 400,000 children are malnourished. And of course, cholera has also been spreading over the past few months. And then on top of that, of course, if I add a 4th layer, is now this Ebola crisis the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever on record. So clearly, like Julianne said, we need all hands on deck, and we really need an approach that centers around communities, around the people. We need a scale-up of the Ebola response, 3, 4, 5 times of what we are doing now. We need, like I said, an all-rounded response that also brings in other key components such as food, We need to also at the same time attend to these broader challenges. People, you know, need peace. When you speak to them— I was just at an all-staff meeting with, you know, we have a couple of hundred staff here, and I asked them, you know, about the atmosphere, what they want, and everyone returned to the message: we need peace, we need security, our friends need a piece of land so that they can, you know, just find a place to stable lives, to begin rebuilding their lives. They want to send their kids to school. But for all of this, we need funding. I mean, the funding that is coming here is far from enough, and we need political attention. So I really thank you listening to us today, and I count on you to try to bring this message to the world.

Thank you.

Thanks very much to both of you. I'll now open the floor up for questions, and please, as you ask Let us know to whom you're directing the question. Edie.

Thank you both very much on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association for doing this briefing. My name is Edith Lederer from the Associated Press. A couple of follow-up questions. First, how much money Do you need for what period of time? Secondly, I recall from the last Ebola outbreak that two of the biggest problems were families trying to hide members who had Ebola, which. Was one difficulty in trying to trace and stop the outbreak, and secondly, the funeral practices in the DRC which require close contact with the deceased. Are those still 2 of domain issues you're facing and what else is causing this spiraling outbreak? Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Edith. The first question is on the funding. We look at the HNRP, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. The current plan is $2.1 billion and is only 45% funded. So in addition to that, there are all the requirements of the Ebola response which are currently being revised because when the plan was done 2 months ago, we only covered 2 provinces. But now that it is growing— that now it's spread into both Chopo and Otaweli, we need to significantly increase, um, both the, the amount to cover the geography, but also because of the expected duration of the response. And that will be done in the next 2 weeks. Now, on the deaths in, um, or rather on the spread of the, the epidemic, we, we're facing indeed the, the points you're raising about, um, community trust are absolutely vital. about 60% of the deaths are occurring in— that are recorded are in the community. And that, that is worrying because when you have a death in the community, that means that— and the, the person's— the, the viral charge is the highest at the moment just after death. So that means that you've had people in the community who have been cared for by the daughter or the wife or the mother. And as a result, many of the persons most affected are young women. So you get the transmission within the community. Many children under 5 are dying because of Ebola. And those 60% of deaths in the community, we would want them to be seeking care. Because if people come into care quickly upon the— if they— when we see the symptoms, they come into care, they have a very good chance of surviving Ebola. And then furthermore, we're bringing on— we're working to bring in therapeutics and post-exposition prophylaxis. So there are ways to work on Ebola and for people to survive, but only if they come in quickly.

Okay.

And so that is getting that community trust so that people feel the trust to come in, seek care, will save lives. So there's a huge challenge where we are working with the government and community workers to engage with the community to resolve that. Thank you.

I mean, I will just be quick. I don't know really what the overall gap or ask is for DRC. What I do know is $76 million is our ask to provide logistics that Julian spoke about, the warehousing, the last-mile delivery, the air services, but also the food for this Ebola response. So $75 million is the ask, and that's frankly just peanuts if you look at the bigger scheme of things. What has been interesting so far is that our logistics has been somewhat funded. But the food element here has been zero-funded for us, and I think that speaks to this issue of understanding that if you want to be effective, you need to have an all-rounded response. It's not only the narrow health response that is needed to be able to contain that. And I think, you know, again, speaking to the urgency here, it's clear that at the pace that this is now spreading, it has been contained quite locally here for for the moment, but there are clear risks, of course, for this epidemic to spread also beyond borders.

Could I ask a quick follow-up? We've heard that there are some early vaccine trials. Are any of those— have you seen any trials taking place or any indication of early results?

Indeed, there has been a trial that has been commenced with a volunteer in the United Kingdom. However, we're many, many months away from seeing an effective vaccine. The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola is not one for which there is a vaccine available, nor are the therapeutics. vaccines yet available. We're doing trials for— currently trials are being conducted for therapeutics and for post-exposition prophylactics. We're closer with the therapeutics, but it's many months away before we have vaccines. But the— Even without that, can survivors survive it? Anything? Okay.

Do you have it?

Wait.

Your audio for a second. What? You want me to call him? All right. Are you getting a signal?

Yeah. I think we're back. Yeah.

Hold on.

Please go ahead with your next question.

Okay. Sorry. If you could just repeat the last few things you said because your mic went out for a second.

Yes, so I was saying that there's transfer therapeutics going on for post-exposure prophylaxis and vaccines. The vaccines are several months away before we— before we see the ability to deploy them in Democratic Republic of Congo. But the important thing is even without that, if you seek care quickly, the quality of care is sufficient to significantly increase your chances of surviving the Ebola virus disease. If people come in late, that's where we see the high case fatality rate. Thank you.

Okay, thanks. Dulcie?

Hi, this is Dulcie Limock from PassBlue. I have a couple of questions, one for Carl. The WFP is asking for what, $75 million? Is the relevant State Department office run by Jeremy Lewin, are they mulling over releasing some funds? And regarding the political attention, you know, DRC is the president of the Security Council this month, but the word Ebola has not come up in the council this month. So I'm just wondering, is there a, you know—

Yes.

a gap between what's happening in Kinshasa and what's happening in eastern DRC. And, well, I guess that's it. So when you say it's contained, it's contained in the DRC and has not spread to neighboring countries? Is that what you're saying? Thanks.

I'll cover the Ebola bare elements and then perhaps— So in terms of the Security Council, I mean, obviously the Ebola response is a public health matter. It does occur within the context of armed groups and of violence, but what is the vast majority of the cases are here in and around Bunia, and we are in a secure environment here, and people can seek care without concerns. So what we're looking at is a public health response in a complicated environment. In terms of the increase

Try again.

I think it's working.

Okay.

Hold on.

Sorry.

One second. Yeah? Oh, oh yeah, okay. Can you please repeat? I think we have you now.

Can you hear me?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we can.

Okay, okay.

No line, but you can hear me. I wasn't trying to move the question. The last case in Uganda has indeed been released. We're very happy. Obviously, that doesn't mean that grass is for the woods. It's a long border and much, much trouble left.

Can you hear me as well?

No?

Maybe I'll speak in— should I speak English?

Can you hear me as well?

Yeah, yeah, we can hear you.

Oh, just quickly to say we have indeed received funding from the USAID department and we are in discussions for further contributions including through the Orchard Pool Fund.

Okay. And Josiah, follow-up.

I'll try with a follow-up because to say it's a global health crisis, you know, belies what happened with the original— with the other Ebola case crisis when the U.S. and Samantha Power in the Security Council led a mobilization effort to control the Ebola spread. I guess I don't understand why you would separate out a global health crisis from Security Council acting, especially when you're saying that political attention is needed.

Well, thank you for coming. I think that would be a question that would be best addressed to the Democratic Party. Certainly our focus here is on the public health response.

Okay. Are there any further questions? If not, I would like once more to thank our guests, Julian Harniss, and Carl Scoutt. Thanks very much and good luck on your work in the days ahead.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Thank you.