Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva.
We are going to start immediately with a briefing on the situation
Palestinian territories. We have with us Dr
who is the director of health at UN
As you may have seen, we have distributed it to you this morning.
A has published a health programme annual report
is here to tell us about it. I also wanted to
remind you before we start listening to
The statement by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East
process that we have distributed
about the airstrikes in Rafa.
So I give the floor now to
and please have your initial remarks. And then we will open the floor to questions.
Good morning. Thank you very much for good gathering.
I'm the director of Health of UNRWA
is not only the occupied Palestinian territory Gaza, West Bank,
including east Jerusalem, but also Jordan, Lebanon and Syria,
where we have in total around 6 million Palestinian refugees since 1948 or in 1950.
When we start operations,
I briefly talk about the entire UNRWA operations in these five fields. We call it
and they go to the West Bank and Gaza
So for the health report,
which clear said that the UN W a
continued the services under such a difficult timing,
not only Gaza and the West Bank, you know Lebanon in the economic crisis,
Syria is also in, security prevails and we never stop any services
and last year we provide the services around
7 million consultations. So it's a quite a good number
and the 2 million Palestinian refugees use our
services because some of them come multiple times,
hypertension because of prevailing poverty and difficulty in lifestyle.
Diabetes hypertension is quite predominant among Palestinian refugees
and also we took care of that 70,000 pregnant women
and almost all of them, except for the current Gaza
that almost all of them deliver their babies in the hospital.
So it's quite good co ordination with the host government of Jordan, Lebanon,
Syria as well as Palestine
and also we have an increased number of mental health and psychosocial support.
Last year we treated 33 33,000 patients with mental health. We introduced the
gap and this 33,000 includes that the depression,
anxiety and other mental health conditions.
So it's a very good, robust primary health care services.
Of course, it is supported by the 3200 staff.
It's a great staff, almost all of them except me
They were born there and they studied there.
They came to our services and provide the services to their own population.
I think that's a good reason that we are extremely good
and we have a very good electron
that it is a cloud basis.
It is collected 140 health centres and day to day,
and so many of the health centres are paperless or digitalized
recording that medical condition. The prescription by digitally
and we also have a smartphone applications.
One is for the mother and childhood pregnant mothers.
far, 270,000 mothers using these applications
and the diabetes, hypertension or non communicable diseases. Around 200,000
uh, people using this application.
So una is quite a robust primary skill with a long history of good
quality of services and indicate about which you can see the annual report.
The second half of the annual report is all the data and you can see this
The West Bank situation is very dire. We have 40 plus health centres,
but it is very difficult to move Typical example that health staff who are working
in health centre X may not be able to reach the health centre on time.
So what we did is we reallocate the staff and
so that the people living near that health centre can go
to the health centre to work and so that we do
not have a disruption of the provision of the services.
But it is very difficult in the West Bank
and particular the incursion
and some of the health centres are affected, and that is also our main concern.
I was in Gaza last month, uh, three weeks
and then that I still can't forget what I have seen or I. I still cannot, uh,
Reconcile of what I've seen in the brain and the mind is the correct expression,
And then so I went because of my job. I went to Gaza many times pure
I went there on the eighth of April. I really couldn't understand where I was
When I saw the buildings, I really couldn't understand why it was a big shock to me.
I'm very proud to tell that the UN
R never stop the services.
at this point of time. Seven health centres I need I need to check today.
But it was a seven health centre yesterday
and there are also 100 and five medical points which are all in the shelters.
We have still quite a large number of shelters
and so we provide the primary health
care primary health services in these health facilities
and every day we we treat almost 1515 to 20,000
Before the war, the average daily consultation in Gaza
5000 so that we are catching up and providing services not only the refugees,
which accounts for the 70% of the population.
But the non refugees as well We treat everybody
and then that the the health condition is dire
because of the lack of the good to wash water and sanitation
that we have still very high rate of the acute respiratory infections,
diarrhoea, including bloody diarrhoea as well as hepatitis A.
and then that's our main concern
and also that the mental is on the rise. But, uh, we we we do as much as possible
and then that access to the hospital services.
We are working very closely thanks to WHO and the international partners
that we try to have access to the health service,
hospital services to the Palestine, refugees, refugees, others.
again, as I said, we never stop services.
We continue to provide the services and include the vaccinations
and then we start the vaccination from the beginning of
the year and so far we have 100,000 Children vaccinated.
And so it's a quite a good catch up to the pre war level and thanks to the community,
because their mothers are very much keen to vaccinations.
which is the middle upper
and our data is still preliminary.
And but it shows that there is an increasing trend of the malnutrition
less than two years in the southern part of Gaza that 10%
of kids we found that are acutely malnourished and working with the
So Gaza situations are again very dire and we do our best.
because of this massive, deteriorating situations,
what do we need now is ceasefire.
We continue to do whatever we can do but without ceasefire,
without peace on the ground, peace in mind, we continue to suffer.
that the people in Gaza may continue to suffer, so ceasefire is highly requested.
that's all. Thank you, Thank you very much, Doctor Sita
and I'm sure there will be a lot of questions. I also wanted to
mention I should have done it before they they tweet that Antonio Guterres,
our secretary general, posted last night
about the Israeli air strike
I condemn Israel's actions which killed a core of innocent
civilians who were only seeking shelter from this deadly conflict,
there is no safe place in Gaza.
I'll open the floor to question first in the room, as usual and then on the platform.
I would like to ask you, uh, more details on the situation in the West Bank.
Um, how? The incursions by the Israeli forces have
the services in the health centres.
And you mentioned you had to reallocate staff to live near
explain a little more of the situation there, um, on a daily basis,
how the work is is happening if if people can access
the health centres also to to to seek for for services,
Yeah, thank you very much
yes, that, uh, for from us.
The major problem is how to continue the services to, uh,
ensuring the number of staff in the health centres to come.
When I was there at the beginning of the year, I can share one example I faced
that I went to the one of the health centres where
that some of the health centre staff could not come.
Then they called the head of health centre and told
them that I'm here at the checkpoint for three hours.
So they asked the health centre staff. What should we do?
The health centre staff said that you can go home and then that kind
of situation continues and so that we make sure that the where that the
health staff can access. Then we
we reallocate the staff to go to the health centre to continue the service.
In the hype of encouraging. Of course our centre is closed. But after that we open it
and then make sure that the people have continued access
to the services that we are going to do this
and so. And the other problem is the movement
that our warehouse main warehouse of medicines in Jerusalem,
because I'm sure you know that our front office is in Jerusalem.
And so the move in the medicine from
Jerusalem to the West Bank is always challenging,
that we are working closely with the minister
of Health and other partners to make sure that
when the medicine in the warehouse could reach the Hebron or
That's what we're going to do. So it's extraordinary. Challenging.
Yes, Very quickly, if you have any. If you have any idea on
what kind of health problems are increasing because
people don't have access to the medical services.
one is on. The rise is mental health,
and you can see in the statistic report.
So I don't want to refer to the an inaccurate number.
But one is on the rights,
but also the N CD on the rights. But it is continuous.
So our aim is to make sure that they have access to our services.
And also that access to the specialised services
in collaboration with the Minister of Health.
Yes, please. Can you introduce yourself? I know that you come from the Lancet,
but Ah, there you go. Quite quite loud. Anyway,
could you, um, reflect on the financing side of your
work? Because obviously it's very challenging. And you're having to,
um, treat and see so many more individuals. Thanks.
I'm the director of health so that I'm not in
the best position to answer to the financial situation,
but let me share what I know and the detail.
You should contact the office
the beginning of the year that because of
the allegation that the 16 countries stopped the financing
today, 14 countries resumed
So it's a good sign for us,
but because we still have not yet reached the sustainable financing level.
at this point of time, what we have is the next month. June cash flow is OK until June.
are is ok. After that, it is still challenging.
I don't know if you, uh, amongst your health care centres,
you have kind of trauma centres,
but I'm wondering if any of them were dealing with the, um,
injuries from the Rafah airstrike
Sunday Monday night. Um, what did they see? How were they able to cope with that?
And just a broader question on on medical supplies into Gaza. Ha! Have you had any in
operation began? And And how dire is the supply situation for you?
So the for the yesterday's one Rafa
I. I I'm not updating myself, so I'll come back to you later.
But in general, as I said that we have a seven health centre and the 105 medical point.
When I went to the health centre as a medical points,
I saw lots of injured people come to a health centre.
It's simply because the host overwhelmed
and so they cannot keep the patient long so they come to a health centre. So that
wouldn't what you call dressing change
and then that our health centre and the particular medical
point are not the best place to have a clean wound
change. So we are working with Dre
so that the people come here that
should be able to get clean dress
one of the main issues. The place I went in medical points in the mid of April mid of
Around 20 to 30% of the patients coming to our medical points are for wound care
and that's also a big burden
and so that we are trying to do this.
opened the day before yesterday or yesterday so
that I hope that the medicine goes in.
we have two routes that our office is exploring together with other UN partners.
and the Egyptian side. The other one is the Jordan side
Food Programme To make sure that we can send the medicines there.
It has been challenged if we go back a little bit history
that at the beginning of the war we had a major warehouse in Gaza City.
And if you remember the one week after the start of the
war that we needed to evacuate to the South to continue the services
stock in the central warehouse of medicines. So we ran out of the stock very quickly
and then since then we've been there.
What we did is we bought all the medicine for six months
and because of the support to the
international communities and also the government of
Egypt that they reached by the end of by the end of December,
all of all of them reached.
However, we see that what we call the consumption of medicines
increased. Some of them increased drastically
like creating the wound care because we did not
deal with the wound care before the war,
diarrhoea medicines. Because of the very poor hygiene conditions,
I forgot to mention that in our latest study,
in the shelters we have, we have one toilet over 4, 800 people
and the one shower for 3 to 4000 people
is simply because we have too many people to care, so it. But it result in the,
uh the increase in the diarrhoea and the hepatitis
and so medical supplies. We still have
good stock now, except for the some medicines. We have an increase in consumption.
They are really hoping that
or the Jordan route resume
or open and so that we can send the medicines from these places.
has something to add to answer Emma's question, please. Margaret.
Yes. On the supplies. I've got an update on where we are with that.
Certainly the medical supplies and the fuel supplies are running very, very low.
We've managed to get three trucks in through Carlo
since, um, the the the Rafa
WHO supply trucks waiting at Al
unable to cross into Rafah due to the closure of the border,
fuel is particularly critical.
uh, the estimated requirement is 200,000 litres per day,
and we have been able to get in approximately 70,000 litres per day at best.
Some days, none. So that's that's an approximation over what's been able to get in.
really struggling and making decisions about what they can do.
We have 14 hospitals that are officially still functioning,
but what we call functioning often they're not accepting in patients.
limit what they can do, particularly in Rafa.
Only Emirati hospital remains barely functional,
and there are five field hospitals, but all are overwhelmed and
And so this means that the key health services are just not available
medical imaging, surgery, paediatrics, internal medicine and maternity care.
Uh, I've got a lot more detail if you want it, but I can. I'll give that letter.
Thank you, Margaret. And I see that James has raised his hand.
Maybe also to answer Emma's question.
Good morning. James J is our, uh, spokesperson of UNICEF.
Good morning, everyone. Um, hi, Emma.
Yeah. Just to add on the what's happened in the last three weeks since the,
remembering the limited quote unquote limited invasion of Rafa,
which has now displaced around a
Um, but when it comes to water, as of today,
both desalination plants in central and southern Gaza have shut
one for 18 hours and one for eight hours.
Um, so throughout this past week, 10% 10% of the required
fuel has got in for those, uh, desalination plants. So when we were talking about,
a person getting around a person getting around one litre of water per day,
catastrophically below any emergency level,
we are now again multiplying by fractions based on the closure of Rafa
and a, um, ongoing military offensive there. Thanks.
Thank you, James, for this update from UNICEF, I'll go to Nina Larson. A FP. Nina.
Yes. Uh, thank you um I was wondering I had a few questions. I was wondering, Um,
Um, if, uh, you're talking about receiving, you know, wound care, uh, in, uh,
can you describe sort of what kind of, uh uh, What kind of injuries are coming in?
And also, are you are you handling, um,
births? Uh, women in labour, women giving birth. And, um and also, um,
uh, amputations and things like that.
If you could just sort of give an impression of of, uh,
what you're seeing there and then in in terms of, um,
Um, I know that, uh, there were warnings at the beginning of the the Rafa
that all humanitarian, um, assistance would ground to a halt. Uh,
with the 70,000 litres going in per, uh, per day,
You know how how limited are your operations?
Thank you very much. So, uh, sorry.
The wound care what we saw.
All the wound is treated by the hospitals
and then the operations amputation. Whatever fracture, They do it in the hospital.
We are primary health care provider So we have no operations room.
We have no surgeons to do this But once the operation is finished
the ordinary setting they stay in the hospital longer or they go
to the hospital patient to wound the dressing by the specialist.
But the hospital totally overwhelmed as you heard
this So this patient will come to us.
So what I saw is quite old range of the people, including amputations,
that for the wound care we do not do the social,
all things just to change the wound,
clean the wound and change the dressing that we are
doing this with all the different types of this one.
If you remember that in several years ago that a
couple of years we have a great much of return
in Gaza, where lots of injured had the
same sort of situation, that they came to a clinic for the wound care.
And that's what we are going to do and what we are trying to do.
And the other one is labour, labour are all done in the
we have with the help of the UFP
that we have a midwives in our shelters
but they are not there to mend the deliveries.
But they are meant to support the pregnant mothers and babies.
majority of the delivery is done in the hospitals. And we took care of the process.
very limited number of deliveries that she,
thank you very much. Uh, M,
Do you wanna add anything
Because of the limitation on fuels, Decision is made every day about
what it's used for. I mean, because it's used for the generators for hospitals.
But it's needed also for the bakeries to try to provide some food
it's needed for the desalination plants. As James mentioned. So
everybody's making very, very difficult decisions about what can be done.
One little bright spot is the dialysis services have returned
General Hospital, and I understand also they're going to begin to do so in Al
Shifa. So it's extraordinary how,
the massive destruction and the difficult circumstances,
people are working under what you said.
restoring services as best they can to keep on serving the people.
The other big issue actually is lack of medical imaging.
You talked about trauma care.
When you've had your bones smashed by a bomb or other trauma you need
the doctors need to be able to see where they are to put them back
in a way that helps you to heal.
There are no CT scans working.
There's about one in the north in the rest of the south of Wadi
Gaza. There isn't AC T scan, so you can't actually see
you have to really fly blind.
All the work that the doctors and nurses are doing, they're doing,
they're doing their very best.
But they know they're not doing what they really could do if they were just allowed
to provide the level of care and services
they could provide before the seventh of October.
Thank you, Margaret, For this update,
who is our correspondent of the Turkish News Agency.
I want to ask about can we say that lack of fuel entrance and also ongoing strike,
Those increase the number of needs of medical education.
do we have a rough number and is it taking place or not?
And my second question will be more broad
But you can maybe comment from the health point of view.
EU foreign policy chief Burrell
said that Israeli parliament has been starting to study a lot to
declared that UNRWA will be forbidden to act and work in the West Bank and in Gaza.
Have you evaluated and what would be me?
What would it mean for your operations in the region?
And what would it mean in the health sector? Thank you.
I am not in a position to answer or respond to what Israel is discussing now.
But what I can say is this
is critical and essential for the people in the West Bank and Gaza
We cover 70% of the people in Gaza for the primary care, quite a large number of them.
And at this point of time, 60 70% of patients are seen by UN
it is an extraordinary tough situation.
They already went beyond the limitation,
but it is very tough. So what I would say is UN
D A is critical essential
in providing the services needed to the people. So continental UN R
And I like to back this as you have
seen several times at all levels the UN Secretariat,
officers, including at the highest level. We've been saying it
that UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza.
No other entity has the capacity to deliver assistance
to the people of Gaza and of course,
issue of the evacuations.
So on the issue of the evacuations,
there has been an abrupt halt to all medical evacuations.
normally have around 10,000 people who need to be evacuated.
And since the increase in the violence in the area in Rafah
and the limitation on the services, we now have an extra
1000 critically ill and injured patients who have been unable to leave Gaza
to receive the much needed medical treatment elsewhere.
Thank you very much just for housekeeping.
I've got Jamie here in the room and then two questions on the platform.
And then we will go to Papua New Guinea, which I know is also quite high on the
on the news. And we will listen from the colleague in Bangkok.
Margaret, could you just elaborate on, um,
One is that you just mentioned that the evacuations have come to an abrupt halt.
When was the halt? I mean, when did that begin?
And then the second question is going back to what Emma had asked earlier.
Can you provide us some more details about the aftermath of
this strike that happened in the weekend over the weekend?
In terms of the the the casualties that
you've seen or that that you've heard reported?
And the type, for example, it looks like there's a lot of burns cases.
I mean, I don't know. We've talked a lot about malnutrition and crushed bones, and
but we haven't often heard about burns.
So do you have the proper equipment in place to treat burns?
they were just anything that you can shed greater
light on what happened from a health perspective.
Um uh, on this, uh, on this, uh, over mishap, um, as,
um as as Prime Prime Minister Netanyahu described it, um, over the weekend.
Thanks, Jamie. On the, um, sorry. My brain has just gone.
Oh, it since the seventh of May. So no evacuation since the seventh of May.
A horrific event which WHO deplores the attack on
displaced people who were sheltering in tents in Rafa.
The numbers I have so far,
um from the Ministry of Health reportedly killed 35 people,
including women and Children.
Um, the injured were treated by a WHO supported trauma
as well as in the five field hospitals that are are being run by UK Med
and I MC field hospitals. But it absolutely overwhelmed them.
And you're quite right that many of the people would have suffered from terrible,
And that requires intensive care
that requires electricity that requires high level medical services.
Increasingly, we are struggling to even have the high level skilled doctors and
because they've been displaced, they were all displaced by
which meant they left wherever they were working.
It's an enormous struggle for all the medical teams to meet the needs.
And this is one of the hardest things for a doctor or nurse. You know,
you want to help, but you don't have what it takes.
And you are watching people who shouldn't die die in front
of you because you simply E either lack the tools,
the skill or the supplies to do what needs to be done.
I go to the last two questions Jarro
Um, my question is to, um, Doctor Sita and also to Margaret and James.
Doctor Tedros mentioned that over 18,000 surgeries had been conducted in Gaza.
Do we have AAA bird's eye view on how many of these,
um, trauma surgeries would have been for amputations in particular for Children?
And if you have an update on that and
to what extent many of these amputations will be due to these
2000 kilogramme 2000 kilogramme bombs that are often used in Gaza.
Um, James has put his camera on. Should I start with James? Maybe
James, Since this is really on, Children?
Yeah, No, my my camera was was turned on by the moderator,
We crunched that number with the Ministry of Health
in November that that is well known now,
that 1000 Children had been single or double amputees.
Um, and that was that was late November.
And unfortunately to the best of my knowledge, given
as we've heard time and again the systematic destruction of the health system
a a new number hasn't been updated
to anecdotal. For what it's worth,
there are a lot of Children in tents in Rafa
the best of medical care, as Doctor Harris has explained,
in fact, are sitting in tents having had amputations so beyond the physical,
uh, need the The psychological stress is immense. They are in those tents.
They are They are nowhere near the medical support that they need.
and just to extend on what Doctor Harris was saying this, You know,
we heard this called a tragic mishap.
I guess the question is what then,
to call the ferocious attacks that have
killed thousands and thousands of Children?
How do we describe the actions that
have pushed the entire population to starvation.
What do we say to us? Your question, John. What do we say
of those countless Children who've had arms and
legs amputated or the thousands who've been orphaned?
What is the language used to describe the unprecedented devastation to homes
and schools to to the the uncharted territory of trauma of Children?
I think then, surely the question that needs to be asked is,
How many more mistakes is the world going to tolerate?
Thank you, James. I don't think there's much to add to that.
I was just going to say, John, it's not simply the bombs.
It's the lack of infection prevention and control, the lack of being able to provide
the level of surgery that could save a limb.
Decisions are having to be made by doctors to remove a limb to save a life.
And again, that's a horrible, horrible decision to have to take.
Vote of America. Our last question.
Yes. Thank you. Good morning.
Uh, first, uh uh, a question for Doctor
I was wondering, uh, regarding the West Bank, whether uh,
there has been or there is any interference by the Israeli
defence forces and the settlers,
Uh, for, uh, the the ability of people to access,
uh, the health care that that they need or whether it's, uh, fairly routine.
And then for you, James, uh, if if you could
kind of describe a little bit more about, uh, how well, if
the, uh uh, mobile I believe there are mobile stabilisation centres in Gaza around,
uh, Rafa and so forth how well they are operating.
How you see the situation of, uh,
what is called famine or or starvation Whether you
believe this is really kicked in and where the Children
are as we are speaking, starving as a consequence of this,
you know any numbers that you might have
regarding the levels of malnutrition and so forth,
Thank you. I do not have the exact number, but when they encourage all that settles,
violence happens targeting the camps of hours in the West Bank.
It affects access to the people to the health centres. Naturally,
and that's also a major issue that when they need urgent care
and then when the camp is closed, that some of the camps do not always have hospitals.
And so we have to wait until the
closure is open so we can send the patient to get the PR
to send the hospital. So yes, it is affecting the case. I.
I do not have the exact number, but it is a very serious situation,
we don't have updated malnutrition numbers,
but beyond those that were shared a month or so
ago that showed imminent famine in the north and,
um, vastly multiplying, uh, nutritional situation in the south.
What I think that agencies have tried to explain and it's difficult to
to to piece together, Given the horrors of seven months,
every day in Gaza simply gets worse.
since the seventh of May and and the lifeline to Gaza, Rafa
largely been closed, getting no aid through
Rafa. So we will see a continual deterioration.
Kamal Adwan, You'll have heard that hospital referred to
in the North. Uh, it's a hospitalised visit
It's the only one doing paediatric care for severe acute malnutrition.
It came under attack. Um,
in the last in the last week so again
its operability has been has been damaged severely. Um, attacks have continued in
Jabalia at force. Those people in
Jabalia who were unable to move based on financial means quite frequently.
Um, seven months ago. Yes. So their state is
When the United Nations advocated Lisa for ares crossing
to open because ares is 10 minutes away from
mothers hunched over skeletal Children. Absolutely no need for that.
For those Children to be in that, uh, precarious,
When the United Nations advocated for errors to be opened,
we did so in the knowledge that that cannot be
a cynical move to enable this offensive in Rafa.
And then rapid is shut. That, as it is, has transpired.
And that will mean that the nutritional situation which
was already hanging by a thread people's coping capacity,
to get food to people that has only deteriorated. And we cannot.
We cannot for a moment pretend that the humanitarian response
is anywhere near what we would like it to be,
what it should be and what it's needed to be by the civilians in Gaza.
Thank you very much, Nina.
We have so many people waiting so really
Yeah, it was just a follow up. Sorry it was for Margaret.
It was about the, uh, abrupt halt to all medical evacuations.
I was just wondering if you have any idea of how many people or if there
are people who have died as a as a consequence of this lack of of evacuation.
If you could give us a bit just a few more details on that. Thank you.
I don't have numbers of people who've died,
But whenever we analyse who's waiting and who's gone through, we do have
a number of people that have died waiting.
So this is exactly what's happening that while we're waiting
for agreement and this is before medical evacuations came to a halt.
So while we're waiting for an agreement, a
percentage of those people who are waiting to be moved die,
and I do have the numbers not in front of me, but I can provide those numbers from prior
to this abrupt hold. So and and
given the the sort of relatively chaotic situation and people
moving and medical nursing staff and so on moving,
I doubt I'd be able to give you
clarity on who has died since being identified as needing to be moved since May 7th.
But I can give you those numbers from before
see other journalist nothing. So maybe
that would be something of interest to everyone.
So thank you very much. We concluded.
Yes, of course. Please, sir,
Thank you very much. Just at the end.
I just want to refer to our staff 1000 health staff working in Gaza,
and then some of them are unfortunately killed.
But we still maintain the services,
and the majority of them are already displaced multiple times.
And then some of them are leaving the tents coming to a clinic to work.
Some are leaving the shelters and they come to the medical point to work in shelter.
I really would like to attribute my sincere
admiration and respect and thanks to them,
but just 11, I want to say one word that they told me one of my friends work in Rafa.
and before moving out. He just sent me that
when the world is going to recognise as human being
and I really couldn't answer. But my job is to make sure that he's not
I think it's the biggest challenge for us to prove that we are taking care
of them as a human being and that's the biggest challenge to all of us.
Absolutely. Thank you so much to say
good luck for the work, which is extremely important and difficult.
Thank you and thank you, Margaret I. I have a feeling you'll come back
OK, so now the second question to
treat the second topic we have on our agenda is also high on the news
landslides in Papua New Guinea
that has been happening during the weekend.
We have sent you the statement
spokesperson of the secretary general,
who said that the secretary general is deeply saddened by the reported
loss of hundreds of lives in a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea
and extended the heartfelt condolences of the secretary
general to the families of the victims,
expressed solidarity with the people and government of Papua New Guinea,
and expressed the work and the availability of
the United Nations to support the government's response efforts
and offer additional assistance and to tell us about this
we have online from Bangkok. It,
I don't need to introduce you to it. A
you know him from his time with us. It's a welcome Sorry for making you wait so much.
I think it's very important that we talk to
the journalist about what's happening in Papua New Guinea,
is on at the forefront of the humanitarian response,
and I give you the flow for your introductory remarks. Thank you.
Uh, thank you very much. Uh,
a Sandra for the introduction. Uh, hi, colleagues. Good morning. Um,
Maybe by just clarifying some of the figures that, uh, we are aware of as of today.
So as as as, uh, you've seen from from a lot of the media coverage,
the National Disaster Centre, uh,
has estimated that there are up to 2000 people that are still buried
under the rubble after the massive, uh, landslide. Uh, that took place on,
uh, Friday, uh, at 3 a.m. when most people were probably sleeping
confirmation that we got this morning from
the provincial authorities is that collectively,
the number of people that have been affected by this disaster are around
7840 which is, uh, made up of 1427 households.
So this includes, uh, those presumed, uh um, uh, buried under the rubble,
bodies that have been, uh, recovered so far,
one aspect that I we should certainly emphasise. Is that quite, uh uh uh,
A lot of the people who have been affected by this, uh,
landslide had actually moved to this area after, uh, escaping, um,
tribal conflict in other parts of the province, uh, of anger.
So these are people who are already, uh,
displaced who are now having to move to other locations.
The response is certainly, uh, underway with the United Nations.
Um, mostly IOM, UNICEF, UN, U, NDP, UN, FP a and UN women
providing support to the government,
uh, along with, um, other other other international agencies.
And what is needed now, obviously, is, um, access to clean water.
water that normally, uh, the community would access is already under rubble.
So, uh, providing, uh, that along with, uh, food, of course. Uh, clothing,
kitchen utensils, anything that will, uh, try and alleviate.
Uh, the the hardship that the the the people are facing right now.
The other issue that is obviously, uh, facing the response is the area itself.
Uh, it's still very unstable.
So the, you know, the rain is still falling.
And, uh, there's always a risk that there might be, uh, further landslides.
the reality also is that, um, access to to to the area
for, you know, government and other,
uh, agencies is quite difficult.
Just today, this morning, one of the, um, main thoroughfares, uh,
a bridge that collapsed. And, uh,
now, they they have to fix it to make sure that, uh
um all the, uh, convoys that are going to provide support, uh, have access.
The other issue, of course, is, um, the government itself, through the national,
uh, disaster centre, has, uh, asked for international support to ensure that,
uh, resources are mobilised very quickly to ensure,
uh, all the people who need help. Um uh, get it as soon as possible.
Another concern, especially when it comes to to health, is because, uh,
uh, unrecovered bodies under the rubble.
There's still water flowing underneath because they
it's coming down from the mountain.
That water, uh, obviously will be contaminated. Unfortunately, meaning that
any sources of, uh, clean drinking water further down the,
uh, the mountain where the landslide occur occurred, uh, will be contaminated.
So that's a That's another, uh, aspect that needs to be to be to be, to be dealt with.
And obviously, if there are any questions, um,
we have teams on the ground at at the side along with our UN agencies, uh,
partner agencies, as I've mentioned.
But we hope to have, uh, a bit more updates, especially in terms of, um,
I mean, this is obviously a horrible, horrible situation, but
there were some good news.
Uh, yesterday a couple were rescued, uh, after three days,
So I think until the local community or the authorities say stop, I think the rescue
and recovery efforts will continue because you just never
know but I think there will come sadly,
uh, it's really a recovery. Um uh, process
it. Thank you very much. I understand.
Maybe you want to ask him which number you because
there was some disturbance when you started your briefing.
So, Christian, I think wants to ask you to repeat some numbers.
Nice to see you on the screen.
Could you repeat the numbers that you mentioned in the very beginning?
Yeah, that's all I wanted to ask.
So, uh, let me start with the the, uh, the number from the National Disaster Centre,
which has said, uh, 2000 people they believe are still buried under the rubble.
And then this morning, uh, the provincial authorities, uh,
in meeting all the various agencies, uh, present on the ground,
uh, said, uh, the total population affected is 7849
uh, made up, uh, coming from, uh, 1427 households.
These include, uh, those who are presumed to be buried under the rubble.
Uh, and also, uh, over 1650 displaced people.
The ones that I mentioned have actually, uh, escaped, uh,
conflict elsewhere and came to settle in this region.
Maybe just while I'm talking of numbers, Maybe Just also, add this other,
uh, I think important. Uh
The population of Papua New Guinea is, uh, 42% under the age of 16.
So the expectation is that, uh, quite a lot of, uh,
Children would have been affected by this.
Obviously, we we we won't know until the authorities get a,
uh, a clearer picture in terms of, um, uh, the number of of of, of casualties.
if we take it on the basis of the population of Papua New Guinea
yes, that's, uh that's quite a significant,
significantly young population.
7849 affected Means what, exactly?
no. So let me clarify that
number of all the people that have been affected.
So this includes the 2000 that the National Disaster Centre has said,
uh, are buried under the rubble.
Uh, this also includes uh, the the of the recovered uh, bodies
and, uh, over 1600 displaced people. So only,
uh, the government or the authorities are saying
are buried under the rubble.
And of those 2000, uh, 6 have been, uh, six, remains have been recovered.
we have, um, as part of that population, 1650
already previously displaced.
I was wondering if you could just give us an idea of
whether you have all of the equipment and personnel really required to,
um, respond to a disaster on this scale.
Is there enough on the ground in this remote location?
And could you elaborate a bit more on the bridge collapse? Um,
how is that affecting the rescue and the recovery efforts?
Um, are there other routes in Thank you.
So, um, right now, uh, the attempts, uh, from the authorities,
especially the government and the defence forces,
is to bring in the heavy equipment that can help with the
going to, uh, get getting, uh, some of the rubble, uh, to reach, um, uh,
the the the bodies underneath.
So that that's ongoing, but of course. As I mentioned, the
access to to the site is very, very difficult.
The bridge collapsed this morning.
Uh, is actually in a neighbouring, um, western highlands Province.
But the road, uh, where this bridge is leads to anger.
So what What has happened is that it has cut off the main islands, uh, highway,
uh, which leads to anger.
And it means that the alternative road, for example, that can take, uh,
relief convoys to to anger,
uh, adds another 2 to 3 hours, but, uh,
we understand that the latest update is that they are working frantically to to
to fix the bridge or find an alter, uh, find a temporary solution to this.
So that's another dimension.
I think that certainly, um, they're having to deal with, but
one of the issues that they have certainly, um,
the authorities have brought up is that they need a lot of engineering support.
the National Disaster Centre has appealed to through the UN
to get as much, uh, support,
uh, engineering support because obviously trying to get rid of the rubble.
Uh, and we're talking not just, uh, rubble like soil, but heavy boulders.
uh, needs a lot of, um, uh, engineering support or heavy, uh,
equipment that can do the job.
yeah, sure, sure. The bridge collapse was because of the landslide conditions.
It was because of the instability in the rain.
Uh, I don't have those specific details.
We just know that it that the bridge collapsed. Um, I have a photo.
I think that we we may be able to share, and it does look like a very flimsy,
um uh, flimsy constructed bridge.
So it could be that maybe there was heavy traffic trying to head to
to To To To anger province I. I mean, I can't speculate.
I can always You can always follow up and find,
uh, the specific details.
But this is just one of the roads that will main road that will lead to
Uh, as I mentioned, there's an alternative road through the southern highlands.
province, but that takes it's another 2 to 3 hours, uh, to the journey.
we hopefully should have an update tomorrow morning as
to how quickly they can fix the the bridge.
And if there are other alternative
ways, uh, of bringing in the relief that is needed to be through air support.
But again, this is a very hilly, mountainous region. So,
uh, even air support is not always, Uh
Thank you very much. Uh, Lisa.
I'm sorry. How are you doing?
Ok, uh, I, uh I hear, uh,
from media reports that the ground is still
very shaky and that the situation is unstable.
And I'm wondering whether,
Others are concerned about the possibility of more landslides, and if so, what?
are being taken in order to protect people from this possibility.
And then, uh, has there been an international appeal for money?
Or, uh, do you anticipate that this will happen?
well, are people talking about,
uh, might actually be needed in order to, uh, help this situation. Thank you.
Uh, thank you, Lisa. Let me start with the second question.
Um, so the the officials, uh, especially the national, uh,
disaster centre have appealed through the UN for international support.
They haven't clarified any any specific, uh, figures,
but, uh, what we can say similarly from IOM side.
And I'm sure other UN agencies will have the same. We've had, uh, donors.
Um uh, reaches, like the usual donors the United States, the European Union
A and others, uh, reach out to say they're on standby to provide support.
I believe Australia is already sending in, um, actual,
um uh, heavy lifting equipment.
And, you know, the kind of, uh um uh, equipment that is needed in this situation.
shortly will be going out.
I believe we are certainly working, uh, on an appeal from IOM.
So hopefully that should be ready
in the next, uh, day or so.
it's really up to To to the government.
Also to to clarify what kind of specific needs there are.
I mentioned, uh, the list of things that are needed now, like water, food, shelter,
and so on. But obviously, this all needs, uh, money
in terms of the conditions. Yes, the conditions are very, very difficult.
Uh, in some parts, Uh, there's still,
um uh the the the mo the The land is still moving in terms of, um
uh, where this rescue operation is going to to to to to to take place
we still, as I mentioned, still have water,
uh, underneath, uh, the rubble. So that is making the whole area quite uneven.
So that also ensures, um, that all the response efforts, uh, have to be done in a very,
uh, careful manner. Meaning that, uh,
you don't want another disaster on top of another disaster.
So right now, um, the efforts are being led by, uh, uh, UN coordinate,
uh, disaster coordinating team,
the PNG defence forces and other actors.
we have to be mindful of of the conditions that are are prevailing there,
try as much as possible to help, um, the people who have survived this, but also,
uh, do the recovery work that's needed.
Because ultimately, whenever these, uh, tragedies tragedies take place,
comfort and solace of, you know, burying their dead,
uh, doing what is necessary in their customs and cultures.
So that's a very, very, very big, uh, aspect of this.
And, um, we are there to provide support to the community as much as we can.
is Sorry I think Lisa had also asked about prevention.
I don't know If you consider the word about that.
Yeah, she she asked about if this is happening.
We are providing for seeing that it happens again.
What's been done to prevent or to prepare?
Well, I, I can't speculate, but the the
landslide that happened on Friday had not happened before in this area.
So it's hard to say if it will happen again.
But with the continued heavy rains and, uh,
in the vicinity, obviously everything is, is, is is is
is, uh, the The soil is unsteady, and all the rubble is, uh, still
some movement. I mean, we've seen some of the,
uh, videos of even water, uh, coming out in some of the, uh,
some of the rubble, so that makes it even more uneven.
So, yes, Unfortunately, we have to consider that it might happen again.
Um, as to what, uh, preparations, the the local authorities are are doing I.
I can't say at this stage, but I think everyone is treading
cautiously, even though this is a very, very urgent,
uh, and desperate situation. In many ways, uh, we still have to, um,
uh, tread carefully and make sure that we don't have another, uh,
disaster on top of the current one.
don't see the questions for you, but keep us. Oh, sorry. I didn't see your hands.
Quito. You remember him from a society.
Could you just tell us what's being done to evacuate people to get them to safety?
So, I mean, this morning at the, um,
at the briefing with the provincial authorities, Uh, it was, uh it came up that, uh,
in case, um uh, there was any further,
uh, threat of a landslide. People will be. Will have to be moved again.
I don't have specific figures.
I know some media had come out, uh, came out with some figures of, uh,
just around 8000, but I cannot, uh, verify that
all you know that all we know is that they are ready and and preparing to,
uh, to move. Um, a lot of the affected population to neighbouring,
We have a daily morning and evening. Um, uh, meetings with the authorities.
So hopefully we'll get a clearer picture, maybe in the meeting tomorrow morning,
and we will certainly provide an update.
But for now, I think everyone is operating on the premise that, uh,
This is quite, uh, a very,
And the fact that this has happened having having not happened before,
uh means that it can happen again in the same locality.
I'm sure you've all seen the, um uh, visuals from from from from above.
Looking at how the the area is is is is
is, uh, how the mine, the mountain slopes And, um,
how fast also the area is. So,
uh, I think caution is is certainly key here, but at the same time,
indeed. Impressive images.
OK, so I don't think I've missed any other hands up. Thank you very much.
And please keep us informed also on the question of the funds.
I think it's of interest to everyone here.
Thank you. And good luck with your important work.
Let me go now to our last topic of the day. Then we will have some announcements.
but let me go now to Tomaso
Can you introduce us to your colleagues? Thank you.
Thank you, Alessandra. Everyone.
So we are as you know, we are here today to launch a report called
Climate Change and the Escalation of Global Extreme Heat.
This report highlights the role climate change played in increasing the number
of extreme heat days around the world over the last 12 months.
And today we have with us Doctor Frederique
from World Weather attribution and Emperor College in London,
who is one of the quarters of the report
and will brief us about it.
And also online there is our colleague Maya
Another quarter of the report from the Red Cross Circus and Climate Centre
ready to answer two questions,
particularly on the work done by our teams and
on the upcoming It Action Day next Sunday.
Thank you very much. Doctor
You are coming to us from London. I understand.
Yeah, thank you very much.
we are now going to a very silent but increasingly common killer.
Um, that was particularly disastrous last year. Hate.
So this may that we are just sitting through is hotter than every May.
Uh, any may you've ever experienced before,
And that was true for the last 12 months.
Temperatures right now have are around 50 degrees in India and Pakistan.
Every heatwave that's happening today
is hotter and lasts longer than it would have without human induced climate change.
That is, without the burning of coal, oil and gas, and we also see many more heatwaves
than we would have otherwise. And the report that we have put together
that you have in front of you today spells out what that means and why it matters.
what temperatures constitute extreme heat differs depending on where you live.
A heatwave in London is different
than a heatwave in Delhi,
but no place on earth is spared from more extreme heat.
The average inhabitant of our planet experienced 26 more
days over the last 12 months that were extremely hot
than it would would. It have not been for climate change,
but of course, we are not average people.
We live in a specific place in a specific country.
So, for example, if you lived in Ecuador, it was not 26 more days,
but it was 100 and 70 more days.
In other words, in the last 12 months,
the people in Ecuador experienced 180 days of extreme heat.
Without climate change, it would have just been 10.
So it's six months of extreme heat instead of 10 days.
Extreme heat is dangerous, leading to excess mortality in the thousands.
At least, heat harms especially vulnerable people the elderly, the very young,
those with pre existing health conditions but also healthy
people who are exposed to the extreme temperatures,
like outdoor workers in agriculture, in construction
and, of course, people living in refugee camps.
It is thus paramount to stop burning fossil
fuels to evade the situation from getting worse.
But we also need to adapt 26 more days of extreme heat.
On average, that's almost a month,
but it doesn't have to kill.
There are many solutions, some of which are low or no cost,
ranging from individual action to population scale interventions
that reduce the urban heat island effect
People can cool their bodies by self
using cooling devices or modifying their build environment. Just
install, shatters increase shade.
But of course, individual action is alone is not sufficient,
especially for those that lack access to water to electricity and to shade.
Action of community, city, regional and country levels is imperative.
Cities can develop and implement heat action plans that outline
how they will prepare for the heat season,
respond to imminent heatwaves and plan for the future.
policies can be introduced to incorporate cooling needs into social protection.
Programmes supplement energy costs for the most vulnerable or
building codes can be updated to encourage better housing.
The significant impact of heat waves and the potential
to prevent them is why the Red Cross,
Red Crescent and its partners are mobilising
on the Second of June for the global Heat Action Day.
Because if you don't know how dangerous heat is,
you can definitely not do any of these matters.
we need to raise awareness and engage anyone, all communities in
standing and in what they can do to combat hate.
I can answer questions about the role of climate
change in extreme hate and other extreme weather.
from the Red Cross climate centre is here and
can also answer all questions about vulnerability and exposure.
Thank you very much to both. Let me see if there are questions.
explain again? What is extreme heat? Technically speaking,
At what temperature do you consider that we can talk about
the most difficult question you can ask because
what extreme heat is depends where you live,
but also, of course, how vulnerable you are.
that is extremely well built for heat, then very high temperatures
can be no problem. But if you are living in a refugee camp with no shade,
much lower temperatures can consider very extreme heat.
So in this report, we have to find extreme heat
just based on each place on Earth, the 10%
highest temperatures that occur in
in that region, but with our team world weather attribution.
We have done a huge amount of studies on individual heat waves and there
we characterise the heat depending on the impacts. So we did a study
on the extreme heat in Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Syria,
where it was very hot for just three days.
So that was what we looked at as extreme heat.
So you usually look at the sort of
10 hottest percentage or fifth hottest percentile,
which is what we have done for simplicity in this report.
how much that matters hugely depends on vulnerability.
I was meaning. You do have a biological limit
that you're not supposed to to to go over
like the body shouldn't be at that temperature.
I don't know if it's 4040 something degrees more
than a couple of hours a couple of days.
Can't you just don't you have that in
the report that that that particularly biological limit?
We don't have the biological limit in the report,
so the biological limit is based not just on temperature but also on humidity.
and and so it's, um, if you if it's a dry heat wave and you have 40 degrees,
that's much less damaging to your body, as if it's a very hum.
If you have a humidity of 100% and it's 35 degrees, then that's much more,
much more damaging for your body, so
that many days yet globally that are below that are above the biological limit.
heat is deadly much, much below this absolute biological limit and therefore
Just that, as a measure would not really
is the dangers of heat waves.
Today, heatwaves are killing in these 10% above the average,
which is why we have used that
I just wanted to add on that very important point that you were raising Freddy, that
heat waves and extreme heat are very contextual.
Uh, and they always bring risk, uh, the risk of impact on human health.
So coming from a generally cold country, uh, such as Sweden,
people here are often very are a lot less,
prepared to cope with heat waves as we lack adequate
infrastructure such as air conditioners and and cooling centres.
And with this limited infrastructural resilience, uh,
acclimatisation and risk awareness populations in these areas may
therefore be more susceptible also to heat related impacts
and to give an example. In 2018, a
three week, uh, heat wave in northern Scandinavia reaching only 31
is still estimated to have killed about 600 people in the country,
Uh, most of whom were older adults who are physiologically more vulnerable to heat.
And I think this exemplifies why we should worry about
temperatures that may not be universally considered high or extreme,
but instead, focus on what is high for the exposed community.
And this is definitely something we want to
help raise awareness about, uh, through heat action day.
Uh, that occurs this Sunday. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Maya. Other question to IFRC and, uh, colleagues.
in the room or on the platform,
so thank you very much. Thanks, Tomaso,
for bringing us this, uh, report.
Um and, uh, I have seen in the notes in the chat that they are asking for your notes so
that be sent very quickly.
Thank you very much, Doctor Otto. Thank you.
Uh, Mrs Walberg, and let me go to our, um uh, colleague from ITU.
David, you are online for an announcement. I think it's on W, SI S
and the A I for good summits, please.
Yes, I. I know it's getting late there. So I will, uh, get through this.
Not breaking any new ground. Mostly some from programme notes,
Uh, with this, uh, the W SI S plus 20 forum, high level,
uh, forum high level event. It continues at C IC G,
today and tomorrow and the move side to you headquarters for Thursday and Friday.
A I governance day, which we've talked to you about and was the feature, Um,
for those who want to learn more of the 17 may, uh,
regular briefing with our colleague Fred Werner.
Um, that opens tomorrow with the session. The public session
in in the afternoon, talking with hosting discussions on how to move,
uh, from imple from, uh, principle to implementation
on a I governance that's available, uh,
to be both physically and remote and then the A i for good.
uh, continues on Thursday and Friday,
um, with, uh, both physical and remote, um, coverage part
participation available to you. Uh, Friday in particular.
I'll just flag that at one o'clock at C IC G will be
the press conference for which we've issued a media advisory on brain
uh, showcasing that technology,
as was done last year with the humanoid robots this year on,
uh, brain machine interface technology powered by artificial intelligence.
Um, and again, just more on, um, a
background note. We have asked reporters if you can please,
um uh, RSVP, particularly for the press conference.
So we know, uh, to expect you either remotely or physically, that will just help us,
uh, accommodate for those for those events,
uh, registration again is open. And we would impress upon you if you're able
to get over to C CV across from C IC G
to pick up your secondary badge. Um, at an off peak hour. So maybe sometime today.
And I know it's busy there for other things, but if you are able,
we're in the area to do that.
Um, not in the early mornings when we expect the lines to be the biggest.
Thank you very much. David is there? Yes. Jamie.
Hi, David. Nice to see you. I'm sure you're very busy at the moment.
Um, I just had a question about your press release last night.
Um, having to do with this, um
billion. That sounds like a lot of money. And I'm just wondering,
is that money going through Do ITU? Is it just money that you have rallied together?
is this just private sector and you guys are kind of putting an umbrella over it.
how much of that is actually going through ITU. Thanks. It's not Yeah.
Thank you, Jamie. The the money is mobilised from partner to connect,
um, which is a global platform for to expand digital connectivity.
Um, those commitments are brought into the partner to connect, uh,
system or pledging platform, which is what the announcement is about.
Money doesn't come through necessarily into ITU.
It's It's their industry commitments, their government commitments.
There could be civil society commitments.
Um, once they're in the system. This provides visibility
over those amounts and allows others to know what's being
committed in the system allows those to be leveraged,
um, to see where to see where entities are,
are are putting their investments and also allows, um,
for those that might need those investments for those to be to be able to be seen.
So it does raise visibility currently, as you mentioned
and, um, at the very end of that release, there's a link.
Um, on the pledging platform,
you'll notice that there's just over 50,000,000,050
0.96 billion in commitments that have been,
uh, committed to the partner to commit.
Excuse me to the partner to connect pledging platform.
That's, uh, over 900 pledges received from 400 entities
and about 100 and 40 or so countries.
And I would just other also say that there is,
uh, an overall goal of having 100 billion pledged
to the partner to connect, uh, pledging platform by 2026.
So part of the announcement yesterday was that,
uh, there was just topping the 50 billion point,
which is the halfway mark towards that 100 billion.
Is there any other question to to you?
I don't see any, but I think there is a question on the contrary for
on the assembly. I don't know if
fella or Margaret want to come to the podium.
maybe if you can also come to the podium because Lisa had put a question in the chat,
but I'll ask it afterwards just for your answer.
fella, please come. And, uh, I'll ask Ben to
um Well, I'll ask it IN English because it's, uh, of general interest.
Just to know what is the timeline this
afternoon for the decision on the pandemic treaty?
uh, details. And can we hope, uh, for an official announcement
so that we can speak about it tomorrow morning.
thank you for the question.
we will have at least four important issues to be discussed.
the global programme of work
round. And two major discussion one about the
amendment to the international health regulation and the
as you know, these are two processes led by member states.
So it's up to them to decide what to do
with the two reports that are already on the website.
in six languages that you can read.
You can see there that some parts of the two
documents are highlighted in yellow or grey or bold.
So you will see what are the issues that are still to be discussed and negotiated.
So to be very short and clear,
it's really up to member states to decide what to do with these two reports.
Do they want to continue the negotiation
this week? Do they want to decide
on a date to resume negotiation? It's really up to them,
in a press release. What is the decision of member states?
They may also decide to open the discussion and
say We will discuss it later in the week.
it's really up to them to decide what to do with it.
Sorry, uh, following up on that.
uh if they decide in the committee today that
they want to continue or make a decision,
is that a final decision?
Or do we have to wait for the plenary at the end when this is finalised?
If you could just explain how that works.
And also I had a question on, uh the issue of the Palestinian territories,
which I think is coming tomorrow.
if you could just explain what's gonna happen there and how to follow things.
consensus, they don't have a final report to submit to the World Health Assembly.
So we have the report what is called the
report by the Director General to member states.
So with still a lot of issues to be discussed to be negotiated. So
the report we have is the report by the
explaining what is the progress made since the beginning of discussion on the
and nine meetings took place since then
to discuss this report. So it's not a final text.
It's the report by the director General to member states.
So, as I said, I don't know what will happen this week.
What member states will decide to do with this report.
It's really up to them to decide
the step forward to take this discussion forward.
Um, yeah, I. I know there's no deal.
I was asking if they decide that they want to
continue discussions or if they want to cut off this.
I mean, if they decide in the committee,
I know that often the discussions things are hap happen in
the committee and then they have to be approved in plenary.
if we have to wait for a final decision until the
end of the week or if we can just assume that the
whatever is decided, uh, I in the committee is,
uh is the final decision on on which way they're going?
Usually what is decided in committee A or B should go to the plenary.
We have three days, three moments in a day
until such a day where the plenary meets
So there are three moments in the day where the plenary resumes.
So anything that is decided in one or two of the committees
committee A or B should go to the plenary
Can you just repeat the question?
What are you expecting to happen and when and how Also,
are there resolutions around this?
If you could just explain what's going to happen
on the Palestinian issue,
I need to check if they have decided to
open committee B today because usually it's in committee B
the World Health Assembly
just to let you know that we have two important
documents on the agenda of the World Health Assembly.
So the 12 document is a report by the
about the situation in opt
So this is the most recent one.
And we have, as you know, the regular report by the
and East Jerusalem and Syria and occupied Syrian Golan.
and it is about the situation in this region from January
So I will just really invite you to have a look at these two documents 12 and 18.
So if there is a discussion about
normally it's Wednesday afternoon in committee B.
But given the situation now,
I will have to check if they decide to open committee B to discuss Palestine today.
And I will send you an email about this.
I can't see. Sorry. I thought you were
was virtual but flesh of blood. Now,
good to see you can take your mic.
Is there a website where you're posting the various draught resolutions
that are being put forward by member states?
I couldn't spot it when I went to the site on resolutions. There was nothing there.
And I understand a couple have circulated today.
Let me check because I know that several resolution,
the resolution of the world. That assembly should be posted on the website.
If there are no other questions on the assembly, I give the floor to Oh, sorry.
Go ahead. Sure, Sure, sure,
We sent you this morning.
Highlights pointing to you different things that are happening today.
We have two strategic round tables, one on the investment case, another on
expanded programme of immunisation.
We are celebrating the 50th anniversary of this
wonderful initiative that saved millions of lives,
And I believe my colleagues now are sending you
the names of the speakers at these two events.
the one on the investment case
and the second one is happening at Chateau de Pont this afternoon.
So you may have received by now the long and
interesting list of people speaking at these two events.
Of course, it's all Webcast, so you can also follow it online. Thank you.
I understand it's a member state process.
Can you just remind us for the sake of the record, what WH OS position?
The Secretariat's position is
on the need for a pandemic accord or amendments to I HR to improve readiness and,
uh, and response, Um, in case of a pandemic. How important is this
for you to get a deal this week?
I am glad that you understand. It is a process led by member states.
You know, what we have been through with the covid pandemic is really important,
take lessons from what happened for all of us. No one was
not touched or affected by COVID-19. So it is important for
countries to get prepared for the next pandemic.
The question is when we will have a new pandemic, not if we will have one.
So it's very important to stress the need for equity
for sharing of health products and other diagnostics,
and also to make sure that we have the finance we need
and also to respond quickly to any
emergency happening in countries,
I think, member states. They all agree that it's important.
multilateral negotiation can be
difficult and can be long.
So the question is, when are they going to agree on the most important issue?
Sharing of viruses and other benefits?
It's not something that is new to members.
just that now they are negotiating several issues
to make sure that we are better prepared.
So let's see what this week will bring to us. And
all member states have been working
very, very long hours. The only thing that we are expecting today is
what are the next steps? This is what we are all waiting for.
Thank you very much. Lisa. I see your hand is up.
If it's for the figures of the people to be evacuated.
Uh, Margaret is ready. Stay. Stay on the on the po.
Yeah, I can I Can I elaborate a little bit. This is a catch up on
the question. I didn't ask before, and that is,
Uh, yeah. If if you have the numbers of people who are waiting to be evacuated.
I know that previously you mentioned that
you don't know how many have may have died. Uh, since, uh,
But but what the current figures are and al also,
could you describe the kind of a medic medical emergencies that require,
uh, their evacuation of, uh for for which, which is not happening. Thank you.
Thanks, Lisa. There are There are two basic categories.
Um before October 7, between 50
100 people went every day
for definitive treatment for complicated
medical illnesses for things like cancer
for things like the complications of of heart
disease or other treatment that wasn't specifically available
in the Gaza Strip, so they would be referred out. That was normal.
Now those people didn't go away simply because conflict started,
so they all still needed referral
and and services also got disrupted.
we referred a lot of Children who couldn't could
no longer get their chemotherapy for their cancers.
They were referred to different countries and different host countries.
But this is a large number of people who did not get
to go out or did not get approval at some point.
And the numbers fluctuate because, sadly again,
if it's something like a kidney disease or a heart disease or cancer,
you will die while you're waiting to get your definitive treatment.
so generally we're saying around 10,000 at any time will be needing to be evacuated.
And there's another group, Uh,
so having said that there were people who
had underlying conditions that needed definitive treatment,
then what's been added to that group are
the people who have suffered severe traumatic injuries.
Jamie mentioned burns burns again are things that need, uh, very,
very complex treatment Often, um,
skin and transplantation and all sorts of different
definitive treatment to get through your burns.
Uh, but if you don't get that treatment,
so again, we have and other people who've got severe limb injuries,
severe chest injuries that again won't recover from
those injuries unless they get the definitive complex,
treatment that's available elsewhere.
Uh, and we've got at least 6000 people in that category.
But again, it fluctuates according to whether they can get out,
because if they don't get the treatment.
Uh, we do know of at least 1000 people whose since the escalation
hostilities and the increase in the number of people being injured We do
know of 1000 people since May 7th who need to be referred out.
And as I said, it is tracked and IW.
I've asked the the health cluster partners to see if they can give, you know,
more granular more detailed information on that,
and I'll provide that once I've got it.
Margaret. And since I don't see other questions, but before I let, uh uh
uh, we pass to another subject,
let me also remind you that today is menstrual hygiene day.
It's an important day for health. Really. And
if you consider that every month more
than 2 billion people around the world menstruate
although a natural and healthy
process, menstruation interrupts lives,
rights and freedoms of millions of women and girls
because they cannot afford or access menstrual products,
sanitation and energy facilities,
and lack education and awareness to manage their menstrual health and hygiene.
So, on this very important day, the movement against period. Poverty
celebrates 10 years of collective action by women and girls worldwide.
Today and every day I make talking about periods,
a normal part of life and take action to end period poverty.
And we have a long description of the problems and
of the action taken on the website of UN women.
So if there are no other questions for our colleagues, I let them go. I
just want to remind you that there is another
international day coming.
It's the 29th of May International Day of UN peacekeepers. As you know,
the international community celebrates this day and pay tribute
to all the men and women who have served in UN peacekeeping operations,
whether as military, police or civilians.
It is a day to recognise their high level of professionalism,
and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the
And I'd like to remind you that we will commemorate this day, but not on the 29th.
There will be on the 31st Friday, the 31st of May at 3 p.m. in the Ariana Park.
If the weather assists us because I
possibility of thunderstorms
as usual, we will have a ceremony
with you and Geneva. The permanent representative of Nepal will be there
the International Association of Searchers of Peace
as usual And for the first time,
we will also have the participation of Swiss
which is the centre of the Swiss armed forces
responsible for the conduct of peace support operations abroad.
So I hope you will join us on this particular day.
And I just wanted to remind you that the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women will
close the 88th session next Friday
and we will issue the concluding observation of the eight countries reviewed.
I just forgot to tell you that the conference on this amendment had this morning
public plenary meeting, which is the first under the presidency of
If there are no other questions,
I thank you for having followed this very long briefing.
Thank you very much for your participation and to colleagues.
And I'll see you on Friday. Thank you
