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Story: DRC: Update on health situation - WHO
DURATION (TRT): 2’31"
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16/9
DATELINE: 22 September 2023, GENEVA SWITZERLAND
FORMAT: HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley, UN Geneva
- Wide shot: speakers and attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “DRC is facing its worst cholera outbreak since 2017. The eastern provinces are the most affected ones, accounting for 80 per cent of the cases. We have close to 30,000 suspected cases of cholera reported. The country is also battling the largest outbreak of measles recorded since 2019.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “The country is battling an epicenter of the humanitarian crisis over the past two decades, the eastern side of the country is severely affected due to the intensity of the conflict and the increasing humanitarian needs.”
- Wide shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “The combination of measles and malnutrition has severe health impacts on children under five years of age, putting them at risk of dying with lack of access to adequate treatments. WHO has deployed experts to affected areas to support the authorities in investigating and responding to these outbreaks.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “On the gender-based violence, I will mention our support to victims of gender-based violence. Around 23,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported in the six provinces from January to August 2023. These numbers are probably much higher considering the low reporting by the victims and the weakness of health services to capture this data in a more exhaustive way.”
- Medium shot: podium of the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “DRC must not be forgotten. We need more whatever the support of our donors and partners to continue delivering these much needed health services to the people of DRC. WHO response is only funded by 14 per cent so far. We need a more sustainable and resilient health response in DRC.”
- Wide shot: attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
STORYLINE
Eastern DR Congo is epicentre of humanitarian crisis, says WHO
Increasing violence from armed conflict and intercommunal clashes which have left entire villages burned to the ground in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) along with rampant sexual violence and a cholera outbreak are devastating the lives of millions of people, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
“The country is battling an epicenter of the humanitarian crisis over the past two decades, the eastern side of the country is severely affected due to the intensity of the conflict and the increasing humanitarian needs,” reported Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO’s representative in the DRC.
According to the WHO, a total of 7.4 million people in the DRC need health assistance and conditions are worsening. Some 6.3 million have been displaced in the last 18 months in the eastern part of the country and they are more at risk of disease outbreak and acute malnutrition as they have limited or no access to food, safe water and health care.
The UN health agency has verified 32 attacks on health facilities and workers in 2022, (causing three deaths and injuring seven) compared to 19 attacks so far in 2023. Health facilities have been set on fire, health workers killed and supplies looted. The ongoing violence is also hindering the delivery of health services on the ground at a time when needs are critical.
“DRC is facing its worst cholera outbreak since 2017”, said Dr. Hama Sambo. “The eastern provinces are the most affected ones, accounting for 80 per cent of the cases. We have close to 30,000 suspected cases of cholera reported. The country is also battling the largest outbreak of measles recorded since 2019.”
This number compares to only slightly over 5,000 last year for the same period.
WHO has deployed experts to affected areas to support the authorities in investigating and responding to these outbreaks.
“The combination of measles and malnutrition has severe health impacts on children under five years of age, putting them at risk of dying with lack of access to adequate treatments,” said the WHO representative.
The WHO has also provided increasing support to the victims of gender-based violence, including access to mental health and psychosocial support, medical care and post-exposure prophylaxis.
“Around 23,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported in the six provinces from January to August 2023. These numbers are probably much higher considering the low reporting by the victims and the weakness of health services to capture this data in a more exhaustive way,” noted Dr. Hama Sambo.
The UN health organization recently completed a vaccination campaign in Ituri province reaching over one million of children under five with a coverage of 88 per cent. More vaccination campaigns will follow in other provinces.
The WHO’s representative underscored that DRC “must not be forgotten. We need more support of our donors and partners to continue delivering these much-needed health services to the people of DRC.”
The WHO’s response plan of $31 million is only 14 per cent funded ($4,3 million).
-ends-
Story: DRC: Update on health situation - WHO
DURATION (TRT): 2’31"
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16/9
DATELINE: 22 September 2023, GENEVA SWITZERLAND
FORMAT: HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley, UN Geneva
- Wide shot: speakers and attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “DRC is facing its worst cholera outbreak since 2017. The eastern provinces are the most affected ones, accounting for 80 per cent of the cases. We have close to 30,000 suspected cases of cholera reported. The country is also battling the largest outbreak of measles recorded since 2019.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “The country is battling an epicenter of the humanitarian crisis over the past two decades, the eastern side of the country is severely affected due to the intensity of the conflict and the increasing humanitarian needs.”
- Wide shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “The combination of measles and malnutrition has severe health impacts on children under five years of age, putting them at risk of dying with lack of access to adequate treatments. WHO has deployed experts to affected areas to support the authorities in investigating and responding to these outbreaks.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “On the gender-based violence, I will mention our support to victims of gender-based violence. Around 23,000 cases of gender-based violence were reported in the six provinces from January to August 2023. These numbers are probably much higher considering the low reporting by the victims and the weakness of health services to capture this data in a more exhaustive way.”
- Medium shot: podium of the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Dr. Boureima Hama Sambo, WHO representative in DRC: “DRC must not be forgotten. We need more whatever the support of our donors and partners to continue delivering these much needed health services to the people of DRC. WHO response is only funded by 14 per cent so far. We need a more sustainable and resilient health response in DRC.”
- Wide shot: attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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