The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News , Press Conferences | WHO , WFP
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing Tigray Update WFP - WHO 13 July 2021
UN appeals for smoother passage for aid convoys to Ethiopia’s Tigray UN humanitarians appealed on Tuesday for better access to Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, after the first aid trucks in days to reach the local capital, Mekelle, encountered multiple, rigorous checks on their way there. “The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 50 trucks arrived in the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle Monday with 900 metric tonnes of food as well as other emergency supplies,” said Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP). “It was the first humanitarian convoy to reach Tigray since WFP re-started operations in the northwest on 02 July following fighting…Of the 50 trucks, 29 truckloads transported food commodities comprising of wheat, split peas and vegetable oil, enough to cover the most pressing urgent food needs of 200,000 people for a week. It is not enough.” Unobstructed aid deliveries are crucial in the northern Ethiopian region where four million people need emergency food assistance after more than eight months of conflict between regional and central government forces, the WFP spokesperson explained. “What is important here is to note is that these convoys are going through rigorous checks,” Mr Phiri said. “It should not be like that. We need to send these convoys every day from now on so that we are able to meet demand. We therefore appeal for quicker and smoother passage into the region as soon as possible.” According to WFP the aid convoy took four days to travel from Semera in the northeast to Mekelle, a distance of 445 kilometres. Drivers had to stop at 10 checkpoints where “at each and every stop, the humanitarian cargo was rigorously checked”, Mr. Phiri said. Some 100 aid trucks “need to be moving on any given day” and they need to for half the time if we are to reverse the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the region” he continued, before noting that WFP needs $176 million to continue to scale up its response in Tigray to save lives and livelihoods to the end of the year. Latest reports from Tigray on Tuesday also indicate that healthcare provision is non-existent in many areas, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. “Most health facilities are not functioning at the moment and first-hand accounts that we just received this morning tell us that medical equipment and supplies were removed or destroyed in almost all health facilities in the region,” said spokesperson Christian Lindmeier. Despite the challenges of access, the UN agency has allocated $1.9 million for malaria, cholera and nutrition treatments. “But this is only a fraction of what’s needed (it) will be critical for local authorities and partners to deliver assistance,” Mr. Lindmeier insisted. In June, the WHO warned that conflict between Ethiopian Government troops and those loyal to the dominant regional force, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), had left hospitals “barely functioning”, people displaced and famine “looming”. The agency also underlined the serious danger of communicable and vaccine-preventable diseases spreading owing to a lack of food, clean water, safe shelter and access to health care. ends
STORY: Tigray Update – WFP, WHO
TRT: 02 min 22s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 13 July 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, overcast.
- Wide shot of press conference room at UN Geneva, TV camera on tripod in centre, podium and host/participants to rear and to sides.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme (WFP): “The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 50 trucks arrived in the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle Monday with 900 metric tonnes of food as well as other emergency supplies. It was the first humanitarian convoy to reach Tigray since WFP re-started operations in the northwest on 02 July following fighting.”
- Medium shot, technician, masked, wearing white coat and checking mobile phone, partly obscured by conference microphones.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme (WFP): “What is important here is to note is that these convoys are going through rigorous checks. It should not be like that. We need to send these convoys every day from now on so that we are able to meet demand. We therefore appeal for quicker and smoother passage into the region as soon as possible.”
- Medium shot, participants seated behind laptops, masked, interpreters’ booths to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme (WFP): “Of the 50 trucks, 29 truckloads transported food commodities comprising of wheat, split peas and vegetable oil, enough to cover the most pressing urgent food needs of 200,000 people for a week. It is not enough”
- Medium shot, participants seated behind laptops, masked, podium with host and UN logo backdrop to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme (WFP): “We need 100 trucks to be moving on any given day for half the time if we are to reverse the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the region.”
- Wide shot, big screen TV showing remote participant and host seated at podium, UN logo backdrop to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Christian Lindmeier, World Health Organization (WHO): “Most health facilities are not functioning at the moment and first-hand accounts that we just received this morning tell us that medical equipment and supplies were removed or destroyed in almost all health facilities in the region.”
- Wide shot, big screen TV showing remote participant and host seated at podium, UN logo backdrop to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Christian Lindmeier, World Health Organization (WHO): “With our limited remaining financial resources, WHO is procuring vitally needed supplies worth $1.9 million for malaria, cholera and nutrition. But this is only a fraction of what’s needed; these will be critical for local authorities and partners to deliver assistance.”
- Wide shot of press conference room, TV camera on tripod in centre, podium and host/participants to rear and to sides.
- Wide reverse shot of press conference room at UN Geneva, TV camera on tripod in centre next to arc light, participants to the sides.
- Wide shot of podium, host seated and masked in front of UN backdrop, arranging papers.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The appointment on Thursday of Karla Quintana as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic is a key development after nearly a year and a half of work by the UN Human Rights Office supporting the institution’s launch.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
The head of the UN migration agency stressed on Friday that Syria is in no position to take back millions of Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime, while there is an urgent need to “re-evaluate” sanctions impacting the war-ravaged country.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR , UNHCR , WHO , UNICEF , UNRWA , OHCHR
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration, representatives and spokespersons of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Human Rights, the United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the International Labour Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IOM
Amy Pope, IOM Director General, briefs the Geneva press corps on her recent mission to Syria.
1
1
1
Edited News | IIIM , UNHCR
Syria: ‘Key priority’ is to preserve evidence of crimes – UN investigators
In Syria, new access to evidence of horrific human rights violations means that accountability may be closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved, a top UN investigator said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | FAO , UNHCR , WHO , WOAH
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism Investigating Serious Crimes in Syria, representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Meteorological Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IIIM
Robert Petit, Head of IIIM: opportunities and challenges for justice in Syria in the wake of current events.
1
1
1
Edited News | OSE , ICRC , UNHCR
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OSE , UNHCR , ICRC , UNRWA , HRC , ILO , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the Human Rights Council, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
1
1
2
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: “Sickening normalisation” of suffering, amid attacks on people and aid convoys
Ongoing military operations by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza continue to devastate Palestinian children and families, with mounting casualties and a critical lack of humanitarian aid for the desperate population.
“Local media reporting here that last night, 30 people were killed in this area in strikes” said a senior emergency officer with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Louise Wateridge, speaking to reporters in Geneva from central Gaza.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Rights experts call for end to impunity for Israel’s violations of international law
Four independent human rights experts have jointly called for the international community to sanction Israel’s conduct of hostilities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as well as in the wider Middle East region - including in Syria, Lebanon and Iran. They also called for the restoration of trust in the international justice system through the abandonment of “extreme interpretations” and “double standards” in the application of the universal norms regulating the conduct of war.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
Syria: needs continue to grow amid highly uncertain situation, say aid teams
The historic power shift in Syria and the still volatile situation two days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime have increased humanitarian needs in a country where nearly 17 million people, including millions of internally displaced, already depended on humanitarian aid before the recent events, UN aid teams said on Tuesday.