The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN Geneva Press Briefing - 16 August 2024
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1:16:50
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MP4
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4.5 GB
Michele Zaccheo, Chief of Radio, TV & Webcast Section at the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Human Rights, the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Bangladesh transition - a historic opportunity
Ravina Shamdasani, for the United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR), stated that the transition in Bangladesh was an historic opportunity to ensure governance would be anchored in human rights, inclusivity, and rule of law, stressing the need for accountability for all those responsible for human rights violations and violence. “The transition ahead presents an historic opportunity to reform and revitalize the country’s institutions, to restore fundamental freedoms and civic space, and to give all in Bangladesh a part in building the future,” the High Commissioner for Human Rights said, as his issued a preliminary report on the protests and unrest in the country in recent weeks. “Accountability for violations and justice for the victims are key for the way forward and will need to be accompanied by a national healing process,” Türk said. “A comprehensive, impartial and transparent investigation into all human rights violations and abuses that have occurred will be a critical first step.”
Ms. Shamdasani stressed that there were strong indications, warranting further independent investigation, that the security forces had used unnecessary and disproportionate force in their response to the situation. Additional, alleged violations, that also warranted thorough, impartial, and transparent investigations, included extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, and detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment, and severe restrictions on exercise of freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly. Following the resignation of the Government on 5 August 2024, there were also reports of looting, arson and attacks on members of religious minorities, as well as reprisals against and revenge killings of members of the former ruling party and police. On 15 August, mobs armed with bamboo sticks, iron rods and pipes had reportedly assaulted supporters of the former Prime Minister. Journalists had also been reportedly attacked and threatened preventing them from filming at the scenes. All those responsible for human rights violations, including those who had used or ordered the unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, had to be held to account and victims provided reparations and effective remedies.
This week, the High Commissioner had spoken to the Chief Adviser to the Interim Government, Muhammad Yunus, assuring him that the OHCHR stood in solidary with the people of Bangladesh at this time and were committed to supporting the Interim Government for a successful transition that is inclusive and advances the rights of all the people in Bangladesh.
Full OHCHR report can be found here.
Ms. Shamdasani, answering a question, said that the OHCHR report was based on media reports, open sources, and other reliable sources from within the country. The report did not speak of definite proofs or evidence, but it was clear that hundreds of people had been killed. The following week, the OHCHR was going to deploy a working level mission to Bangladesh to look into the violence in more depth, engage with actors from across the society, and aim to support the ongoing transition with accountability and inclusiveness. It was important that there be independent investigations regardless of who the perpetrators and the victims were.
Hunger in Sudan
Leni Kinzli, for the World Food Programme (WFP), speaking from Nairobi, said that the WFP welcomed the news that the Adre border crossing from Chad into Sudan would be opened, as there was a race against time to save lives in war-torn Sudan. Across the country, WFP was scaling up assistance to 14 areas either in famine or at risk of famine, largely located in Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Gezira, with the aim to support up to 8.4 million people by the end of the year. WFP was immediately mobilizing vital food and nutrition supplies to be transported via the Adre corridor over the coming weeks. Trucks had to be moving across this border every single day to get a consistent flow of aid into the region. Right now, two convoys, with nearly 6,000 metric tons of food and nutrition supplies for around half a million people were being loaded, destined for risk of famine areas in the North, Central and West Darfur states as soon as official Government communication and clearances were received.
This development came at a crucial time, as the only other border crossing from Chad into Darfur (via Tine) had become largely impassable due to heavy rains, where around 30 trucks full of WFP assistance had been unable to cross a flooded seasonal river for nearly a month.
Across Sudan, what little hope the Sudanese were holding onto after 16 months of war was being swept away by heavy rainfall and floods. The rainy season was exacerbating the already devastating food security situation in Sudan. Floods were forcing more people from their homes, increasing humanitarian needs, and cutting off communities from vital assistance. Heavy rains had destroyed key bridges and made it extremely difficult for aid convoys to pass through muddy, flooded roads. Ms. Kinzli stressed that it was the time for all actors, especially parties to the conflict, to come together and act in the interest of the Sudanese people. The ongoing Geneva peace talks offered a vital opportunity for the international community to address widespread operational challenges and access impediments directly with the warring parties obstructing aid delivery. It was critical for that warring parties leave the battlefield and show up at the negotiating table, so that food could get moving to hunger-struck communities across the country in time before it was too late.
Replying to questions from the media, Ms. Kinzli said that the Geneva talks were focused on solving some of the most pressing humanitarian challenges. Sudan was the world’s largest hunger crisis, with 54 percent of the population not being able to eat adequately every day. Some 755,000 people were now in the highest category of food insecurity. WFP had food prepositioned in Chad. Darfur was the size of Spain, she explained, and inside Darfur there were several large areas which were at risk of famine; a number of roads were currently not passable because of the rains.
Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO), responding to a question, explained that the WHO was pleased to see the opening of the Adre crossing, which had been advocated for for a long time. Without access, no aid could be provided. Malnutrition could have very grave health consequences, she stressed; this was especially dangerous for children. Access to healthcare was also very constrained because of insecurity; there was shortage of medicine and materials, and health workers were not being paid. People were dying from the lack of access to basic medications. There were reports form numerous states of cholera, dengue, measles, meningitis, and other diseases. Olga Sarrado, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), noted that the UNHCR had not seen an increase of arrivals from Sudan to Chad, which still stood at around 1,300 arrivals per day. People crossing into Chad said that they were fleeing hunger. Those people had been living in the conflict areas for over a year, which had severely restricted their access to livelihoods. UNHCR welcomed the opening of the Adre crossing, and some of its trucks were now moving into Adre. Continued cross-border access and unimpeded movement inside Darfur were needed.
Mpox
Bronwyn Nichol, Senior officer for public health in emergency at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), gave an example of an ill man in rural Democratic Republic of the Congo, who had visited a traditional healer, who had then correctly identified mpox symptoms and the man had eventually been referred to medical facilities, provided adequate care and recovered. Ms. Nichol emphasized the importance of awareness raising and fighting stigma surrounding mpox. The IFRC was ramping up response efforts over the surge of mpox cases across Africa, which had triggered WHO and Africa CDC to declare the epidemic a public health emergency of international and continental concern over the past three days. With more than 17,000 suspected or confirmed cases and a devastating death toll of 500 deaths in at least 12 countries, the epidemic had surpassed the scale of previous years. The case fatality rate was at 3.2 percent. Volunteers were looking for possible mpox cases and reporting them to local health authorities. Shortages of vaccines and treatment were affecting adequate response, and without them the epidemic would continue to spread. IFRC volunteers came from the communities and understood well local intricacies. Fight against mpox was also about supporting communities to protect themselves. The most vulnerable should not be left alone in their response. Ms. Nichol stressed that this was a continental crisis which required a coordinated global response. The IFRC was at the forefront of the response to the mpox outbreak in Africa, with extensive experience managing previous disease outbreaks, such as Ebola and COVID-19. With a vast network of more than four million volunteers and 14,000 staff across the continent, the IFRC network was providing critical support to governments, including community-based surveillance, risk communication and community engagement, and mental health services.
More information is available here.
Responding to questions, Ms. Nichol stated that most vaccine stocks were with wealthier nations, and far away from those who needed them the most. Many people were turned away from treatment because those were not covered by their governments. Rich countries should share their vaccines without delay. Vaccines existed, stressed Ms. Nichol, and access to them ought to be broadened. Stigma associated with mpox should also be properly addressed. The illness spread quickly and did not care for borders, but there was no room for panic. There was no need to close borders, as people would continue to cross borders, whether it was allowed or prohibited. Mpox was spread through close personal contact, she explained.
Margaret Harris, for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that mpox now was spreading more rapidly than before, and there was a high fatality rate. It was particularly dangerous for those with weak immune systems, and for small children. There was currently no specific treatment, but supportive treatments did help, stressed Ms. Harris. WHO had initiated an emergency listing process so that vaccines could be provided to countries which did not have their own vaccine regulatory frameworks. Manufacturers needed to scale up; vaccination was not the only tool but could be considered the most important available tool. On another question, Ms. Harris explained that there were two mpox vaccines: 0.5. million doses of NVA were currently available, and an additional 2.5 million doses could be produced quickly if there were buyers. There was a considerable stock of the other, LC16 vaccine, which was owned by the Japanese Government, some of which would hopefully be donated. WHO was working with GAVI and UNICEF on organizing vaccine donations. WHO did not recommend closure of borders, said Ms. Harris.
She reiterated that mpox was spread through close personal contact, usually when blisters were visible or when they burst. The key was to know if you had it, trace personal contacts, not be afraid, but do everything possible to stop further spread. Ms. Harris said that the identification of one case in Sweden demonstrated that vigilance and tracing system worked. Sweden had been transparent on the first identified case, and other countries should follow its lead.
Russia-Ukraine war
Responding to a question, Ravina Shamdasani, for the United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR), confirmed that the OHCHR had sent a letter to the Russian authorities, seeking access to Belgorod and Kursk, the two regions of the Russian Federation currently affected by the conflict. No response had been received yet. Olga Sarrado, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that the UNHCR was concerned about civilian casualties. UNHCR carried out regular visits across Russia to places that temporarily hosted Ukrainian refugees. UNHCR had an office in Moscow but not in Belgorod or Kursk, she explained.
Settler violence in the West Bank
Replying to a question, Ravina Shamdasani, for the United Nations Human Rights (OHCHR), said that the killing in the Palestinian village of Jit the previous day was not an isolated attack. This was a direct consequence of Israel’s settlement policy and the prevailing climate of impunity. Since 7 October 2023, at least 609 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank, including over 140 children. This needed to stop, and the key would be accountability for perpetrators. There had been very few investigations, and even those had not concluded with justice for victims and their families. There was clearly a state responsibility in this regard.
Announcements
Michele Zaccheo, for the United Nations Information Service (UNIS), informed that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was concluding this morning its review of the report of Belarus.
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities would begin on 19 August review of the report of Ghana.
On 19 August, the World Humanitarian Day would be marked at UN Geneva and around the world. Mr. Zaccheo reminded that on 19 August 2003, a bomb attack on the UN compound in Iraq had killed 22 UN staff, injuring many others. A solemn ceremony would be held at the Palais des Nations, in front of Room XX at 4 pm, which would also be webcast live. At 3 pm, a “stand in solidarity” event would be held on the stairs near the C.21 door of the Palais des Nations. These would be symbolic events to draw global attention and reject the normalization of civilian suffering and the targeting of humanitarian workers. WHD this year would put spotlight on the heavy toll of conflicts on humanitarian workers and reject the normalization of targeting of aid workers and civilian suffering, explained Mr Zaccheo.
Teleprompter
Bonjour re Bienvenus, a Puente press.
So von Reddy says what there's a Lippola pityratar technique Java common theavec this announce.
So I'll start with some announcements and then we'll see probably, I think Robina's on her way.
So we'll, we'll, we'll probably start with Ravina.
And if we've established a Zoom connection with WFP in Nairobi, we'll go to them and then to IFRC who's here in the room.
And, but we may need to change that order depending on how things go.
So just a quick word about meetings coming up.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as concluding this morning, it's review of the port of Belarus.
Upcoming upcoming reviews include include well, no, that's it.
Belarus is the is the last one was yesterday afternoon and today, this morning.
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will begin next Monday at 3:00 PM.
It's review of Ghana and the next meeting of the Conference of Disarmament will take place on Thursday.
The sorry, that's sorry, that's an old one.
My apologies.
So I'm going to say a word about next Monday, which is World Humanitarian Day.
As you know, it's observed here in Geneva, as it is in locations around the world.
It's commemorated on the 19th of August by General Assembly resolution because it was on the 19th of August 2003 that a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq killed 22 humanitarian aid work workers, wounded many others.
Among the victims was UN Special Representative Secretary General for Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mayo.
And, and we will be observing that with a solemn commemoration as as we do every year at 4:00 PM on Monday outside Room 20.
And we will hear on that occasion from our Director General, Yunog Tatianavalovaya.
We will hear from the Permanent Representative, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Iraq at the United Nations Office of Geneva is excellently Abdul Kareem Hashim Mustafa.
We will hear from the Chief of Staff of Onrab Ben Majikudunmi, from the Executive Secretary of the UNG Staff Union, Laura Johnson, and from the head of the Orcher office, Mr Ramesh Rajasingam.
So that's a that's a wreath laying and and candle lighting ceremony with a minute of silence.
As you know, probably every year World Humanitarian Day has a special theme, the term and is led by the OCHA, the Office for Coordination, Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
And this year, in addition to the 4:00 PM ceremony on Monday, there is a 3:00 PM stand in solidarity moment for UN staff and humanitarian organisations which will be held here at the Paledinacion.
And you're all invited to attend that event, as you are the commemoration ceremony.
The aim this year is to spotlight the horrifying toll of armed conflicts on our colleagues and recognise the courageous efforts of thousands of aid workers on the front lines.
It will be a symbolic moment to draw attention to the issue and to ****** the normalisation of civilian suffering and the targeting of aid workers.
Similar events are taking place in many countries around the world on Monday.
And it's going to be outdoors, just here at the stairs, just outside this briefing room.
So it will be very easy for for all of you to find should you wish to.
On that note, I'm going to invite Ravina from the Office of the **** Commissioner for Human Rights to join us.
And she has an important message on Bangladesh.
Thank you.
Good morning.
Good morning everyone.
You should have just received a press release from the **** Commissioner on this.
The transition in Bangladesh is a historic opportunity to reform and revitalise the country's institutions, to restore fundamental freedoms and civic space, and for inclusive governance, giving all the people in Bangladesh a part in building the future.
Accountability for violations and justice for the victims are key for the way forward and will need to be accompanied by a national healing process.
All those responsible for human rights violations, including those who used or ordered unnecessary and disproportionate use of force, must be held to account, and victims must be provided with reparations and effective remedies.
A comprehensive, impartial and transparent investigation into all human rights violations and abuses that have occurred will be a critical first step.
As you're aware, the protests were triggered in mid June in Bangladesh by the reinstatement of a quota system for allocation of civil service positions.
These initially peaceful student protests were followed by violence and serious human rights violations committed by security forces, with hundreds of people believed to have been killed, including at least 32 children and thousands injured.
In a preliminary report we're issuing today, we note that there are strong indications warranting further independent investigation that the security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force in their response to the situation.
Additional alleged violations that also warrant thorough, impartial and transparent investigations include extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention and forced disappearances, torture and I'll treatment, and severe restrictions on the exercise of freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.
Following the resignation of the government on the 5th of August 2024.
There were also reports of looting, arson and attacks on members of religious minorities, as well as reprisals against and revenge killings of members of the former ruling party and police.
On the 15th of August, mobs armed with bamboo sticks, iron rods and pipes reportedly assaulted supporters of the former Prime Minister.
Journalists were also reportedly attacked and threatened, preventing them from filming at the scenes.
The report emphasises the importance of rapidly restoring law and order and the need for effective measures to prevent further loss of life, violence and acts of reprisals.
Law enforcement agencies need to receive clear instructions and training on the use of force in line with international human rights standards.
They must protect populations at risk against any retaliatory or revenge violence, including minority communities.
The **** Commissioner welcomes the initiative by various student organisations, faith leaders and other people forming groups to protect minorities and religious sites belonging to minority communities.
The interim government has also strongly condemned these acts.
We also welcome the release of thousands of detainees and longer term political prisoners, including some victims of enforced disappearances, and we urge the release of all those arbitrarily detained.
A-Team will visit Dhaka next week to explore areas in which the UN Human Rights Office can support the transition.
The team will also discuss the modalities for an investigation into human rights violations in the context of the recent violence and unrest.
As the **** Commissioner assured the Chief Adviser to the Interim Government, Professor Muhammad Yunus, in their phone call this week, We stand in solidarity with the people of Bangladesh at this time and we are committed to supporting the interim government for a successful transition that is inclusive and advances the rights of all the people in Bangladesh.
Thank you very much, Ravina.
I'm I'm going to go to questions now.
I see a handout from Yuri from Ariana Vosti.
The floor is yours, Yuri.
Yes, thank you, Michele.
But this is not about Bangladesh.
So maybe if you have questions and it before I ask it to Ravina.
Is it a question for Ravina on another subject is that did I understand correctly?
Ravina, yes, but another subject.
Yeah, maybe we'll we'll see if there are questions on Bangladesh first.
I'm looking around the room and online.
I don't see any at the moment.
Perhaps we'll come back to those later then.
Yuri, go ahead.
Yes, thank you, Ravina.
My question is one more time about the situation in Russia, because yesterday Maria Zakharova is a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
So the fact that your office asked for access to Brianne's Korsk and Belgarod Oblast and she said that you, your office, I don't know who will be invited to the Russian mission in Geneva.
I wanted to know if you already received an invitation, if you have seen the declarations and if you know when it will happen.
Thank you.
Thanks, Yuri.
We did send a letter to the Russian authorities on Wednesday.
I'm seeking access.
As you point out, we have not yet received an official response.
Thank you, Ravine.
I you know, this is not directly related, but generally related.
The the spokesman's office of the Secretary General said yesterday that the Secretary General remains greatly concerned regarding the worsening impact on civilians from increased fighting both in eastern Ukraine as well as the the Ukrainian Russian border, including in Kursk and Belagard regions of the Russian Federation.
And he once again urges all to act responsibly and ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Peter Kenny question for on Bangladesh over.
Peter, I'm afraid we can't hear you at the moment.
Perhaps you're you're still muted.
I see your hand up.
We cannot hear you, Peter, I'm afraid.
Perhaps you can type your question in the chat.
Don't see anybody there.
I don't think we have a connection with Peter and I don't see his question in the chat.
Perhaps what we'll do then if you don't mind Robina just staying for a little while and then you know in case the we can re establish the line for additional questions.
Yeah, sorry.
Please go ahead, Alice.
Thank you so much.
My question about yesterday's attack Cetera attack in in West Bank and how, how you see this attack and if you have some details about this attack?
Thank you.
Thank you, Musa.
I know it was, it was horrific.
What is striking and important to remember is that the yesterday's killing in JIT is not an isolated attack and it is the direct consequence of Israel's policy of settlement in the West Bank.
We have been reporting for the past years about settlers attacking Palestinian communities in their land in the West Bank with impunity.
And this really is the crux of the matter, the impunity that the perpetrators of such grave violations have been enjoying.
We have verified that since the 7th of October and until yesterday, 609 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including E Jerusalem and including 146 children, eight women and at least four people with a disability.
Clearly this needs to stop and key to this will be accountability for the perpetrators.
Have a follow up answer.
Yeah, go ahead.
How you see the?
Responsibility of Israeli army and government in these attack of settlers.
Thanks.
So as I pointed out, the the key issue here is impunity.
There have been attacks by settlers, by Israeli security forces as well against Palestinians in the West Bank.
And by and large we are seeing impunity.
There have been some, very few investigations.
But even in those cases, most of the times these do not conclude with justice for the victims and for the perpetrators.
There are reports of Israeli security forces standing by as attacks take place.
There are even reports of of weapons being distributed to the settlers.
So there is clearly a state responsibility in this regard.
And yes, go ahead.
Thank you.
So in fact it's a question on Bangladesh you, you mentioned that there are strong indications showing that Bangladesh security user unnecessary forces.
What can you tell us more about those strong indications?
What is it?
Thanks, Anya.
In the So what we have shared with you today is actually just a preliminary report.
It's not a comprehensive report of what's happened.
And we are deploying A-Team next week to really take a comprehensive look at what needs to be done next.
The reports that we received and what we've documented in this preliminary analysis, that's based on open source information, media reports, some credible sources that we were in touch with, and there are clear indications of excessive use of force by security forces.
There were reports of also, in addition to security forces of Awami League supporters who were rallied and who carried out attacks using batons, in some cases using revolvers as well against student protesters, in some cases leading to them being killed.
As I said, there were hundreds of killings that took place.
So this is the kind of, these are the kinds of reports that need to be very carefully assessed, analysed, investigated and the perpetrators held to account.
Subsequent to the 5th of August, there have unfortunately also been attacks and further violence.
And this time there have been some indications of revenge attacks against people who are seen to be affiliated with the Awami League.
And there again, it's important that there is an independent investigation, regardless of who the perpetrators are, which part of the political spectrum they belong to, that the victims receive justice.
Otherwise, again, as we see in many situations, we are worried that a cycle of violence will resume.
Thank you very much for being.
Oh, OK, I didn't see that.
I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
Yes, strong indications, do you mean elements of proofs or it's an an analysis of of what you think I mean?
It's not very clear strong indications what it means.
Strong indication means that we have received reports and that we have managed to corroborate to some extent.
I wouldn't use the word proof or evidence because we're not there yet and that's where there needs to be an investigation.
What is clear is that hundreds of people were killed.
There was a lot of footage captured on camera and including on, you know, disseminated on social media.
But that needs to be carefully assessed in order to come to to identify individual criminal responsibility, but also the responsibility of those who may have ordered such attacks to take place against the student protesters.
Again and.
On the mission, what can you tell us how many days they will stay there, who they will meet if they know already that and if they will meet the the journalist there as well?
Yeah, I know.
So this is not, it's not a **** Commissioner mission.
It's a working level mission that our colleagues are doing.
So on that we usually don't have a press conference or publicity around it.
And the purpose of the mission really is to engage with, you know, people from across Bangladeshi society, civil society, the government, and to try to identify what it is we can do to support this transition and to ensure that it is anchored in human rights.
In the phone call that the **** Commissioner had with Muhammad Yunus, this was discussed and it was very much welcomed by the interim authority as well.
So providing support on perhaps accountability, on ensuring inclusiveness in the way forward.
Quite often what we have done in in other countries, including in Bangladesh is to serve as a bridge builder in some ways between the government and aspects of civil society.
So we will, we'll see what will assess what are you know, how we can contribute in the most helpful way.
Thank you very much for being looking to see whether there are any additional questions.
I think Yuri's got his hand up.
Is this for Robina?
Go ahead.
Yes, this is for Robina, not on Russia, but on Belarus, because Lehtonia from the 16 August will put an integration to go into the country for the cars with Belarusian place.
Is this something that is violating the human rights from the for the Belarusian people because now they can't with their cars go moving just between countries?
Thank you on that, Yuri, We'll have to get back to you.
I'll have to check with colleagues what the specifics are of this.
Thank you, Ravina.
I see there's a question in on the chat.
It's on a different subject.
Just want to make sure that you know the questions.
We're done with the questions for Avina.
The in the chat, there's a question for Peter Kenny for Anadolu about the visit of the Palestinian president saying, saying he will pay visit to Gaza.
Can the UN facilitate his visit to Gaza and provide security?
Does this necessitate Aun Security Council resolution?
I, I, you know, I, I'm going to, I don't have any information on this, Peter.
What I will say the is that, you know, I, I find it, you understand what the security situation is in Gaza and we've heard about this day after day from our humanitarian colleagues.
So I think that, you know, the idea that the UN could provide security is, is probably not, not so realistic at this stage.
I'm going to go out on a limb on the Security Council resolution.
I can, I can, I will double check this, but I, I don't think that in and of itself it would require a Security Council resolution, even though, you know, presumably this would, you know, this, this would give, you know, greater weight of the, of the international community to such a, such an exercise.
But again, you know, I think that Security Council members and and the UN family are all very aware of the problem with, you know, security in in Gaza and and that the principal responsibility for providing security in the occupied territories is lies with the occupying powers.
That's simply the way it is.
Thank you, thank you Ravine, if you don't mind, you know, staying around a little bit longer in case, you know, there are there are further questions for you.
But if not, and if we've managed to establish a connection with Nairobi, looking for a, for a thumbs up from our from our studio, yes, then we will go to the World Food Programme in Nairobi where Lenny Kinsley is, is the spokesperson for WFP in Sudan and she will be talking about the critical hunger situation there.
Lenny, welcome to the Geneva briefing.
Thank you so much for having me.
So today the United Nations World Food Programme welcomes the news that the Audrey border crossing from Chad into Sudan will be opened as we are in a race against time to save lives in war-torn Sudan.
Across the country, WFP is scaling up assistance to 14 areas either in famine or at risk of famine, largely located in Darfur, Khordafan, Khartoum and Jazeera, with the aim to support up to 8.4 million people by the end of the year.
The opening of this critical humanitarian corridor through Audrey will enable us to deliver aid into Sudan's conflict rattled Darfur region, where famine was confirmed just two weeks ago in Zamzam IDP camp near Al Fasher N, Darfur's capital.
WFP is immediately mobilising vital food and nutrition supplies to be transported across the Audrey corridor over the coming weeks.
We need to see trucks moving across this border every single day to get a consistent flow of aid into the region and to urgently save lives.
As we speak, two convoys with nearly 6000 metric tonnes of food and nutrition supplies for around half a million people are being loaded, destined for risk of famine.
Areas in North, Central and West are four states.
As soon as official government communication and clearances are received.
This comes at a crucial time as the only other border crossing from Chad into Darfur via Tina has become largely impassable due to heavy rains, where around 30 trucks full of WFP assistance have been unable to cross a flooded seasonal river riverbed for nearly one month across Sudan.
What little hope the Sudanese are holding on to after 16 months of war is being swept away by heavy rainfall and floods.
The rainy season is exacerbating the already devastating food insecurity situation in Sudan.
Floods are forcing more people from their homes, increasing humanitarian needs and cutting off communities from vital assistance.
Heavy rains have destroyed key bridges and made it extremely difficult for aid convoys to pass through muddy, flooded roads.
Currently, more than 50 trucks carrying an estimated 4800 metric tonnes of WP food and Nutrition Assistance, enough for around half a million people, are stuck in various locations across Sudan and unable to move toward their final destinations due to flooded and impassable roads.
That is why it is ever more critical that additional humanitarian corridors are open and humanitarian access massively expanded.
WFP urgently needs all other border crossings into Sudan to open to be able to use every possible supply route to deliver urgently needed food and Nutrition Assistance, as shifting front lines and now severe flooding means that we must constantly negotiate and secure new routes for aid convoys.
This would include a formal agreement between South Sudan and Sudan to transport aid from the South into Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile.
As the Sudanese people continue suffering the unimaginable, bearing the brunt of the ongoing war and now also at nature's win as the heavy rains are setting off a disaster on top of a disaster, it is the time for all actors, especially parties to the conflict to come together and act in the interest of the Sudanese people who are now seeing the little hopes they had left drowned by downpours nationwide.
The ongoing Geneva peace talks offer a vital opportunity for the international community to address widespread operational challenges and access impediments directly with the warring parties who are obstructing a delivery.
It is critical for the warring parties to lead the battlefield and show up at the negotiation table so we can get food moving to hunger struck communities across the country in time before it is too late.
Thank you very much and I'm available for any questions.
Thank you very much, Lenny, for for that report and for the important work that you're doing in in Sudan.
I'm going to let's see, there's a question from Lisa Schlein from the Voice of America.
Lisa, the floor is yours.
Go ahead.
Thank you.
OK, LA, good morning and good morning to you.
Lenny, I have questions for you, but I also have questions if I may for I see that Margaret of WHO is there and also Olga of the UNHCR.
OK.
So first I'd like to know whether whether you think whether the Andre opening is a consequence of the peace talks that are going on in Sudan.
You mentioned that right now which are going on and yeah, if you could sort of fill us in on the latest information you have regarding how many people are acutely hungry, whether you believe that famine might occur in.
I think there are about 13 areas that are at risk of famine, whether that that is getting closer and so forth.
And generally talk about the consequences of of people possibly dying and should I continue for my others to to to Margaret WHO?
Maybe we'll just maybe we'll just take it one at a time if do do you mind, Lisa?
So, so this I, I presume is for Lenny Kinsley, WFP.
And then we'll we'll come back to you for your questions for Margaret and Olga potentially.
Go ahead.
Thanks so much, Lisa, for your questions.
To your first question, whether the Geneva talks helped this, the announcement of the Andre border opening, we know that the Geneva talks are heavily focused on solving some of the humanitarian access and operational challenges.
So I'm sure that this helped support some of the advocacy efforts that have been going on now for eight months for that border to reopen.
So that is critical, but this is also sustained, sustained advocacy over a month that has led to this decision.
And we very much welcome it and are hopeful that we'll be able to use that.
But we need to see those trucks moving across the border as soon as possible and for the actual for the actual opening of that corridor to materialise.
And then secondly, to your question, the scale of the hunger crisis in Sudan, it is the world's largest hunger crisis.
25.6 million people are in acute hunger, are facing acute hunger.
That's 54% of the population.
So basically that means one in two Sudanese is not able to put a basic meal on their plate every day or struggling every day just to eat.
Of those, around 755,000 people are in the highest stage of food insecurity, catastrophic hunger, which basically means they've run out of all options and and are surviving in whatever way they can.
Eating leaves off trees, eating grass.
And we have in fact already received reports of people dying of hunger.
Famine was confirmed just two weeks ago in Zam Zam IDP camp, which is around 12 kilometres away from Al Fasher North Star Force capital, where fighting continues.
And it continues to intensify week by week with more and more people fleeing.
And so you can imagine the desperation that is there, people trapped by conflict and the difficulties in getting aid into those areas.
But WFP is doing our utmost to scale up assistance to to those affected by famine or famine like conditions and particularly to prevent the spread of famine to the other 13 areas that are at risk of famine, which as I mentioned are largely in Darfur, Kordofan, Jazeera and three specific localities South of Khartoum.
Thank you very much.
Lisa, I don't know if you have a follow up or if you want to ask your question to Margaret Harris, who's I believe is online, Go ahead.
Yeah, yeah, to Margaret and then I'll, I'll get off.
But then I have a question for Olga, if I may.
And of course, Lenny, if you have anything to add while the others are speaking, please, please do also please send your notes as soon as possible.
It would be very helpful.
Margaret, I'd like to ask you about the health situation in the Sudan, whether you are able to get medication and the necessary drugs into the country.
But if you, if you could speak specifically about the health situation, what your greatest concerns are, how it, you know, hunger I'm sure adds to it, the malnutrition situation of children and the concern about outbreaks of diseases.
I'm not sure whether I read that cholera is now a a problem that is growing in the country.
All of that good stuff.
Thank you.
And are are you, are you pleased about the opening of the Audrey crossing that will this help your situation?
Thanks.
Thanks, Lisa.
And indeed we are very pleased to see this this the opening of the crossing.
It's something we have been advocating all the age.
I don't know if that's just me or if, but I I don't hear Margaret anymore.
I Yes.
Do you, do we have audio?
No.
No audio, no good.
Can't say Margaret.
Yeah, go ahead now.
You can hear me.
Yeah, we can hear you now.
We just dropped out for a minute, OK.
OK, sorry about that.
OK, I'll start again.
Yes, we are very, very happy, very pleased to hear that, to see the crossing being open, because as you know, without access, we can talk about needs, we can talk about what needs to be done, but nothing can be done unless we can actually reach the people in need.
The needs are indeed dire.
Already mentioned.
Alini has outlined the big issues with starvation and of course, malnutrition.
Starvation have very, very important health consequences that anything that's a mild infection in somebody with good nutrition, a good immune system becomes a a catastrophic illness in in somebody who's malnourished particular child and they can dive very, very quickly from what might be a minor infection if they are malnourished and dehydrated.
Access to healthcare has been really constrained due to the insecurity.
So we also want to see the the violence and the conflict stopping.
And we're seeing many, many attacks on healthcare.
There's a shortage of medicines and medical supplies, shortage of health personnel and also shortage of cash.
Health workers are not being paid, so they are trying to manage.
They're not being paid and they can't buy supplies because there is a shortage of cash in the conflict hotspots.
70 to 80% of the hospitals are non functional.
So people are are dying simply from a lack of access to basic and essential healthcare and medication.
You mentioned cholera.
I'm just looking for our latest numbers since with outbreaks we are seeing reports of cholera, measles, malaria, dengue, meningitis from several states.
So far we've had 11,327 cholera cases reported from 12 states with 316 deaths.
Now the reporting is slow, so we expect that there is more than that, but that's what we've had reported.
We've also had 4937 suspected cases of measles with 109 associated deaths.
Remember as I said, this is in very malnourished population, so you're going to see sadly a lot of deaths from metres.
Also, 9476 suspected cases of dengue with 75 associated deaths reported from 7 states.
And dengue has been graded for us.
It's been graded as a global G grade 3 emergency.
That's the highest level of our emergencies internally.
That's our internal system since December 2023.
And there are also 1.7 million clinical malaria cases with again 173 deaths reported from 15 States and 149 cases of meningitis with 19 deaths from 10 states.
But remember confirmation of all these cases is challenging because we don't really have a functional public health laboratories.
So again, those numbers are highly likely to be an underestimate.
And and as I said, the the reporting is very slow I think.
Does that answer your question, Lisa?
Lisa, go ahead and also if you have an immediate follow up otherwise I see another hand up and with your.
Yeah, yes, yes, Margaret, brilliant as usual.
Thank you very much.
And flattery will get me somewhere, right?
I have a question for you, Olga.
If you don't mind, if you don't mind, Lisa, just bear with me.
I've got two other hands up and in case they're.
Yeah.
But this this amount of flow and this is just.
You're on a flow, OK.
You're on a flow and it's on.
It's on Sudan, yes.
It's on Sudan, which is important.
All right, so we'll take this one and then we'll go to Yuri and Nick, in that order.
Please go ahead.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Appreciate that.
Olga, I would like to ask you, I had read that hunger, it was a motivating force, a trigger for more people fleeing the country.
And so I, I, I'd like to get your perspective on that, whether indeed this is happening, whether you've been seeing an uptick in the number of people who have been fleeing across the border into, into Chad and elsewhere.
And, and what you, what you regard to be the significance of the opening of the Audrey border from Chad, because I think you, your organisation has been very concerned about it's being closed for such a very long time.
Thank you.
Thank you, Lisa for your question.
So I will need to come back to the concrete figures, but we've seen, we haven't seen a major update on on arrivals for instance, I understand we continue to see around 1300 on average arrivals.
But in that I will need to come back to you on, on the figures.
What we hear from from people that are actually at the moment living in Sudan is that indeed hunger and the lack of access to food.
It's it's it's something that is making them to take the decision to the country.
But we have to remember what are the reasons behind the situation?
Is the ongoing conflict that has been already lasting over a year?
Is the lack of access to the agricultural lands?
Is the lack of access?
Unemployment, the level of of of income to actually purchase goods and food that they need.
And also our colleagues were also now talking about about the flats.
Now the rents are not helping an already catastrophic equation.
Indeed, I join colleagues in welcoming the opening of the of the border crossing.
We also have facts that are loaded and are ready to get into into that and other areas where when there is a then there are three items and regular and circling the buckets, hiking fees etcetera to support those vulnerable families, families in teaching sets as well and to be able to cook the food that will be provided by our partners and.
So Olga, Olga, I'm sorry, I, I want to interrupt you just briefly, just like I feel like the audio that's coming from your end is, is is difficult to understand.
We have a, we have a poor audio connection.
So I'm just wondering whether do you have a quick fix there might seems like there might be a sort of feedback loop or something, or perhaps try a different microphone just so that.
If if you want reason, we can, I can, I can call you back and.
Maybe, maybe we'll just try, try to come back to you in a little bit.
Maybe you can try to test that because because it's we're straining a little bit to to understand you there.
My apologies.
Yeah.
Let's go to.
Let's go to Yuri, please.
Yes.
But my question, thank you is also for Olga and then the other subjects.
So maybe I will wait.
For Nick.
Better audio connection.
Welcome back to you then Yuri and Nick, do you have is your question also for Olga or?
Yeah, thank you.
My question is actually for Lenny.
I'd like to come back to.
The the board of crossing opening and just get a little bit more clarity from her, if possible, on what are the benefits that are going to result from this.
I mean, my understanding is that the it's the crossing point is open by the sea of a green light from staff.
But Al Bashar is, you know, being sieged by the RSF.
So what?
Where are you going to be able to reach as a result of?
This border crossing opening.
Are you going to be able to get supplies to Zanzan?
Do you have a lot of food stockpiled in Chad?
Because you know, again, the reporting we have is that even in the camps that are accessible to UN agencies now in Chad and in other locations, there's a lot of hunger.
So what exactly is it that you've got available to distribute and where do you think you'll be able to get it?
Thank you.
Thanks so much.
So yes, we have food pre positioned in Chad and as I mentioned 6000 metric tonnes as an initial, as an initial assistance that we're mobilising now that that border has been announced as open.
So Darfur you can imagine is about the size of Spain.
So even if we struggled to get to areas where active conflict is ongoing like Al Fasher, there are actually several risk of famine areas in different parts of Darfur that we will immediately be able to get into via the Andre border into Janina, for example, which is the first kind of area that you cross into after you cross from Andre into West Darfur.
There are two risk of famine areas there.
1 is called Serba, the other one is called Carnic, where both residents and people who are internally displaced are facing catastrophic levels of hunger.
And then other areas in Central Darfur, like Jebel Mara is, is where we'll be able to much more quickly get food assistance across because the road conditions via that Audrey border crossing are just so much better than via Tina, the border crossing that we've been allowed to use or the only other border crossing that was open to us in the last six months, which is now completely flooded.
So we, like I mentioned, we have at least 30 trucks stuck there at that other border crossing, which is 200 kilometres north of the Audrey crossing for for one month not able to cross because there are these big waddies, which are seasonal rivers that are not passable at the moment because of the rainy season.
Where's the road conditions on the Audrey Rd crossing into Westar 4 are much more passable in the rainy season because they're paved roads and also just the distances that we would need to cross to get food to their final destinations.
When we cross from Andre is much shorter.
In many cases, up to it's takes more than two weeks if we cross via Tina and some, in some cases if we cross via Andre, it just takes a few days for the food to arrive at its final destination.
So we will be providing assistance to parts of Northwest and Central Darfur and doing everything we possibly can to get assistance into the famine areas like some, some.
Thank you, Lenny, unless Nick has a follow up, maybe we can come back to Olga and test that, test your audio and see whether whether it's coming through a little bit better.
Olga, can you hear me?
I think we may have we.
Ah, there you are.
Hi, let's try now.
I don't know if the colleagues can open the mic on the phone so I can connect on my phone to the audio if it works better.
I'm not able to unmute.
I see.
OK.
But you're not connected on your phone now, right?
I am.
You are.
No.
Now.
Now it's fine.
So, all right, OK, OK.
Let.
I don't know can I don't know if we can hear you there, but we'll try.
Let's see if.
Let's see if Yuri can.
Can you hear me?
Yeah, OK, great.
So let let let's hear from you.
Let's try that.
OK, go ahead.
OK.
So Lisa, what I was mentioning is that I can come back to you with the concrete figures for these past weeks, but we've been observing an upward trend with an average of 3100 weekly arrivals since June into into chat for instance, South Sudan and we continue at about 1300 arrivals a day.
So indeed the situation continues to be to be worrying.
People that are crossing into each other are telling us that of course they are, they are fleeing hunger, that they are not getting sufficient food into the table.
But we cannot actually forget the reasons behind that.
People have been in a conflict area for over a year.
This has severely impacted their their access to agriculture lands, to crops, also their access to livelihoods, the possibility of actually getting income and buying and buying food.
And of course now as the colleagues were mentioning, like the flats are not making things any easier as they are also impacting agricultural land and access to it.
So indeed the opening of the other crossing border is something that we really welcome.
We have as well tracks that have been that are being loaded with with corn relief items, with relief items which include blankets, torpolins, but also also kitchen sets so people can actually cook the food that will be provided by by WFP and and partners.
We are moving some of the tracks that were in Tinem into Adre because as as our colleague from WFP mentioned, the the Tina border crossing at the moment is a, it's flooded.
So, so yes, indeed good news.
But we insist that we need that cross-border access and also cross line access to be, to be able to reach the millions of people that continue in a very vulnerable situation.
Let me know Lisa if this replies to all your questions in case I forgot something.
Well, thank you very much, Olga.
That came through loud and clear.
Lisa, unless you have a an additional follow up, let's go to Yuri and here his question now.
Yes, thank you.
Olga.
My question is just to know if your NHCR is working with the Russian authorities because more than 100,000 people had to leave the house after the Ukrainian attack on the course Koblast.
So just to know if you are in contact with personal authorities and if you are working with them.
Thank you.
Thank you, Jury.
So indeed, we are really deeply concerned about the reports of civilians, authorities, civilian causalities in the Russian Federation, as we are concerned about civilian casualties everywhere else at the moment.
I mean, you need to intervene at the request of the national authorities and Unity and its partners in Russia are conducting regular information provision and psychosocial support and protection activities to refugees and asylum seekers.
So I think that's everything I can tell you at the moment.
Jury, I hope that answers your your question.
You already see your hand is still up.
I don't know whether it's.
Just just to be sure that I have understand, understood what you said is that you are already providing some help to people there.
If I understand well not to the to the area, I understand that we don't have full access to that area, but I can come back to you with concrete details on that if that's fine.
All right.
Thank you very much.
Yes, go ahead.
And yes, this is on which topic and for which speaker.
Because it's it's a follow up of Yuri questions for.
Olga, OK.
The answer wasn't clear at all to me.
Sorry, Olga, you, you say that you are helping refugees, but refugees from which nationality and in where they are?
Are they in Russia?
Are they in Ukraine?
Are they elsewhere?
It wasn't clear which kind of refugees you you are being.
Thank you, thank you.
Anyas.
So yes, I mean in UNICEF carries out regular visits to temporary accommodation points that host some refugees, some of them from Ukraine.
We have carried out since I mean 2022 about 60 visits in 40 regions, but especially of on Kursk.
I I would need to come back to you on our on our access at the moment.
I think and yes has another follow up.
Go ahead.
Yes, 60 or 16 and regions where in Russia, Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm, I'm so it's 66 zero visits in 40 regions in in Russia, yes.
But I can follow up with with Joannes and UE specific on, on, on, on Corsk.
And yeah, we as UNITR, we have an office in Moscow, but not we don't have a permanent or regular present at the border or in other regions.
So I'll come back to you on that.
Yeah, maybe perhaps it might be useful if you could send a clarification, you know, writing so, so that we can so that we can.
So everybody's straight on this.
If, if we can move on.
Then I, I'm just looking to see whether we have any more questions to some of the various topics that have been that, that we've talked about here, including, you know, Sudan, Ukraine, Russia.
If not, our friends from the IFRC have been patiently waiting here and they're with us.
We're happy to have them here.
Tomaso de la Longa and Bromo Nicole, they're here to talk to us about the IFRC response on the mpox outbreak in, As you all know, this was recently declared a public health emergency of International concern by WHO.
So I hope also that Margaret Harris can stay online for this.
The floor is yours.
Yeah, Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Mikael, before giving the floor to Bronwyn, just to say that you should have received a press release from our end.
It should be on your mailbox already and on our response in the African continent.
And if you want, we also have and we'll circulate later, same AV material to be used about our response, in particular of the Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of Congo and extend that.
Broni, please.
All right.
So in late June, Kendi, this is not his real name.
A man from Bikoro in Equatorial Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo visited a traditional healer and he presented with some unusual symptoms.
The healer had taken part in an mpox awareness session with the DRC Red Cross a few days prior and he told the man that he may have mpox and encouraged him to visit the nearest health centre.
The man was scared and refused to do so.
So the healer then contacted the Red Cross volunteers and together they visited the man at his house and with Karen patients.
They persuaded him to overcome his fear and seek treatment.
After 21 days in an M Pox treatment centre he made a full recovery and he's now at home.
So this is how we fight M Pox, by building trust and working with local communities.
Africa is facing a rapidly escalating health crisis as mpox continues to spread across the continent.
Over the past few days, the World Health Organisation and Africa CDC have declared the outbreak a public health Emergency of international and continental concern.
With more than 17,000 suspected or confirmed cases and over 500 deaths reported across 12 countries, the epidemic has far surpassed previous outbreaks, making it one of the most significant health threats Africa has faced in recent years.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently bearing the brunt of this crisis, accounting for over 90% of the total cases.
The IFRC, along with the DRC, Red Cross, and other national societies, have been preparing for moments like this for many years.
Through epidemic preparedness and response programmes, we have been equipping communities and partners with the knowledge and tools needed to quickly detect, prevent and respond to disease outbreaks.
Volunteers on the ground are conducting community based surveillance, health promotion and providing psychosocial support to affected families.
Kendi's story demonstrates this clearly.
Volunteers are looking for potential mpox cases, reporting them to local health authorities and supporting the rapid response once detected.
Despite these efforts, we are facing significant challenges.
There is a critical shortage of testing, treatment and vaccines across the continent.
These shortages are are severely hampering the ability to contain the outbreak.
We are calling for urgent international support to increase access to vaccine stocks and treatment options, and to scale up testing and alert investigation.
Without these resources, the epidemic will continue to spread.
As we have learned in other outbreaks, equitable access is key to supporting global health security.
M pox hits marginalised communities the hardest.
The IFRC and National Societies are uniquely positioned to help.
Our volunteers come from the communities they serve and they understand the local context, challenges and needs.
This deep connection allows us to deliver targeted support, reduce stigma and promote behaviours that can help stop the spread of the virus.
As we continue our response, we must remember that the fight against mpox is not just about providing medical care.
It is about supporting communities to protect themselves and to access the information and resources they need to reduce stigma.
The IFRC and National Societies are committed to working alongside governments, partners and communities to ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind in this response.
This is a joint effort that takes deep collaboration across all partners.
The spread of Mpox in Africa is a continental crisis that demands A coordinated global response.
The IFRC network is on the ground working tirelessly to contain this outbreak alongside Ministries of Health and remains ready to ramp up mobilisation efforts.
But again, we cannot do this alone.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Bronwyn.
I see a question from Isabel Sacco.
Isabel, the floor is yours.
Good morning.
I would like to know if you can elaborate on the lack of access to medicines and to vaccines that you referred to.
And because I read that last, in the last year 2022 outbreak, we already saw that the rich countries kept a lot of resources like this to to be sure that they were going to have enough if they need it.
So what are your fears about these situations?
And that we repeat that that what we already saw during the COVID pandemic.
Thank you.
Yeah, it we know it's a clear learning from COVID, but it seems sadly, we never really seem to learn our lesson.
Most of these stocks are still in with wealthier nations where the stockpiles sit.
Some have been sent to support response in Africa, but it's just a drop in the bucket.
It's not nearly enough as to where we need to have a coordinated response that's going to reach everyone that needs vaccination and as well as treatment.
These are a lot of these communities are quite remote where we have treatment, Treatment is not always easy.
There's a lot of people being turned away for treatment because it is not actually available in terms of being paid for by governments because they're struggling.
So having this support come more broadly through partners will really, I think help the situation we're already seeing.
We've seen there is a confirmed case of the new Clade 1B in Sweden.
I'm sure this will to make some governments think a bit more as well about if they're going to share the vaccines they were hopefully planning to send to support Africa, CDC and partners in vaccination efforts.
And hopefully that doesn't change.
Some of the planned donations that were helping were about to happen, I think for some of the vaccines.
But I think WHO can probably speak better about some of the vaccine issues than IFRC.
Thank you, Musa.
Go ahead.
Lafette, Europe.
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Margaret for WHO, What is the level of danger of this virus today?
And are we facing an epidemic or not yet?
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Thanks.
Just you can hear me this time, I hope.
Yes, yes, OK.
Yeah.
So on how dangerous, it's spreading much more rapidly than we had seen other spreads.
So that's one issue.
It does have quite a **** case fatality rate at the moment.
As mentioned, we've seen more than 500 people are deaths and it's particularly dangerous for those with a weak immune system.
So people who've maybe have HIV or who are malnourished.
And as you know in the area that it's spreading very rapidly, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, there are a lot of people who are displaced because of conflict.
They're under all kinds of stress.
It's also dangerous for small children.
So and again we're seeing deaths among small children's it currently there is no specific treatment and of course a lot of work is going on in that area, but their supportive treatment does help.
I think you mentioned the vaccines, there was some discussion vaccines.
So I thought I should also give you some numbers on the vaccines.
We have initiated something for the our emergency use listing process so that the vaccines can be provided in the countries that don't have their own regulatory framework.
They rely on The Who regulatory framework and also so that Gavi and UNICEF can procure, procure those vaccines and provide them.
And indeed we have had promises of vaccines being provided and I am sure that those so that those promises will be kept.
But we do need the manufacturers to really scale up so that we've got access to many, many more vaccines because vaccination, it's not the only tool.
Good community engagement that's been outlined by my colleagues from IFMC is, is probably the most important tool.
Good understanding of what to do, of how to isolate yourself, separate yourself, inform any of your contacts.
These are the things that really matter.
And vaccines are another tool, a good preventive tool, but not the only tool.
Thank you, Doctor Harris, Lisa Schlein and then Isabel.
Lisa, go ahead.
Thank you.
Yeah, question for Bronwyn and also you, Margaret.
Bronwyn you you were speaking about the stigma attached to M Box is the ICRC.
Are you concerned about governments perhaps closing borders or barring people from Africa for entering their country stopping trade as far as that goes you there is this case in Sweden which probably is alarming.
And Margaret, what is The Who position in this regard in terms of closing borders?
This it was a big problem, a big concern during COVID.
And also I had heard on an interview with someone that actually just touching a person's hand.
If the person happens to have a lesion and it may the the lesion may not even be recognisable, visible in a way that a person could get M pox from that.
I mean, that sounds really totally scary.
Thanks.
Yeah.
So in terms of international travel from IFRC side, we do stand with what is recommended under international health regulations, which is that there's no need to close borders when we are in disease outbreaks.
Diseases don't recognise borders.
People will continue to cross the border whether it is illegal crossing or not.
An illegal crossing, it doesn't stop the disease from spreading.
Instead we need to focus on having proper messaging around the diseases so people understand how they can protect themselves from mpox.
As you mentioned, it is spread through close personal contact.
So under making sure people understand what the signs and symptoms are of mpox, where they can go to seek early treatment and testing what they can do to protect themselves, whether that's hand washing, whether that's distancing, making sure that this is clear to people so that they are not panicking unnecessarily, so that they're there is access to early services.
Thank you.
Margaret, did you want to add to that?
Yes, indeed.
I wouldn't over emphasise that, you know, the we always get these these fierce sort of mongering kind of just examples, but it is through spread through close contact.
We see it in households, we see it mother to child, we see it after as a result of sexual contact.
And we also see it as as a result of contact with bedding that's been bedding or clothing from someone who has been infected.
Usually it's when the blisters are visible and when they when they burst, particularly because the fluid in the blisters is it's filled with virus.
So again, as as as has just been so well described, it's about knowing that you haven't, knowing what to look for, knowing how to separate each other and, and to, to do proper contact tracing and not being afraid.
So there's always a balance, but not being sort of terrified.
It's more a matter of shutting down the infection so that those who are most at risk from severe illness, the young, the immunosuppressed, don't get infected.
That's really what we're talking about, I think.
Was there another question?
I think that was it, yeah.
Yes.
Good morning, Margaret.
I, I don't know if you can give us some clarity on the vaccine stocks that the world has in terms of, do you have any estimations of how many doses governments have mostly, I suppose in, in developed in developed countries and also in, for example, how many doses are available in Africa, How many doses are, have, can have, can have or, and if WHO have any stocks?
I mean, something that really a breakdown of how many doses and who has these doses.
Sure, sure.
Actually.
So, yeah, we've got 2 main vaccines that have been used that have been used in the last two years for control of monkey pox.
They've got great names, MVA and LC116LC-16.
So sorry about that.
For NVA, there are currently point 5 million doses available in stock.
Now an additional 2.4 million doses could be produced if there are buyers.
So if we are dependent on market forces here a bit, for 2025, an additional 10 million doses could be produced again if there's a firm procurement requests.
Now LC 16 is a vaccine that's not commercially, has not been commercialised, but was produced on behalf of the government of Japan.
There is a considerable stockpile of this vaccine and Japan has been very generous in the past with donations.
So we're working with Japan and other countries to facilitate donations of this vaccine.
We are also working with partners like GAVI and UNICEF through the Interim Medical Countermeasures Network to enable donations from countries that have got existing stockpiles.
So that has that mechanism has been triggered and the partners are building a donation scheme.
So what we've got available, the limited ones we've got are used where they're needed.
So, I mean, you're, everybody's raised so concerned that they won't be used where they're needed.
And we have got commitment that there will be and, and it is critical that they used where the, the, the virus is raging instead of being worrying about it coming to elsewhere.
Because if you stop it where it's raging, then it doesn't go elsewhere.
So we're requesting countries with existing vaccine stockpiles to work through our it's called again, sorry about the name the IMCM net and donate them to countries with ongoing outbreaks.
And again, we are supporting with preparations for roll out of vaccines in the countries that are affected.
I I realised I didn't answer something else on travel, yet outstanding recommendations are exactly as was outlined by my colleagues from ISRC, that we do not recommend closure of borders.
We do not want to see closure of borders and we will be putting out the temporary recommendations to countries from the emergency committee that should be coming out later today.
Thanks again, Margaret.
We've got a question from DPA Albert RT, please.
You close yours.
Oh yeah, hello.
Sorry, sorry, Albert.
Isabel in the room had a follow up, which I did not.
See, thank you very much.
Just to because it's on the same issue of the vaccine.
So yes, apologies if I didn't understand well, but what you meant is what is that apart from the, from the stocks that Japan has and can be donated later, we have half a million doses and where are these doses in developed countries and or how many doses are in Africa?
And so I, I said for MVA, that's the first one.
Currently point 5 million doses are available in stock.
And as I said, an additional 2.4 million doses could be produced quite quickly if there's commitment by buyers.
I do not have information with me on what countries have got them where, but some countries do have stockpiles.
And we are working with partners like Gavi and UNICEF through something we call the Interim Medical Countermeasures Network that's called IMCM Net to enable the donations from the countries with existing stockpiles.
So we're building a scheme and asking those countries to bring them.
I hope that that helps clarify.
Do you have a further question or can we go to Albert?
No, just to say that it's the same that you you, you firstly said it's I mean, what I understand is that we have the work has half a million.
I can't give you the next countries because I don't have them.
So I can't give you all the information I have.
And can you, can you obtain this breakdown and send this breakdown to the, to the press corps here?
I, I think it's unlikely because we'll be working with different countries about what they've got where and that, that that detail will not be just sitting there in some kind of table.
So I think that's highly unlikely.
I will ask my vaccine colleagues if that's possible, but I'm going to say right now I think it's unlikely.
Thanks very much.
I think that's clear now, Albert.
Thank you for your patience.
The floor is yours.
Thank you.
I also have a question for Margaret Harris on first of all on the detection of the case in Sweden.
How worried are you about this?
How worrying is this?
And is this, have there been other Clade 1B cases detected outside of Africa to your knowledge?
And the second question is specifically on the measures that China has announced.
As far as understand, China has said that people coming from countries with infections or with cases, as well as people's with symptoms need to be tested at entry in China.
Is this something you condone or this is something also you, you, you think is not a good idea?
Thank you.
So on Sweden, in fact, this is in, in a sense of really good news.
I mean, it's not good news for the person who's got the infection, but it shows the system is working and that countries have really stepped up their vigilance.
They know what to look for.
And we'd expect that, you know, we will see cases elsewhere because this is a very large outbreak.
And one of the main reasons for calling the public health emergency of international concern is to get the country in the world to pay attention, to wake and look.
And Sweden has shown us what they are really leading by example.
And we really want to thank Sweden for being quick and open and transparent and reporting.
And we'd like to see their example being followed by other countries that they really pay attention.
And of course, we're actively engaging with the Swedish health authorities on how best to manage this.
This first person with M Box on the measures, the travel and trade measures that as I said, the temporary recommendations will be available later today and you can see what it is exactly will be recommending that countries doing.
Thank you very much, Margaret.
I think there may not be any further questions, in which case I thank you all for your participation in this briefing and and would like to remind you all to join us on Monday for World Humanitarian Day to advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crisis and for the safety and security of aid workers.
Thank you very much.