Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva.
Uh, we have a spotlight on issues related to food this morning.
Um, and I I really have the pleasure to have with me on the podium in,
in addition to Christian,
uh, doctor Francesco Branca that you will know,
Uh, Francesco is the director of the Department of nutrition and Food Safety at WHO.
who is the senior food safety officer at a,
uh, both colleagues are here to brief you on the World Food Safety Day 2024.
I think the title or the theme of it, is food safety. Prepare for the unexpected.
So I'll give the floor first to Francesco and then to Marcus Francesco.
So, as Alexander was saying today,
the United Nations observed the World Food Safety Day,
supported by the specialised agencies,
the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World
Health Organisation in collaboration with the Codex Elementar
Secretariat. And as you know, the Codex is the inter
mechanism to define global food standards. Why? Food safety.
Every year we estimate that 1.6 million people get sick from food
borne disease and 420,000 people die as a result of that,
about 40% of that burden is carried by
young Children less than five years,
we have decided to take this topic this year. Food safety.
Prepare for the unexpected
because food safety is really an essential part of food security and we have so
many food security emergencies around the world
due to conflicts due to climate change.
And food safety is clearly also part of that impact.
Food safety hazard do not have borders
and we often have incidents that really span. Many countries
hosts the Secretariat of Info,
which is a mechanism supported by,
it's called an international
network of food safety authorities, which brings together
institutions from 189 countries.
The purpose is to immediately disseminate alerts about
food safety emergencies and allow national authorities to recall
the products involved. Since 2020 Infos
with 820 events, so we saved many lives as a result of that
last week at the World Health Assembly.
director general presented a report on the
global strategy for food safety. So we have an ambitious target to bring down
the burden of food borne disease and particularly the one related to salmonella.
We now have an additional to strengthen international health regulations because
the amendments were approved also by the Assembly last year.
But I would like just to finish my introduction with the
messages which really are specific for this World Food Safety Day.
We really invite governments to
the inclusion of food safety component in
National Action plan for health security.
It is a health security issue.
We would like to ask countries to make sure that international health
regulation really includes the connection to food safety and therefore to the
we really call for the importance of surveillance in integrated surveillance
based on one health approach on animal, environmental and human health. So
the world can be prepared for food safety incidents with all this.
So join us to celebrate the World Food Safety Day and
Apologies. That took a little bit to unmute, so
Thank you very much. And, uh, thank you, Francesco, for this great introduction.
So, like Francesco already mentioned, uh, FA,
celebrating the World Food Safety Day every seventh
of June to highlight that only by working together
can we ensure that our food is actually safe to eat.
And fittingly, the World Food Safety Day slogan is
Food safety is everyone's business because we all have a stake in that.
So each year we strive to reach our stakeholders from the
agrifood systems to help us celebrate World Food Safety Day.
and food safety authorities, the food industry,
but also last but not least, the consumer.
because the consumer has a vital point in making sure that food remains safe.
At F FA O, we see safe food as fundamental
to achieving the sustainability development goals.
Sustainable development goals
and safe food is also one of the prerequisites to fulfil
to enable better production,
better environment and ultimately better lives.
When food is produced and traded in a safe and sustainable agrifood systems,
it contributes to a healthy life and improves sustainability
by enabling market access and productivity, which drives economic development
and then results in poverty alleviation, especially in rural areas.
Improved food safety will safeguard public health and reduce child mortality as
Children under five carry the highest burden of food borne disease.
We are working with WHO together on promoting the Food World Food Safety Day theme
This year. The theme is Food Safety. Prepare for the Unexpected.
The theme was chosen to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Infos
and Francesco introduced Infos.
OWHO helped national authorities in food business to strengthen prevention,
and response to food safety incidents and emergencies
by fostering a global community of practise. Among food safety professionals,
one third of agriculture and food exports are traded within a global
value chain and across at least two borders before they are consumed.
When governments and food safety authorities know about an incident,
the quicker the source of contamination can be identified and mitigated
Food safety authorities need to provide information to businesses,
food businesses in particular
to withdraw or recall contaminated products
so they do not reach the consumer.
Having these lines of communication through info
as well as the capacity to collect and analyse data
saves lives of consumers.
At the same time, this year's campaign calls to food businesses
to ensure they have rigorous systems in place
to be able to prepare in the case of an unexpected food safety incident,
staff training probably properly serviced
An important line importantly, effective lines of communication
And, of course, consumers can find themselves in unexpected situation
when understanding of what makes food unsafe
can help them make the right decisions to protect themselves
So this isn't just a call to action this year.
It is a call to preparedness.
Happy World Food Safety Day to everybody, Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Marcus. And thanks to Francisco,
and before opening the floor to question, I would also like to listen from,
who is also speaking about food again, uh, for World Food Safety Day.
But Monica is here to give you a short update on the global food commodity prices.
Monica, you have the floor. Then we will open the floor to questions.
Good morning. Good morning from
I will not talk about food safety,
but I will talk on behalf of FA O to give you uh a
briefing regarding the FA O food pricing bank which we just released this morning.
The index increased in May for the third month in a row,
strengthening 5.9% following a seven month long declining trend,
but was still down 3.4% from its corresponding value one year ago.
This increase in May was led by higher prices for cereal and dairy
products which offset decreases in the quotations
for sugar and the vegetable oils.
I will only focus on the commodity groups
with the largest changes.
the cereal price index increased by 6.3% from the previous month.
With global export prices of all major cereals decreasing,
Wheat prices increase the most,
mostly due to growing concerns about unfavourable crop conditions
for the 2024 harvest in the Northern Hemisphere,
which might be possibly constraining yields in
some producing areas in parts of Europe,
North America and the Black Sea region.
we are also keeping an eye on the damage to the Black Sea shipping infrastructure,
some to some extent, certainly on the east except
elevating the pressure on the prices.
Also increasing both the FA O daily price index, which increased by 0.8%
by increased demand for retail and food
services ahead of summer holidays in Europe.
fresh milk production in the Western Europe.
Positive news, if you wish, is the decline
in the price of the sugar index, which decreased by 7.5% from April,
driven mainly by a good start of the harvest season in Brazil.
lot of international crude prices, in fact, pushed the sugar prices down as well.
price index also decline by 2.5% while
the meat prices remained relatively constant.
Despite this over and all increase, the third one in a row,
the over and on food pricing
that is still almost 25% below its March 2022 peak.
harvest from the Northern hemisphere will be entering the market soon,
improving the availability.
Sao also released its new Syria and supply demand brief.
Unfortunately since the closure of the data to when the brief was released,
we experienced some uh, negative weathers,
which announced uncertainty regarding global wheat production.
Nevertheless, at this point,
overall cereal supplies are still seem comfortable in
the 2024 2025 marketing year.
as global commodity prices have direct implications for food security,
I would like to mention the release of the joint FA OWSP Hungry Hotspot report,
which was also released this week,
which identifies 18 hunger hotspots where acute food insecurity
is set to increase in magnitude and severity.
Many hotspots face growing hunger crises and highlight the burning multiply
effect that simultaneous and overlapping shocks
are having acute food insecurity.
climate extremes and economic shocks that continue to drive vulnerable
households to the food crisis.
I will be looking for the questions. Thank you.
Monica, For this update, I'll open the floor to question first in the room.
I don't see any hand up, so let's go to the platform. Yuria Prea
Just maybe say to whom is your question?
question. My question is for you. And this is not about
so maybe take the first question from Maya and
after. Maybe let's wait for this, then.
Yes, thank you very much for taking my question.
Good morning, Alexandra And everyone,
Um, I wanted to ask, uh uh, Mr Francesco Branca, uh, about, uh, the,
um How WHO is working on nutrition aspects to of combating disease.
Uh, chronic diseases with
the new reformulate amended, uh, international health regulations.
How nutrition can be used as a
management tool for chronic diseases
and in this special day of food safety too.
And also, if you could comment, how does he work with
recently, he was at the Economist at an event in London at the Economist
Nordisk, the maker, uh, the the manufacturer of
Oz and Peak. And it is that isn't that a conflict of interest
with, uh, working for the United Nations with the WHO?
The first question is, how do we work on chronic diseases?
A clearly unhealthy diet is one of the
key risk factor for non communicable chronic diseases.
8 million deaths every year
40 million disability adjusted life year. So it is a major burden.
We are clearly recommending a set of policies
to member states which are cost effective.
We have demonstrated that they are
effective because countries have implemented them.
But we have also calculated
their cost effectiveness and they are definitely
a good investment for countries. The policies are related to the pricing of food.
So we are recommending to tax drinks and
foods which are not contributing to healthy diets,
and we are recommending to provide subsidies
on products contribute to healthy diets such as fruit and vegetables.
We recommend to work with consumer information better
banning, regulating, reducing
the marketing of unhealthy
food products to Children, particularly
and also informing clearly consumers about packaged food
front of the pack labelling. And finally, we are recommending
public authorities to use their purchasing power.
The meals which are offered in schools, hospitals, canteens
to offer healthy foods to the population,
but also through social support services, all the services that are provided so
change the quality of the food which is offered. We are also working with
the private sector, asking them to
remove unhealthy components of the food. We are asking them to
reduce the salt content of food. We are asking them to remove unhealthy trans fat.
We don't have any engagement as such With the
Foundation is a major global donor and
the nature of the engagement there. We do not
at the moment. We have not received funding from the no
is in conflict with the work that
is doing on normative guidance.
Thank you very much. John
Yeah, G. Good morning, Francesco.
Uh, I've got something a bit. Uh
um uh, timely. Uh, the other day, the WHO
put out a press release on the first reported death globally of H five, N two.
And from the point of view of food safety,
what are you recommending
in terms of people eating poultry which
has traditionally been linked with avian influenza?
Francesco. Please answer.
And if the colleagues from FA U also have something to add,
please just raise your hand, Francesco.
So we have a permanent working group on H five N, one that looks at food safety.
We have not been able to demonstrate any
humans that consume either
poultry or other products which
which have been exposed to H five and one. So
areas is absolutely important. There are food safety.
Authorities are very carefully monitoring this risk. So there should be no
concern for the consumers.
Thank you. Um, yeah. Sorry for the visual hand raising.
so from the FA O perspective, we can only echo Francesco's words.
in all the 100 years of avian influenza that we monitor
outbreaks and and the world has to suffer through outbreaks.
There has not been any demonstrated foodborne transmission.
Uh, animal handlers, of course,
who are in extremely close contact with an animals may, uh, get an infection,
but is an occupational risk.
It's not a foodborne transmission.
currently looking at this, uh, risk as negligibly
uh, at least if it gets to foodborne transmission, but it's certainly, uh,
Thank you. John. You have
My question was to H five, N two, which is the first reported death globally.
And, uh uh, my question was, uh, how do you recommend or advise that, uh,
Uh, can you have poultry? Medium rare, for instance? Or should it be well cooked?
Maybe as a general recommendation. Yes. We do recommend
thorough handling of food product.
In general, this is not only specific to this particular risk.
So we have what we call the five keys to safe food.
And that's something that consumers can do. Adequately.
This is about food storage. This is about food handling. This is about
usual hygiene practises. And it's about
cooking of food products. So
the potential risk associated hazards associated to handling
handling meat and poultry.
So, yes, definitely adequate cooking is something that we recommend in general.
I think Christian, you may want to
Yeah, John I. I need to add something here. And that's that's for the record.
Uh, the the the death, um, in in Mexico is not at treatable
It was the case that the patient was in the hospital,
came to the hospital after weeks of multifactorial
other diseases and injuries
he died the same day that he got into the
hospital on 24 April and subsequently was also tested,
as it is normal in such a death case tested for flu and other viruses.
And it was H five N two was detected, but important to note that death
is a multifactorial death,
not a death attributed to H five N two
I, um my question was that avian influenza is normally very much found
among poultry. That's why in the US they've culled over 90 million.
uh, animals so far. So the question is also this person in Mexico.
He had been sick for many, many weeks.
And secondly, I think WHO took 13 days to put out the press release.
Even though you received the information on the 23rd of May,
I think. Marcus, you raised your hand. I saw your hand up.
Yeah, thank you. Maybe at this point, I would just
like to underline what Francesca indicated earlier.
So Of course, avian influenza and poultry is not new, that there has been many,
many rounds of infection sweeping the world, and and many,
many birds have been culled.
or certain strains, a highly pathogenic among birds.
And so it's an animal protection risk. First and foremost,
there has been documented spillover of various strains into humans,
which came in close contact with infected animals
but not through food borne transmission.
many outbreaks of outbreaks of various strains of avian influenza,
there was never any food borne transmission.
Humans do not have avian influenza receptors in their
interest in outside, contrary to certain animal species, as far as we know
today. And so there is a very slim likelihood just from that perspective.
And as Francesco already pointed out,
there are many other food safety risks if it comes to poultry and meat in general.
cooking your meat and particularly poultry well
through is always good food safety advice
It's not. It's probably the lowest risk is connected to avian influenza.
microbiological risks that are more likely to cause harm
to consumers if food is inadequately prepared Thank you.
Thank you very much. We take the advice. Robin Miller, the French news agency.
Uh, thank you for, uh, for Christian,
Um, that, uh, that non attribution of the death in Mexico to H five, N two.
Is that Is that something that's at this stage?
We can't attribute it, and it's likely to change later. Or is that,
um, like, the final, um, verdict if you like. And, uh, and secondly, yesterday
Uh, it was said that the WHO is, uh, awaiting full genetic sequence data on this case.
Do you have that data yet? Thank you.
the investigation is ongoing
again. The patient died after
three weeks of complications in January.
He was bedridden for three day three weeks,
then went to the hospital because of complications, respiratory complications
and died in the hospital on that day, which was, I think, 24
April subsequently, tests were done.
Um, And when on 22nd May,
the, uh, the infection with avian influenza H five and two was confirmed.
was notified and on 23. Uh, this notification happened,
um, investigations are ongoing.
And the tricky part, of course, is because it is several weeks ago now,
hospital staff, the possible contacts and I think there were 17 of them
have been all tested. They were all negative.
But that's hospital staff only in the last day of his life,
other contacts in the residence and they were identified 12 and the weeks before
have also been contacted by the authorities to
what we hear and have also tested negative.
So investigation is ongoing. Serology is ongoing.
That means the blood testing of contacts also to
see if there was any possible earlier infection.
this point in time, we do not know
the well as it's multifactorial. It's a multifactorial death.
That's how it is going down into the
into the files, so to say, in such a case. But
N two is being investigated to see
whether this was he was infected by somebody visiting or by any
contact with any animals before.
Thank you, Antonio Broto,
Uh, thank you. Uh, Christian, Do you know if the WHO is considering
making an assessment of, uh,
a new assessment of avian flu after this new new case in Mexico,
And if so, when do you think it could, uh, be out? Thank you.
So I'm not quite sure what you mean by new assessment.
it's the first known human infection with H five, N two. That's one thing.
And now we are waiting for all the subsequent tests and results to
see what the outcome is more I don't have at that time.
I can't speculate what will happen in the future.
Yes, by new assessment I.
I mean, uh, when the WHO, uh, publishes a report long report saying,
What are the recommendations for all the WHO members for?
For all the health, uh, networks,
If investigation shows anything which is worth
to do a new risk assessment to reassess the situation
and to re evaluate and get out new guidance,
it would certainly be done.
to everyone who has intervened in this
discussion. We I don't see any other questions. So I would like to thank
for updating us on this important World Food Safety Day.
And on the update of the global food commodity prices.
We have another item from
but I'd like to ask Mrs Portela for her patience.
Because we have today is guest day.
with Port Sudan and I have the pleasure to
introduce you to Mohammed.
Mohammed is the Sudan Chief of Mission
for the International Organisation for Migration.
We have him here for an update on the dire
and before giving you the floor.
Mohammed. I just wanted to remind the journalist that yesterday evening
the spokesperson for the secretary general
issued a statement where he said that the secretary general strongly condemned
the attack reportedly carried out on 5 June by the rapid support forces in the
which is said to have killed over 100 people.
The secretary general urges all parties to refrain from any
attack that could arm civilians or damage civilian infrastructure.
The secretary general expresses deep concern
regarding the immense suffering of the Sudanese population
as a result of the continued hostilities.
He stresses that it is high time for all parties to silence their guns
across Sudan and commit to a path
towards sustainable peace for the Sudanese people.
The Secretary General's personnel envoy Ram
Lamamra is continuing his engagement to advance peace efforts in Sudan.
The United Nations remain committed
to supporting international mediation efforts and
to working with all relevant stakeholders
to help bring an end to this terrible conflict.
you have updates on the internal displacements in
Sudan and I'll give you the floor now.
Thanks. I hope you can hear me. Well,
good morning. And thank you all for being here today, Uh, as the chief of mission for I
to you from Port Sudan with a heavy heart,
but also with a profound sense of urgency.
The crisis unfolding in Sudan is a catastrophic human tragedy.
I'm not just a representative of a UN agency.
I'm a voice for millions of Sudanese whose lives
have been forever altered by the ongoing crisis.
Families have been torn apart, communities devastated
and the future put on hold.
The human toll of this crisis is huge.
The question I have to you today is painfully a
How much suffering a loss of life
must the people of Sudan endure
before the war takes notice.
Isn't 10 million internally displaced enough to compel urgent global action?
Every one of those 10 million displaced
life represents a pro profound human tragedy
that demands urgent attention.
IOM latest displacement tracking metrics has
recorded 9.9 million people internally displaced
in one country across all 18 states. In Sudan,
were already displaced before the war started in April 2023
adding on top of them 7.1 million cents
More than half of them are women,
one quarter of them are Children under five.
we got used to hear that Sudan is the largest global displacement.
This doesn't create much urgency for action anymore
if 10 million is not yet enough. In total,
some 12 million have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan
with over 2 million crossing borders into neighbouring countries mainly Chad,
arriving in extremely vulnerable conditions and highly traumatised.
Since April 2024 we have seen an increase in
number of people fleeing Sudan due to food insecurity,
with 63% being Sudanese nationals,
while 37 being nationals or returnees
before 15th of April 2023 displacement primarily concentrated within Darfur
we are seeing here a completely ship in the
dynamics of displacement in Sudan
with 36% of the displacement we have in hand now are coming from the capital of Sudan
I want to shed the light on another forgotten group in Sudan.
a major source transit and destination country for migrants at
the centre of multiple migration routes in the region.
Despite its own significant challenge,
Sudan has long been a heaven for many fleeing war hunger,
hardship from neighbouring countries.
the recent war has exacerbated the situation,
leaving many migrants and refugees stranded with limited,
very limited access to support and services.
The strain in Sudan's resources infrastructure due to the
hosting large number of displaced persons has been substantial,
making it increasingly challenging to provide adequate shelter, food,
health care and other basic necessities
IM teams have recorded a threefold increase in Sudanese taking dangerous
irregular migration corridors into Libya. Tunisia onward to Europe
we have an unconfirmed reports. About 2000 families are stranded
in hard conditions, including migrants
between the borders between Egypt, Libya and Sudan.
Definitely was a very limited access to them.
Sudanese are still choosing internal displacement as their first line of safety.
They still have the hope to return to their home soon.
The lack of peace, investment and real solutions for displacement
is likely to impact not only the region but also have knock on effect cross regional
and we have seen this before in several wars.
My last devastating figure
for today is to say that more than 70% of IOM national work force
fulfil the definition of IDPs
with majorities of their families are seeking safety outside of Sudan.
How many of us have to be displaced or killed for our tragedy to count?
This is the message that they want you to take out for the
This is just a glimpse of the daily reality in Sudan,
another relation to the humanitarian situation and mobility.
IPs, but are they located in areas where
they have severe food shortage
being under IPC three or four
with a very high risk of famine.
These areas are mainly in Darfur region,
which is currently the most difficult for humanitarian to reach.
we are having an electricity cut,
one of the challenges that we are all facing here.
The humanitarian situation has entered a new alarming shatter
with the outbreak of fights in Al
the capital of North Darfur, putting over 800,000 civilians at risk.
All parties must facilitate the safe,
rapid unembedded passage of humanitarian personnel and supplies
through all available routes into Al Fasher.
Al Facia locality hosts around 600,000 IDPs,
including those displaced both before and after 13th April 2023
displaced communities were primarily hosted within Al Fasher town
in IDP camps and other shelter sites, including schools and public buildings.
Movement restrictions are shocking the lifeline of those in the state,
with crucial roads out of Al Fasher blocked
and preventing civilians from reaching safer areas,
limiting the amount of food and humanitarian aid coming into the city.
Prices for water and fuel have skyrocketed, making the
essential shells unaffordable for everyone
especially with a Sudanese bound devaluation and lack
of liquidity that we can all see here
Al Fasher is inaccessible either cross line or cross border.
We have all seen the horrific news coming from the small village of WD
We're also hearing of truly horrifying reports of violent
attacks and casualties in the villages of what the
we do not have the full details surrounding these horrific events.
There are credible reports of heavy gunfire and the use of explosive weapons
in populated civilian areas.
I hope that the world didn't get used to those
Our DTM has received preliminary information that approximately
559 households have already flee since yesterday from villages
reportedly due intensified attacks in neighbouring areas.
This latest outbreak of violence is yet another
devastating blow to the people of Sudan,
who have already endured immense suffering
Unobstructed humanitarian access is immediately needed
free of administrative embedment
harassment and security threats to national
colleagues and humanitarian response partners.
After the Emergency director group's visit we feel some
improvement in access and we advocate definitely for more
revealed that the UN stands ready to be everywhere
to provide neutral aid when access is given.
So we call for more of access.
Thank you very much. Oh, I'm sorry.
Today I wanted to share with you not only
the stark realities of the situation in Sudan,
the incredible efforts being made on the ground to bring relief and hope.
It is a story of struggle but also a solid human spirit.
IM has reached nearly 2.4 million people in Sudan and neighbouring countries,
with life saving aid serving over 1.9 million in Sudan alone.
Aiming to preserve the dignity and protection for the people we serve
I would like to flag that aid agencies have
struggled to keep pace with the growing needs.
Funding shortfalls are embedding efforts to provide adequate shelter,
food and medical assistance.
Serious concerns are mounting about the long term impact
of displacement on Sudan's social and economic fabric.
this year plans to target 1.7 million people
with a requirement of $312
Though the crisis is growing, the response remains critically underfunded.
IOM response overview is only 19% funded.
Thank you very much, sir. Thanks for this, uh, update. Uh, very important.
And I know that the journalists have already received the press releases.
uh, the the the the the The figure that you quoted were there,
so I'll open the floor to question now,
Yuri, I know you are waiting for, uh, for your question,
but III I like to concentrate on Sudan now and focus on Sudan.
So Lisa Schlein, Voice of America.
Thank you. Uh, II. I didn't receive any, uh,
notes. I mean, there there was a press release that was issued by IOM,
but it would be most helpful if, uh um
I'm I'm sorry. I don't know your name. Mohammed.
If you could send us your notes because that you said a lot, it's enormous amount to
to digest. So if you could,
uh and and quickly do this because
there are deadlines and so forth. Anyhow, as to my questions,
you any IOM officials have contacts with any of the warring parties
and is anything getting through to them in terms of the,
uh, enormity of the tragedy that is occurring?
Then I would like to open up this conversation
a bit more to perhaps get some other, uh, voices into this regarding, uh,
from the World Health Organisation.
There are a couple of very good,
uh uh, people who are, uh, present Who could talk about the, uh, health situation?
Uh, the the impact of, uh, having to move around the lack of food that, uh,
is there There is talk of famine.
it is to achieving that situation. And also, if there is somebody from the UN HCR,
who could talk about the situation of refugees of
the people who are fleeing if they are even able
to cross the borders in order to, uh, seek safety in Chad,
presumably in other neighbouring countries.
Thank you very much. Lisa,
I give the floor to Mohammed. I have also an update from WFP.
But maybe let's start with Mohammed and Ken is in the room, so I'm looking at him.
If it's possible to circulate Mohammed's notes quickly to the journalist.
Yeah, I think definitely. We'll circulate the note.
maybe it's a part that concerns I am about the
mediation or discussion about humanitarian access with warring parties.
Definitely. We need always to have one new common UN approach on this.
So our approach has been to go under the umbrella
of the discussion and mediation done by the resident coordinator,
the humanitarian coordinator,
uh, providing access, humanitarian access.
Uh, definitely. There is more of effort to be done from our side.
While we focus on the humanitarian imperative and neutrality,
we also call on all warring parties to respect this.
I see a lot of efforts have been done by the special by the personal envoy,
the secretary general person envoy. He was here in Sudan last week. Alam
We all hope and count on his marathon visits and
mediation tool to give us more space and access,
especially at the time we have until
the rainy season and the family response, as you mentioned is very limited.
Maybe we have less than two months
to be on ground and provide aid where we still don't have access.
yes on the World Food Programme Lisa,
the update I have is that
our colleagues said the World Food Programme are
urgently expanding emergency food and nutrition assistance in Sudan
amid the looming threat of famine as conditions for civilians
continue to deteriorate as we have heard from Mohammed,
the scale up aims to provide life saving food and nutrition assistance
to an additional 5 million people by the end of this year,
doubling the number of people that the World Food
Programme had planned to support in its planning.
World Food Programme will provide cash assistance to
1.2 million people in 12 states of Sudan,
giving a vital boost to local markets and food producers.
And that's what I have for World Food Programme.
I just can tell you already that I spoke to Sheeta
this morning and they she couldn't be with us today.
But she will be here on Tuesday for the Tuesday briefing
on the health situation, maybe I'll pass the floor to Christian.
Yeah. Thank you. And thanks. I have a a few notes here. Lisa? Um,
not as much as we had recently when we had our representative talking here. But
what I have is the health system in Sudan is collapsing.
About 65% of the Sudanese population lack access to healthcare.
Healthcare in Sudan typically relied heavily on
Khartoum, where the health care system was decimated.
Only about 25% of the medical supplies
needed are available in the country.
Only 20 to 30% of health facilities remain functional and even so at a minimal level.
And that's from four of June. These updates
At least two thirds of the states are experiencing simultaneous outbreaks.
Vaccination for measles has declined due to the conflict,
with a record number of cases in 2023.
And of course, unfortunately, we expect 2024 to be worse.
Over 11,000 cases of cholera have been reported from 12 states, and this is likely
an underestimation as reporting, of course, is difficult.
There are also outbreaks of malaria and dengue.
mental health and non communal diseases needs
disease needs are not being adequately addressed.
is particularly concerned over the lack of
treatment for people suffering from chronic conditions
such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases and kidney failure.
WHO has already delivered over 1200 metric tonnes
of medical supplies to health facilities across Sudan states
by air and through cross border and cross line mechanisms,
provided key equipment to sustain laboratory services, improve I
and enhance infection prevention and control.
we supported also vaccination campaigns to respond to outbreaks of cholera,
measles and polio, and trained health workers in case management
and epidemic prone diseases in a crisis setting
and of course, in handling and management of severe malnutrition.
you have the full package
Of course, William has some update on that.
And maybe you can introduce to your colleague who had to brief afterwards.
Thank you, Alexandra. And thank you, Lisa. We can always count on you on
being interested in situations that deserve more attention in Africa.
And this is definitely one of them.
We have been briefing we and other agencies here have been briefing about
the dramatic situation in Sudan and how it
is affecting other countries in the region for
many months and in fact since the beginning of this conflict over a year ago.
And unfortunately our efforts and those of our partners and
other agencies are being hampered by the lack of funding.
This year's humanitarian needs and response plan
for humanitarian response inside
billion to reach over 14 million people in Sudan.
So far, it is only 16% funded
the regional refugee response plan.
This is the plan for neighbouring countries,
so this is for outside Sudan for refugees from Sudan in the neighbouring countries
billion for nearly 2.7 million people in five countries
so far, it is only 9% funded.
At a conference in Paris in April,
in contributions were announced,
but very little has materialised so far.
Donors must urgently disperse the pledges made in Paris
and fast track additional funding for the humanitarian appeal.
millions forcibly displaced and with a famine on the horizon,
we must deliver much more life saving aid. Now,
I am fortunate to have with me my colleague uh, Alpha
He is the regional spokesperson for West and Central Africa, based in Dakar.
He will be briefing about the situation in the Sahel.
But he can also talk about the impact of the war in Sudan
and he can I'm asking him to, uh, to tell us a few things about the efforts that the
is doing there to relocate
many of the refugees arriving from Sudan
where the conditions are very
difficult because of overcrowding
is trying to move these refugees to a new site.
But Alpha can give us more details about that.
Thank you. Thank you very much, William. And thank you.
Indeed, the situation is in
the heart and heartbreaking situation. I have been in
that part of the world when
you've seen people coming on a daily basis
And most of them are women.
really, it's really very, very crowded and
we are trying to to move,
forcibly displaced people
to a safer place. So far,
um, into five new camps and all
and also in seven pre existing camp. Because it's it's worth to to to recall that
Chad has been already hosting more than 400,000
people from Sudan before this crisis.
And, um and, uh, we, um we really have challenges, as
due to the lack of funding, because the basic needs are shelter, food,
access to education for Children.
we really appreciate that beside their challenges and authorities are still
have kept their borders open,
and we are working with all partners and
to really provide life saving assistance.
But we also call for development also
assistance because we need to build their resilience
not only for for for refugees, but also for us communities.
And I will conclude with Mohammed and then Lisa,
you will have really a comprehensive answer here, Mohammed.
Well, thanks a lot for all colleagues who have added a huge, very good input.
Just, I would like also to add, maybe to follow up on the question from Lisa that
since we have seen the numbers are just going on the rise.
We have coordinate with all humanitarian actors in the country
and I will lead on a multiple sector needs assessment for Sudan.
So we aim by this leadership that we will bring to all agencies what are the updated,
in all sectors and clusters that have been
impacted by the increased number of displacement.
So we hope within the next three months maximum
of four months that we will have a full,
list of needs and vulnerabilities in Sudan.
I would like to thank you and we count on you for sharing the voice of Sudanese
and their needs. And the most important need is funding peace
and access. So we count on your support for this. Thank you.
very much, Mohammed. And before Lisa
asks, I will ask for her if every colleague who can send the notes to the journalists,
those who have added to it, and as we said before,
don't see other questions on that. So thank you very much.
Mohammed, please keep us informed,
especially if you are going for this assessment.
And I think also Alpha William Christian.
I now still have a couple of guests and one of which is Alpha. So if
wait, we stay in Africa. And maybe I'll ask Alpha to
give us this briefing on the situation in western
and central Africa for the humanitarian crisis in this region
Thank you, madam. I will deliver the briefing in English.
But I'm happy to take questions
and thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about one of the
most negligent crises in the world.
the UN refugee agency, is deeply concerned
about the fast growing humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region
in the Sahel region countries of Burkina Faso,
over 3.3 million people are forcibly displaced
according to the to April 2020 24 data
due to relentless conflict and exacerbated
by the worsening effect of the climate crisis.
This tragic forced displacement of
demands immediate international action to prevent the situation
security situation in the Sahel region is volatile,
forcing people to flee their homes in search of safety and protection.
data from the first quarter shows that
forcibly displaced and host communities perceive thieves
attacks on civilians. Gender based violence
women and Children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation,
The lack of adequate shelter, clean water
and sanitation further exacerbate
the dire conditions faced by the displaced people.
The persistent insecurity prevent many from returning home,
often leading to repeated displacement
within the country and increasingly across borders.
have been internally displayed in Burkina Faso,
Mali and *** in the last four years,
from these three countries short to 505 150,000 during the same period.
the dual threats of violence and in equate living conditions is perpetrating
Over the over the past year, the outflow of Burkina Faso refugees
has been significant to the coastal countries,
with an estimated 170,600 arrival
There are currently over 200,000 Malians in
as well as 50,000 who fled to Algeria but have no access to asylum procedures.
94,000 refugees, mainly from Burkina Faso,
*** and Mauritania, while grappling with more than
254,000 internally displaced people.
Despite the security and increasing pressure on local communities,
neighbouring countries within the Sahel region
have kept their borders open to refugees and should be commanded.
the increase in cross border movement underscores the deepening of
the crisis and continued necessity to respond to the need
in the Sahel by investing in protection,
assist and and durable solutions.
Tremendous efforts are being undertaken yet a lot more need to be done.
UNHCR is advocating with the international community to
maintain aid during political instability in the Sahel region
the existing problems and increasing the livelihood
the likelihood of the future crisis.
investment in essential protection and social system as well as supporting
communities before they are forced to flee
joint approach between humanitarian development and peace actors
while redirecting funds to local organisations actively working on
the ground for a more effective response to the needs
plan Long term solutions from the start to provide
life saving humanitarian assistance while building the resilience
of displaced people and the hostile communities.
Mali, Mauritanian and the Gulf of Guinea countries.
Thank you very much. Alpha
Benjamin Lee Um uh Swiss radio.
humanitarian. So I want to decrease Poli
go, maybe you just want to remind us the press conference,
Yes, indeed, Alexandra, thank you very much.
I take the opportunity to remind you that
next week we will be publishing our flagship
It's our annual statistical report with information about
the numbers of displaced people including refugees,
internally displaced people and other persons forcibly displaced
and as well as stateless around the world.
The report will be made published on 13
But there will be a press briefing by the High Commissioner,
Filippo Grandi here in this room
That briefing will be on the embargo.
So any of the information provided on that day can only
be published after the embargo has been lifted on the 13th.
Thank you very much for, uh, this reminder. Um, I don't see other hands upon this.
So thank you very much to the colleagues
and thank you very much to WHO for the patient and the patience of Mrs Anaida
Portella, who is online with us. Um, Christian, You want to introduce her, or
there's not much more left to introduce. Very good to have you there with us,
she will talk about climate change, impacts on health of pregnant women,
Children and older people.
the climate change room talked a lot.
We've been talking a lot about the recent weeks and months,
but now, on a specific impact over to you.
Thank you. Good morning. Greetings from Geneva to all.
Uh, I'm Annie Portella, a scientist at the World Health Organisation.
Recent reports in the news make us very aware of
climate change and its increasing impact on our lives.
In 2022 the devastating flooding in Pakistan affected millions of people.
A recent report from the Centre for Disease Control in the United States of America
tells about emergency department visits peaking in 2023 over warm season months.
New Delhi is currently facing record breaking temperatures of over 50
which tests the endurance of people's services and infrastructure.
It's taken some time to integrate health into the climate change agenda.
I congratulate the WHO team led by Dr
for their leadership and contributions to this effort
and now we are keenly aware that the climate crisis is a health crisis.
But we also know that the crisis does not affect everyone Equally.
Different factors increase risks for certain individuals and groups,
whether due to biological factors
like difficulties in regulating body temperature
or socio-economic factors including working and
housing conditions or geographical factors.
While we undertake work to mitigate climate change and reduce emissions,
we must also invest to protect the most at risk populations.
WHO launched a series of papers on the impact of climate change at key life stages.
These provide important scientific evidence on how the health of pregnant women,
adolescents and older people is affected by
air pollution and the different climate hazards,
including wildfires, flooding and extreme heat.
This evidence is critically important because shows,
because it shows health risks for each of
these groups for the different climate events.
In so doing this will help governments,
health system actors and other partners identify specific actions needed to
reduce these risks to better prepare and to protect people's health.
As to the findings, the studies show clearly that climate
related hazards have mental and physical health impacts
in pregnancy and for younger and older people.
If I take extreme heat as a topic, the authors note that preterm births,
now the leading cause of childhood deaths increase during heat waves waves,
while older people are more likely to
suffer heart attacks or respiratory distress.
High temperatures are also associated with hypertension and G
gestational diabetes in pregnancy.
High temperatures affect cognitive function.
Children are less likely to complete full days at school,
and they also struggle to learn when they are there
and that therefore impacts education for Children and adolescents.
air pollution increases the likelihood of high blood pressure during pregnancy,
low birth weight, preterm
birth and negative impacts on foetal brain and love development.
It raises risk of respiratory illness among Children and
older people who also face greater risks of cancer,
cardiovascular disease and pneumonia.
studies show it can lead to reduced cognitive capacity,
whether preventing optimal development for Children
or accelerating declines among older people.
Flooding and drought reduces access to safe water and food supplies,
leading to diarrheal diseases and malnutrition,
and wildfires have been shown to increase respiratory
disorders and cardiovascular mortality rates for older people.
This set of paper helps to identify direct effects on health,
but also show the different pathways for indirect effects,
including reduced crop outputs and food shortages,
increased vector borne disease,
increased stress impacting on mental health and
more difficult working and living conditions,
which are, of course, the foundation for our overall health.
WHO continues to urge governments to prioritise climate change as a health issue,
gas greenhouse gas emissions sorry
and build climate resilience. But we would also want to see specific actions
that protect health at different life stages,
including ensuring health and care services are prepared to address the
needs of those most at risk when a climate disaster occurs.
This includes actions that are directed at
individual and households directed at community actors,
teachers and health workers.
Structural interventions and policy interventions,
during heat flexibility around work and school hours or
modifying school and hospital structures for extreme weather events
and rising temperatures while reducing their emissions.
Efforts can also focus on collaborating with communities and
sharing knowledge of actions to take during certain events,
including public health messages during peaks and air pollution or heat waves.
To help pregnant women, older persons, families protect themselves.
We can also train health workers to recognise heat stress.
WHO will continue to work to identify
promising interventions to protect these populations,
to identify core indicators starting with heat to monitor impact and progress,
particularly on maternal newborn child health and the health of older people.
To develop CLIN clinical guidance
and to coordinate with partners to identify key public health messages and
to support governments to bring forward actions to safeguard these populations.
Important to these efforts will be continued collaboration
with our UN sister agencies and including UNICEF,
WMO the World Meteorological
Meteorological Organisation.
Christian tells me that the notes will be distributed soonest.
Um, question, uh, to, uh, the WHO on this important subject in the room.
I don't see any hand up or on the platform.
don't see any hand up, so thank you very much, Christian, for sending out the notes.
know. I know. You want to ask me a question.
Just let me see one thing, because we still have one announcement,
and it's an important one.
I know that a lot of people wanted to have information about what's happening with
next week. So before I go to you
Sorry, I'll ask you a little bit more patient.
I like to give the floor to KR
and to hear about the arrangements for next week for the
Ok, uh, I see your faces were
Are there questions in the room now? So, Paula,
Hi. Good morning. Um, so Ashley I I also wanted to know about the any heads of states.
But beyond that, uh, any, um,
statements that you could share early? I don't know.
Are there any new plans, Anything that's like
strategy or plans or anything for the next the coming
few years or anything like that that you might be announcing
There is no specific outcome for the for these three day celebrations.
As soon as we have them, we will share them with you,
if possible in advance to be checked against delivery.
I'm doing my best to collect that as of
Wednesday morning and And get and send them to you. Of course, yes.
Are there questions on this issue?
I don't see anything, so,
oh, sorry. Sorry, buddy. I didn't see her.
I heard you will have to,
do our request on the line or just to send you email for the place of stakeholder.
Please send them to me directly by email. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Good luck for to you and to us for next week and to all of us.
It's gonna be a busy week indeed.
And, um uh So, before I go to my usual announcement, I give the floor to
Yuri, who has been patiently waiting. I
Yes. Thank you. Uh, this is not a question. This is a remark on behalf of, uh,
this is the fifth time in a row,
CR is not coming to the briefings. Uh,
and there's a lot of things that are happening, especially in Gaza.
It would be nice if this organisation could
find the time to participate at least online
to answer our questions. The last time they were there, it was the
So five briefings before,
share with them that we're waiting to see them in the briefings.
And the second complaint is about ILO because today we had
a new report on employment in the occupied Palestinian territories.
This report has not been sent under embargo to journalists.
send them an email to receive it. But
a lot of journalists didn't add it this morning when the embargo was left.
And same. We have no representatives from ILO today to talk about it
and to present this new report. So it would be great if
they take the time when they released a report on the day of the briefing to come.
Of course, we will let our colleague know of your comments
I think. Of course I can't speak on behalf of
But what I understand is that the report you're
referring to has not been published in Geneva.
It has been published by the office in Beirut.
And, uh, I understand that they are preparing, um
uh, translation and information about it that they will send to you.
but, um, I have already asked Martin, and they are working on it, but basically,
that this was not done here. It was done in Beirut, and hence the
fact that you didn't receive it in the timing that you were indicating,
I see your hand is still up?
Yes. Just to say that I understand.
It was not published in Geneva, but for example, the report of
published in Geneva. It was published in Rome and it didn't change anything. So
OK, Gabriela, you wanted to add something?
No, I. I just want to say maybe this is one to take off line. Uh,
we not the, uh the input from
Cano in journalist. Maybe I can also take this opportunity to
say to everyone that this is the last press briefing of Ben, uh, who has been with us?
One of the pillars of this, uh, of this briefings really
particularly pleased that you were here in person every time.
And I'd like to thank him. First of all, for all the work of, uh,
that he has done to to to to make the UN activities known better to the Swiss public.
And of course, wish you all the best for your future endeavours
and my very, very last announcement.
I've been asked to inform you about an
activity at WTO because Fernando could not come
so I read and this is on behalf of the World Trade Organisation.
ninth Global Review of Aid for Trade will take place from 26 to 28 June here in Geneva.
Of course, under the theme Mainstreaming Trade into Development Strategies,
the event will examine how the $687
billion of investment will be
through the aid for trade initiative
have helped developing and least developed economies.
Participate more fully in global trade
and what more can be done to leverage trade to spur economic growth,
achieve development goals and build resilience against future shocks.
Special focus will be given during this meeting to food security,
digital connectivity and transition to a greener economy.
The event will be opened by the WTO Director General
Secretary General together with the minister of Foreign Affairs of Barbados.
There is a programme available on WTO website and for
those of you who wish to attend in person,
the registration is currently open and will be until the 10th of
June and also remind you that they will have their open door,
uh, Sunday, this Sunday coming this coming Sunday, the ninth of, uh,
there is also speaking about human rights. Uh
uh, a press conference on Monday.
We have already heard about the the Filippo Grandi.
uh, press conference in the afternoon, But in the morning at 10 a.m.
the president of the Human Rights Council will talk to you, Uh,
will talk to you about the upcoming, uh, regular session of the council,
and that's it. I think I've told you everything I had
but thank you very much. And
on behalf of my colleagues
weekend, uh, we brace yourself for next week is gonna be fun. Thanks.
