Thank you for joining us here at the UN
office at Geneva for this press briefing today.
We're going to change the order a little bit. Uh, Jens is on his way. Uh, from Jens from
and he does have an update for you on the human humanitarian situation
in Lebanon, but, um, let's go start off.
In fact, we're going to We'll go to Claire afterwards. Claire, if you can. Also,
if you could, uh, maybe, uh, hold on just a bit.
We are gonna start off instead with, uh, Mr Sean Hughes of the World Food Programme.
Who is joining us from, uh, from Juba.
I believe. Sean, you're online, uh, and and connected there.
Um, Sean is gonna speak to Sean.
Firstly, he's a deputy country director in South Sudan for
for the World Food Programme.
And he's going to address, uh, the soaring hunger in in that country in south Sudan.
So we're very pleased to have you with us, Sean, uh, over to you for your briefing.
And then we'll take questions from our journalists here. Sean.
OK, we're having a maybe a bit of technical difficulty this Friday morning.
We have, uh, Sean online colleagues.
I thought I saw him earlier.
OK, I think there could be a connection issue.
So let's reshuffle once again.
Uh, we'll have to I'll throw back to Sean as soon as we connect with him.
In that case of Claire, if you are, she's She's actually coming in the room,
we're stuck in an awkward situation here. Aren't we,
uh, let me just maybe start off by. In that case, let me just, uh there
there is an important event which I was gonna say for later.
But whilst we're waiting for colleagues of briefers to connect,
let me just remind you, as we have been doing here from this seat, uh,
the important meeting that's taking place
on the other side of this building.
Um, in room 26 there is a UN international media seminar on peace in the Middle East,
which is an all day event, uh, hosted by the UN office at Geneva,
which speaks to very, very important themes, which, of course,
we have, uh, addressed here at this press briefing.
Uh, freedom of press and safety of journalists in a time of war,
uh, in the Middle East and also specifically on Gaza, we have, uh,
another session titled Behind the Headlines
of Gaza Media Challenges and Perspectives.
Um, we have quite a number of important statements that will be delivered shortly.
There's one from the secretary
general video message, which will be screened momentarily,
and I want to take the opportunity just to mention that in his message,
um that journalists in Gaza have been killed at a level unseen in conflict
Uh, the voices of journalists must be protected,
and press freedom must be safeguarded.
It is high time for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon,
As we have been saying here
repeatedly for over a year now,
uh, with immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,
the effective delivery of humanitarian aid and irreversible progress
to a two state solution Israel and Palestine,
living side by side in peace and security
with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.
Now, this is a statement, uh,
that is to be screened by the Secretary General momentarily at this seminar,
so if you have time. Uh, the seminar again is all day. Uh, this afternoon starts.
Uh, it's starting now, in fact. And it'll last until about 4. 30 this afternoon
our guest is now connected.
OK, well, we'll we'll I'll throw it right to you then.
Sean again is the WFP deputy country director in South Sudan,
who is joining us from Juba.
So we're very pleased to have you with us, Sean. So over to you, for your brief.
Well, thank you very much for the opportunity to, uh,
to brief the press this morning from from Juba.
the main message that I wanted to get across is the criticality of advance planning
and funding for WFP and for the wider humanitarian response in south Sudan for 2025
South Sudan is quite a unique context in that 60% of the country becomes
inaccessible for over 60% of the year when rains make the roads impassable.
We therefore rely on a narrow,
dry season window from about the end of December to early April,
to preposition the assistance we need for the wet season, which is also
In some locations, that window can be even shorter.
And when we don't manage to hit that window with food and trucks ready to move,
we end up with a situation
where the only way to reach people is by river and air.
Air drops are about 12 times more expensive than road deliveries in south Sudan,
and river is about 2 to 3 times the cost.
have limitations in terms of where we can reach
we have no food in country to kick start the 2025 prepositioning exercise.
Normally, we would plan on having some carryover from the previous year.
But due to the crisis in Sudan
and the flood response this year,
we will essentially use up all the stocks we have available by December.
So this call to donors is really to maximise
the value of their contributions by making early donations
in time for us to capitalise
Maybe I can turn to what is driving the humanitarian crisis in south Sudan.
uh, that South Sudan is facing multiple and interlocking shocks
that are driving up hunger and malnutrition.
the war in Sudan is having multiple impacts.
Nearly 850,000 people have crossed the border,
fleeing the conflict and in need of humanitarian assistance.
Most of these are south Sudanese, returning home
but often to a home they've never been before.
A cholera outbreak has recently been confirmed in
the crowded transit camps at the border.
The conflict is also decimating commercial food supplies to northern markets,
which normally depend on production
and imports from Sudan that have all but dried up.
And damage to the oil pipelines that run from south Sudan through Sudan has
massively reduced government revenue and exacerbated the
devaluation of the South Sudanese pound.
amidst some of the worst flooding in decades.
In addition to the rains that fall in country,
the Nile basin is essentially expanding due to record high water levels.
over 1.4 million people have been impacted and 375,000 people displaced. So far,
WFP has reached about 400,000 people
under our flood response operation.
Even prior to this year's floods and the full impact of the Sudan conflict,
food security assessments indicated that over 7 million people,
or about 56% of the population,
were acutely food insecure and in need of assistance.
Within this, there are about 79,000 people
that are facing what we call
phase five or catastrophic levels of hunger.
The new annual assessment is about to be released, and, as you can imagine,
with the intervening shocks, it's likely to show
that the situation has deteriorated further.
So while we are going flat out now to respond to the
needs of people affected by floods and the war in Sudan,
we really need to focus on how we
are going to sustain these operations through next year
the confluence of factors that are driving hunger and malnutrition
In order to preposition the required assistance,
WFP requires $400 million before the end of this year.
We do have some indications
of contributions that are coming,
but without receiving more and early, we risk missing the prepositioning window
and needing even more money later in the year.
Thank you very much. Uh, Sean Message. Uh, very well. Um,
received I should mention just from the from
the political point of view just to remind
you Or maybe point you to a statement
that was delivered yesterday by the Secretary General's
special representative and head of the peacekeeping mission on Miss uh,
in South Sudan. Nick, uh, Nicholas Haysom,
who urge political leaders to produce a clear and realistic work plan
for implementing outstanding provisions of the peace agreement. He notes
unquote, the clock is ticking.
He warned at a meeting of the
Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission,
adding that the limited progress has been made since
the government announced an extension of the transitional period
in delayed elect elections back in September.
Um, but let's now take questions, uh, for Sean on the situation
in south Sudan. We have a question for you from Jamie Keaton of the Associated Press.
Thank you. Uh, thank you, Rolando. And thank you, Sean.
Uh, I just wanted to know, uh, if you could tell us, uh uh, uh, riffing off. What?
about, um, the political process.
What impact has the delay and yet yet again. Another delay in in
new elections in south Sudan having on,
uh, the provision of humanitarian aid and really on international, uh,
that the situation in, uh, south Sudan
not not only internationally can be, uh, rectified,
but even locally can be rectified.
Yes. Thanks very much. Uh, Jamie, I mean, uh, since the
the the decision by the the various, uh,
parties in the government of national unity to extend the peace agreement again,
uh, and and therefore, the elections for for a further, uh, two year period,
I think, in terms of the context on the ground,
uh, it may have, uh, in the short term, alleviated the uncertainty, Uh, of of, uh,
of a prospect of, uh, of further conflict and violence. That may have come,
uh, with with elections that would not have been fully prepared.
But at the same time, it's prolonged
that uncertainty, uh, on a political level for for the people of south Sudan.
uh, there are There is frustration.
Um, from, uh, many international partners that the people of south Sudan have not,
uh, been able to to to exercise their their right to choose their leaders, uh,
within the time frame or the already extended time frame.
One of the points of of advocacy that is obviously very prominent here.
brought to the forefront with declining levels of humanitarian funding.
is obviously the responsibilities of of the government to meet
the needs of of the people and not to rely,
uh, entirely on external humanitarian assistance.
that becomes, obviously, increasingly a challenge for the government when the,
uh, oil revenue is decreased.
Uh, due to the conflict in in in Sudan.
No, I don't see. That's the case. Uh, Sean. So
on that note, I'd like to thank you very, very much for joining us.
Um, stay well in Juba and good and good luck. Uh, of course, we'll
We'll convey your messages very loudly from here. Thank you so much again.
And please do join us anytime.
OK, Jens is in the front row. I'm gonna ask him to come up and and join us.
Join me here on the podium. Uh, Jens has an update on the situation
So over to you, Jens. Thank you.
I wanted to say happy Friday, but it's not that happy, at least not in Lebanon.
we are today seeing another wave of displacement
in the Lebanese capital Beirut after the Israeli army
in the early hours of this morning issued displacement
orders for several areas in the southern suburbs,
which was followed by heavy airstrikes.
Shortly after the issuance of these orders,
the displacement may be in the tens of thousands, according to local officials.
We hope to have more details on this later in the day. We are working on that.
The displacement orders and strikes this morning
comes on top of other displacement orders yesterday
for several villages and a Palestinian refugee camp
entire in the south of the country,
and displacement orders for residents in
Baalbek in the country's east.
And that was for the second time in two days, the displacement order in
Baalbek. In recent days, an estimated 50,000 people have left
Baalbek, heading mostly to areas in the north of the Bekaa
with many people spending the night in their vehicles.
These relentless displacement orders and subsequent
airstrikes have dramatically increased displacement to a
total of more than 842,000 over half of them women and girls.
And that's according to our colleagues in
in terms of casualties. Since the start of the war a year ago,
more than 2800 people have been killed and
more than 13,000 have been wounded wounded,
with most of the casualties occurring since September.
We are particularly troubled by reports of entire
families being killed in attacks on their homes.
partners are on the ground and responding to the needs, and we are rushing hot meals,
clean water, medical supplies, mattresses,
health kits and other items to people who have been uprooted.
And we are working to access civilians who remain in hard to reach areas.
To date, 15 convoys have successfully been organised to reach areas in Tyre,
But the insecurity has an impact on what we can do. Two humanitarian convoys to
Baalbek were cancelled due to the recently deteriorating security there.
I want to add a note on the funding
and I was asked about it earlier. As you know, we have a
flash appeal out there for $426 million but it
is today just 16% funded with $73 million.
We, of course, thank the French government for hosting
the important donor conference last month
the French government has reported that some $800 million were
pledged by donor countries for humanitarian aid in Lebanon.
But we are facing a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation.
The needs are rising by the minute,
and the pledge does not buy food, medicine or shelter.
So we are hoping for a rapid disbursement to UN agencies and our
partners so that we can do what the donors clearly want us to do
Lack of funding is not just a question of a spreadsheet
It really is a question of deeply vulnerable people in
Lebanon who don't get the aid that they need.
Thank you so much, Jansen.
Maybe I should add that, According to our colleagues at UNIFIL,
the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, some 60 per cent
living in the areas in which UFL operates, um, in in the south of Lebanon.
Um, and of course, our peacekeepers uh, remain, uh, working hard.
They're in position. They're working hard. Behind the scenes
to help coordinate the safe passage of of these essential humanitarian,
uh, goods is aid by the US agencies and local international NGO S.
the contingents have continued to support
local communities through projects and donations
to help those who have continued to stay in their homes.
uh, one of the primary tasks of UNIFIL,
which remains in position and working under these very tense situation.
This is a statement that I'm sub uh,
that I'm subtracting a few lines from that we shared with you a couple of days ago.
I think you are very comprehensive. And
I don't see any hands going up.
well, I think you were abundantly clear, Jens. And of course you know Please. Yeah.
Oh, sorry, Mohammad. Sorry I didn't see you there. Anu,
Well, I think maybe we can shift to Gaza if you're prepared.
Um and of course, there are colleagues online as well Who could also chime in?
But if there are no questions on Lebanon, Yes.
Please feel free to pose your question on, uh on Gaza, Mohammad.
Yes, thank you so much. My question will be about U NRW,
yesterday, after the Israeli army attack
building in West Bank completely demolished
As you remember last week, Israel,
I have two short questions about on that
be able to continue its work under this systematic Israeli pressure and attack.
as a senior UN diplomat, do you remember any UN mission
that faced such pressure before?
Mohammed. I think your first question is probably best addressed to
themselves. What? They what? The
status of the operation. I think we were earlier in the week abundantly clear
about the fact that it is the backbone of the operation.
It's indispensable and so on and so forth. And
attacked in this way. And we warned very clearly that without
putting the humanitarian operation half way in its grave. So it
whether we have seen similar
instances anywhere around the world.
not to my knowledge and not to anyone's knowledge that I have been in contact with,
Of course, As Jens rightly says,
We've been very vocal from this from this podium here,
and colleagues around the globe have been
been sharing their their very strong comments about this decision, of course.
And and I should mention one development since we last met.
Here was the Security Council's press statement, which is a very, very important
message from the international community.
Uh, the Security Council,
this unanimous statement from the 15 members of Security Council.
Uh, they emphasised the vital role of U NRW of the UN Relief and Works Agency,
that which we have been echoing here. So indeed there is no no replacement for it.
Nick of the New York Times.
Yeah. Thank you. And sorry, I. I was kind of distracted on other things.
So I have a question back on Lebanon for for Jens.
Um I wonder if you could just say a word about?
What is the population that's left in the South? I mean, in in places like Tyre.
uh, a functioning system, uh,
deconfliction system in relation to this particular conflict?
We've heard a lot about it in relation to Gaza.
I'm not clear how it's working in relation to the delivery of assistance in,
communities that are being affected by airstrikes.
Um, I wondered, I know it's not particularly your brief,
but I also wondered if you had any lines, Um,
on the, uh, flow of people from Lebanon into Syria. Thank you.
As I mentioned in recent days, an estimated 50,000 people have left Babe
mostly headed to areas in the north of the
Valley. So that is the latest statistics. Sorry statistic I have on that particular
for the humanitarian notification system.
It exists. It covers the entire country.
That is what is being used. I mentioned 15 convoys who
went to hard to reach areas.
That's exactly why humanitarian notification
system and the subsequent de confliction
is happening so that these things can be carried out.
So that is working and very much particularly in the South,
with great help and support from UNIFIL.
Nick, you want to repeat your third question? We're
sure, Um well, I'll, I'll also repeat the first one because you you gave me
figure for people who'd left Baulk.
What's what's your understanding of the extent of
the population that's left now in southern Lebanon?
Is there any kind of overall estimate of
the percentage of the population that remains?
But my third question was also
a question about the outflow of people from
Lebanon into Syria. And we had last week talk
about the air strikes on crossing points.
And so I'm just kind of wondering how that situation is unfolding now, Thank you.
what I have on the displacement to other countries that these are numbers from UN
and Syrian Arab Red Crescent
is that over 460,000 people have fled Lebanon for Syria 460,000,
while 25,000 have fled to
in terms of displacement from southern Lebanon to else where we can
what we can say about the tracking exactly of the movement. The overall number
I have is, as I mentioned, 842,000 in total displaced, many of whom,
the very start of the escalation,
came from the south and rushed towards the north.
If you want to add anything at any point, please, Please do raise your hand.
right. We have a question from Anya. So the a FP
Hi. Thank you. Uh, in fact, the question only. But on the
the fact that you you mentioned the 800 millions which were plated in in in
during the this, uh, international conference since then,
how many phone have you receive from from that part specifically?
appeal remains really underfunded. At 17 per cent.
We have received a total to that 73 million.
How much, if any of that is directly from the 800 million?
I don't know, but it cannot be a large amount.
So that's why we say we fully and totally and gratefully recognise that conference.
It was a moment of outpour, of humanitarian solidarity with the people in Lebanon.
the donors of the urgency of this and turning these
pledges into money that can work on the front line,
as I mentioned, because that is what the donors want us to do.
But we can't do it unless the money flows fast.
Thank you. Jens. Uh, Catherine Franz Fan?
Yes. Uh, thank you. Do you hear me?
yes. Not maybe Speak up a little bit. It's a bit faint, but go ahead. OK. Do you hear me?
Uh, we can hear you. Go ahead.
We can hear you. OK, thank you. Thank you so much to both of you.
Um, in fact, it's a follow up to Ania's question regarding, um, the funding.
Jens, you just mentioned that it has been funded 17%.
Could you please tell us which countries did transform their pledges into, um,
Which countries are part of the 17% that you've received,
And also, on a very practical way,
how are, um, the people of Lebanon that fled the south of the country.
or in the northern part? Because apparently,
um, they are unable to leave the country.
Um, particularly when they are Palestinians that, uh,
were living in the south of Lebanon or in the country.
They have no access, um, to other countries, they don't get, of course,
visas and things like that.
And so who are, um, helping there?
And where can they find some support?
Right. Uh, thank you, Catherine. Um, I I'm just looking up.
Uh, who who the donors are on the 73.
But I, I just want to make make clear the countries and I'll find the donors does not.
That doesn't necessarily mean that those were countries that pledged in Paris.
These are separate things.
We track what is actually paid in whether the pledge is made in Paris or wherever.
You know, we track it once the money is in the bank.
French conference in Paris. The French were tracking that.
So I'll have to ask you to ask them for what they can say about
in need inside Lebanon. Of course it is. It is a foundational
support any and all civilians, regardless of their nationality, status,
religion, colour of skin, whatever.
If they are civilians and they are in need, they are eligible for support,
That is the basic principle.
If your question is about
why some people who may want to leave are unable to leave,
that goes a bit beyond what I can speak about. And I would perhaps ask you on
if they have any information on that.
Because that would be people crossing an international border.
Yes, indeed. Uh, thanks again. Uh, maybe I should mention that, uh,
Kennedy of, uh, IOM. Uh, is happy to,
uh, to follow up with you, Nick and other colleagues.
Uh, should you have questions about, uh, people on the move as well as HDR
Thank you. My question is also for Jens about Lebanon.
There are a lot of publications in the media saying
that secret talks have begun between Hezbollah and Israel.
Do you see on the ground in a humanitarian point of view, any signs
of, I don't know, more kind situations that we can see before negotiations.
The short answer is no, but that's not necessarily because there
It's because it's not something we can systematically track and see.
OK, now they are meeting what happens on the ground.
We can't make that direct link
when we know that there are
parallel, simultaneous political processes going on.
Of course, we want that to see happen because at the end of the day,
we want the conflict to stop
so that we avoid creating further needs and that we
can actually respond to the needs that are actually there.
The proof for us is always in the pudding, right?
We are here and we have just seen it over the past year in Gaza,
this on and off and back and forth and start and stop.
And the situation on the ground doesn't really change
Just to add that as as you well know,
our colleagues on the ground at UNIFIL remain in contact
with with the Lebanese and Israeli authorities and are urging deescalating
Um, this is going without pause despite this very, very tense situation. Um,
and the message, uh, our UN message is very clear.
Recommit to Security Council resolution 17. 01,
uh, in actions and not just words. As as, uh,
Ian's very eloquently mentioned.
that dialogue is is supremely important.
Cat. I'm sorry I missed you. I think you had a follow up to your previous question.
So back to you, Katherine.
Thank you so much. Uh, Rolando? Yes. Um, it's back to two questions. One to yens.
Could you please mention the countries that did, um, donate, uh, the 73
Um, and my other question is, maybe I don't know, Orlando,
or you could direct me to someone else regarding the people that are working for UN F.
Uh, that means the United Nations mission in Lebanon.
You have, um, some staff that were based in T
and other places and had to flee.
Uh, So what about them? The local people, Uh, sometimes the Palestinians.
So how is UN supporting their own staff? Thank you.
No. Let me and I'm happy to send it to you as well, Catherine.
And to everyone what we have on record as committed funding
to the 426 million appeals is from the government of Italy.
17 million. The government of the United States of America,
The Central Emergency Response Fund. So multi donors
with 10 million that have been released,
Government of Sweden with 9.3 million.
The government of France, 7.2 million.
The government of the United Kingdom, 6.4 million.
And the government of Germany, 5.5 million.
And there are a few other donors. But I will not read all of them out here.
But I am happy to send you the full list.
Katherine, I may not have all the details,
but let me just be very clear that our priority is the protection of civilians,
not just the locals living in south Lebanon, Uh, but also our own staff.
We have, uh, dozens of countries contributing peacekeepers,
and we also have a local local staff who have
been working and bearing the brunt of of much of,
uh, bearing much of the brunt of this.
uh, in tier. I know. Many have been evacuated.
Tier, as you know, was bombed a few days ago.
I don't have all the details as to where they are.
I know that colleagues are working, um, under, you know, in bunkers, working,
Uh, while bombing continues, Um, so it's really, really a precarious situation.
colleagues are also working in Beirut, but Beirut is also not a safe place.
just be mindful of the very, very harsh conditions they're working in.
But I think what I would like to do is, uh, defer you to our colleagues
in in UNIFIL. Uh, we can certainly keep you updated.
I have this statement which we shared with you a couple of days ago,
but I'll see if I can get more on the actual the
It's such a fluid situation.
And and it's, you know, minute by minute, things are changing.
So I'll see if I can get an update for you and as to where our staff are at present,
another follow up. Catherine, Go ahead.
Uh uh, I'm really sorry. Uh, but, uh, yen, the 10 million, uh, and from serf,
That's, uh, the the emergency fund from
That was released pretty early on, actually towards the flash appeal
by the acting emergency relief co ordinator to jump start the funding.
Thank you, Jens. OK, John. Sarah
I've got a couple of questions. First,
uh, Margaret Harris from WHO.
Uh, if she could bring us up to speed on,
how many people have no access to health in Lebanon
Because of the attacks on health, especially the closure of, uh,
local health facilities, dispensaries, et cetera.
Uh, and my second question is to James if he's online.
Um uh, James, these new estimates are
James is not online just to cut you off. Uh, sorry, John.
Yeah, OK, perhaps this is also for
If she has any info from the field
uh, severe acute malnutrition cases in Gaza.
How many of these are in the north?
And are you able to reach any of the Children with therapeutic feeding? Thank you
We we can't hear you. Yep.
Sorry. II. I didn't have the unmute button.
OK, good. Uh, on the, um on le Lebanon.
I don't have a specific number. But I can tell you everybody is struggling to get
that level of healthcare they need because of the continuing attacks
on the health system and the health system was already under enormous pressure.
Also, the economic conditions that people found themselves under
and the hospitals themselves that they were reliant on generators on, uh
uh uh, fuel That's not available to keep the hospitals going. So, essentially,
accessing health care is a real struggle for everyone in Lebanon.
it's an a greater struggle in the areas where the hospitals have been attacked.
Let me get you some numbers.
it's, uh the hospitals are overwhelmed by casualties, as you know,
and it it's just carrying an enormous burden.
Um, it's We've also seen a rise in, uh, infectious disease threats,
including confirmed cholera case.
And at the same time as I said, we're seeing, uh,
we're deeply concerned about the rising attacks
on health workers and facilities in Lebanon.
as the numbers are really quite shocking
that we the data I have are that there have been 100 and two deaths
28 of those attacks have impacted facilities
and another 28 have impacted transport or
the two are interchangeable. Overall, we've had 55 attacks verified.
But the Ministry of Health is reporting
that there are much higher numbers as many workers
have been killed or injured while off duty.
And this matters because the health systems are already overstretched.
Health workers are already overworked and displaced,
so we we are continuing to lose health workers
at the very time when they're needed most.
I don't have the specific numbers of people who don't
have access because I don't think that's a real number.
Everybody is struggling to get access to the health care they need.
you are asking about Children with malnutrition
and um, this is really, really important. Uh, we had a, uh a
malnutrition a stabilisation centre at Kamala
and that's been closed because of the attacks on kat
So in the north, there is no longer a a nutrition stabilisation centre,
and we before that occurred, we were seeing an increasing number month on month of
for Children were requiring,
um severe with severe acute malnutrition were requiring treatment.
And as you know, it's not just a matter of refeeding.
It's a matter of doing it with the
appropriate medical replacement so that the child,
uh, survives almost survives the treatment and can return
to some kind of normal physical, uh, functioning.
Uh, I'm just going to get up my numbers for you. My apologies. Uh,
I have specific numbers on
Yeah. So the malnutrition, uh, SS
We've not really seen any food aid enter north Gaza since the second of October.
People are running out of ways to cope. The food systems have collapsed.
the opportunity to care for those who are at
the most critical stage is not there anymore.
I again don't have a perfect, uh, I don't have great numbers for you there,
except that over 86% of the population across Gaza are experiencing
high levels of food insecurity.
As you know, it's always the Children who suffer most.
to paraphrase from the statement I mentioned generally,
when you're speaking of the this theatre in which our colleagues are operating,
you know, these statistics
really cannot fully capture the the human cost of conflict.
And we really endeavour to really try to get these numbers and thank you, Margaret,
And of course, colleagues do bear with us
because the situation is so fluid and so desperate. So,
uh, thank you for the questions at the same time.
Um So, Margaret, I know we're gonna go back to you on a different subject,
but I think now if we have exhausted no, we do another.
Sorry. Another question. Uh, Yuri
Gaza, Lebanon, Lebanon, but linked to Gaza. It is to
Margaret also about the attacks on health care. Because
the first months of the conflict
was always stressing that Israel is clearly
attacking health facilities without any precaution.
Do you see the same patterns in Lebanon? I mean, do you see that
the politics that Israel was doing in Gaza during the strikes is the same
in Lebanon, against the health facilities and health workers. Thank you.
We are really, really concerned,
deeply concerned about the rising attacks on
health workers and the facilities in Lebanon.
And we are again and again and again emphasising
that health care is not a target. Health workers are not a target.
And we are certainly concerned about seeing the same pattern.
Yes, we all are concerned. Thank you so much, Margaret.
Any further questions on Lebanon or Gaza?
No, I don't see it as a case. So thank you so much, Jens, As always. Um,
now very pleased to have, uh, here with me,
Claire of the World Meteorological Organisation.
Who's going to introduce, uh, a guest who's speaking to the Spanish floods?
Yes. Good morning, everybody.
Thank you for joining us just to
off this briefing. As we are
seeing the tragic, horrible images on our phones on our TV screens this week,
Spain has been hit by absolutely catastrophic
It's close to home to us. Many of us have probably been there, but it's just one.
The flooding that we're seeing in Spain is just one of many, many, many
extreme weather and water related disasters that have been taking place around
around the world this year. Almost almost almost every week, we're seeing such a
shocking, shocking images,
and it once again underlines why
the priority of the World Meteorological Organisation community.
So the Secretariat in Geneva, our members around the world
is to save lives. Climate change
is turbocharging extreme weather.
We can expect to see more of the
devastation and the despair that we have been seeing this week
brings more energy into our
just to give you a little bit of perspective on this particular event.
As we all know, the Valencia region was worst affected.
Some areas received more than
the equivalent of a year's amount of rainfall in the space of eight hours.
turn the nozzle you get, You get a shower, you remove the nozzle,
you take a bucket and it comes down on, you know, torrential.
This is what has been happening this week in Spain.
obviously joined Spain in mourning the loss of life
what's been unfolding this week is that
which is the Spanish Meteorological and Hydrological Service,
It is the authoritative source in the W
register of alerting authorities.
constant advisories, constant alerts
via the common alerting protocol and via national national mechanisms.
there is a red alert which is the top level in place today
south west province of Huelva.
So unfortunately, this episode is not finished yet and my colleague Dr
will give you more details on that.
Other parts of Europe have been badly affected this year by floods.
Not just over a month ago mid September,
a large part of Central Europe experienced very, very heavy rainfall, loss of life,
and according to the Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change,
extreme weather events causing highly impactful floods and droughts
have become more likely and more severe due to
anthropogenic climate change
We released our State of Water Resources report
that time our secretary General Celeste
as a result of rising temperatures,
the hydrological cycle has accelerated.
It's also become more erratic, more unpredictable.
We're facing growing problems of either too much water or too little,
and that's what we're seeing playing out in Spain at the moment.
a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. This is the law of physics. So
saturated air contains seven per cent more water vapour.
our climate warms as the air warms,
it becomes more moist. So every additional fraction
of warming increases the atmospheric moisture content,
and this increases the risk of extreme precipitation flooding
Just to wrap up before I hand you over to
Climate scientists at World Weather attribution
they're highly respected climate scientists.
They include a number of members
of national meteorological and hydrological services.
They've conducted quite a number of what we call rapid attribution surveys
this year analysing the footprint of climate change in extreme weather events,
a long list Sahel West Africa, East Africa, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan,
southern Brazil, Central Europe and most recently, yesterday, a very, very,
very rapid preliminary analysis on Spain.
in all of these is climate change.
at the Cop 29 Negotiations in
Baku, which is starting starting shortly,
we will be publishing the state of the Global Climate
which will give more details of extreme events around the world this year.
Baku, but we can provide briefings here in Geneva if you wish
the co ordinator of the State of the Climate Report is
He's our head of climate monitoring at W.
I think most of you know him quite well.
And so I will hand over to him. He's with us on Zoom to explain
what this phenomenon is, which is hitting Spain.
It's the same phenomenon that hit Libya Greece last year,
and he can give you more information on that.
Omar, thank you for joining us.
Uh, thank you very much. Uh, good morning, everyone.
Uh, Mediterranean basin is prone to severe storms and severe, um uh, cyclones, uh,
uh, the year, uh, particularly during the, um, edge of the summer,
Uh, this time in Spain is what we call, uh, cold air coming from, uh, the pole,
which was isolated over small area over Spain, Portugal, North Morocco and France.
often occurs during the autumn season because of the remaining warm, uh,
surface heat from summer meets a sudden,
uh, cold invasion rulers from the polar regions.
So, uh, this phenomena is usually called by the meteor
resist as a cut-off system,
it's called cut off because it's cut from the, uh, core mass, uh,
coming from the north and also the, uh the, uh, warm, uh, mass coming from the south.
So it constitute kind of a big turban.
Uh, that affects the whole region.
uh, stay for a few days to a week time.
the nature of, uh, being isolated makes him, uh,
slowly moving to the east of the West.
Uh, so it's, uh, very important to note that the amount of precipitation,
uh, which was associated with this phenomena, as explained by, uh,
my colleague Clear is mainly, um,
uh, caused by the fact that we are still in the warm, uh, condition of the water
sea waters. So which fuels the system with the extra vapour
and also the fact that we have, uh, uh, in the lower atmosphere,
Still warm air and up a loft.
We have, uh, cold air. This makes what we call in mythological terms, like, uh,
uh, atmospheric instability
that lead to a deep convection, uh, large clouds and, uh, heavy downpours in, uh,
the phenomena is, uh, very common in the Mediterranean.
Uh, we had many such, uh, severe storms in the past,
affecting both flanks of the basin north and south.
Uh, if you remember last year in almost in the same period of the time in September,
we had the Daniel Storm, which,
which ravaged the ravaged many countries in the east, uh, Mediterranean region
Also, Olivia with, um, uh, devastating damages, Uh, due to the mass of water,
Uh, that, uh uh caused the collapse of the dam.
so, uh, we, uh, know that this phenomena happen almost every year,
But the fact that they are disastrous depends on where they hit.
If they hit a very populated area, such what happened, uh, last, uh, days.
Then the casualties and the, uh, infrastructure damage is huge.
Uh, it's very important to note that, uh,
the Met Services and WMO are working together
to address, um, as much as possible. Uh
uh. Early warnings. Uh, the Spanish med services has issued many alerts on that.
Uh, but the casualties and
disasters associated with,
uh, normally, uh, goes beyond the, uh, single alert system. It's more
about the severity of this storm is extremely severe. I think Spain has not seen
such a severe storm for many decades.
And also because of the sudden and the huge amount of water that, uh, felt in a very,
uh, short moment, this makes this system very,
in terms of, uh, so perhaps we might ask, uh, what climate change? Um, do with this,
Uh, Clara has already explained some of that,
Uh, in fact, uh, the IPCC. The government panel on climate change
addressed in his report the impact on severe storms.
Uh, the general conclusion is is that
it's very likely that we have, uh,
increased severity of such storms in the future.
And also, uh, some of the frequency of this, uh uh, storms in some locations.
so it's very, uh, simple to understand why?
Because with the warming warmer atmosphere and ocean, we have
first, uh, increased evaporation from the ocean, which fuels the atmosphere.
Uh, the second, uh, uh, factor is that when the atmosphere is, uh, warmer,
then it has, uh, more capacity to store the water and convert it into, uh,
and therefore to floods and flash floods.
So we have here a system that is a combined weather system, but fueled
with existing, uh, seasonal factors
and also, with the climate change effect, we can, uh,
always expect that these kind of storms, uh, become more severe and more,
uh, producing more rain and more
Thank you very much. Uh, doctor, uh, do we have, uh, we do have questions, indeed.
Uh, we have Antonio of the Spanish news agency Antonio.
Um, thank you very much. So
What can be done to avoid this level of destruction
Uh, we are seeing these horrible images in Spain. Uh, but we saw this in Libya as well.
Looks like Mediterranean is,
uh, very hit by these floods in, in in in these times of climate change.
What? What can be improved, at least in the region. Thank you.
I would say at global level,
we could make a good start by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which are the
driver, the driver, the driver behind this.
This is why we always talk about climate action
early early early warnings. We do
need to ensure that the early warnings reach those who need them.
Bedo, if you would like to
expand, expand at all, we need to ensure that early warnings lead to informed
Yes. Thank you, Claire. I think you said the keyword
warning is very important.
Uh, we know that in Europe in general and, um, many other, uh, regions, you have very
systems. Um, for example, the Komar
Protocol, which Spain is part of it
is actually a very good, uh, and robust, uh, system that alert pub,
the public and other decision making
on the likelihood of having extreme weather and severe, uh, impacts.
Uh, so this is, uh, that, But it's not, uh, still,
of course, we still need improved, uh, systems,
especially when it comes to very localised, uh,
type of systems like what happened in, uh, in Spain?
Uh, so this goes beyond the the the the the skill of the forecast,
but rather to a more integrated, uh, uh, management policies of such, uh, systems,
planning of, uh, cities and so forth.
So it's not only a meteorological, uh, factor that leads to a disaster, but
Uh coming into play, like the land use and the cities management and so forth.
uh, the alerting system is, uh is needs a lot of improvement in the future,
in all the world, uh, especially to deal with a very localised and, uh,
we we can, uh, forecast the the the storm and its, uh, magnitude.
But sometimes, uh, the, uh the fact that is,
uh, isolated and very small part and affect very small part
with all the surrounding landscape that brings a lot of water
into the area, uh, needs, uh, some attention in the future. I think,
uh, there are a lot of, uh, recommendations from different groups working on, uh,
on alerting systems. And the
one of the advanced countries, actually,
uh, in in that aspect, including a very, uh, good, uh, R
network and satellite images in addition to,
uh, numerical weather forecasting systems.
Thank you very much. Omar.
Uh, Catherine, if you don't mind, I'm just gonna skip back over to Antonio.
I think you have a follow up and then back to you, Catherine.
Yes, because, uh, both of you mentioned early wiring systems.
the system worked this time? Because, uh, as Claire said, the the IME
uh, sent, uh, sent, uh, red alerts way of time, way, way, way before time,
even days before this happened.
But the authorities didn't send messages to the
people saying Stay at home until some,
uh, villages were already flooded.
Spain Spanish authorities need to need to examine. I
was looking this morning and
issued a special advisory warning of this
the information was was there
been numerous alerts made throughout the week, but I think it's
get involved in the debate. I think that's something
Spanish authorities will have to take. Will have to take a look at
Thank you. Uh, Catherine, back to you.
Um, my my question is related about the the warning.
Um, and also telecommunication, if I recall.
Well, about 10 years ago, if, if not more.
There was an agreement signed
between several, um, UN agencies and ITU,
um, the connections, the connectivity.
Uh, when? Um there's a disaster.
And apparently what I've seen on TV is that the warnings have been sent, OK,
of of companies, I mean, the phone companies did not work properly,
so, uh, some people did get the warnings even today.
Um, So, um, what is, uh, the collaboration that you have with ITU?
Um and, uh, don't you think that in the early warning,
um, there should be also,
uh, maybe, uh, a kind of emergency line for these warnings because, um
uh, the the the mobile lines don't work properly all the time.
Yes, thanks, Catherine. What you're referring to is the common alerting protocol.
It actually is marking its 20th
together a lot of different agencies.
standard standardised message format designed for all media,
all hazards and all communication channels.
The aim is to ensure that critical information reaches everybody.
we have what we call authoritative sources
in the WO register of authoring authorities I
met is the authoritative source in
links of this of this chain, including including it,
it should work. It normally does work.
There are many, many success stories, but as I said earlier, I don't think it's
to get too involved into where the link
thermo might have broken down.
Catherine, uh, follow up?
Um MC Catherine. Uh, very
we have another question from, uh, Antonio from FA.
Um, just to understand a little more about the role of WMO, I would like to know if, uh,
there was Cooper operation between, uh, between you and I met,
uh, for the issuing of red alerts before the disaster happened.
And, uh, if there is some Cooper operation now, Thank you,
I think it's best for me to do,
given that the briefing's dragging on is I'll
connect you offline with one of our experts.
in a nutshell, the red alerts are issued
as in accordance with the common alerting protocol
in accordance with the national obligations of our
do not physically get involved in this.
It's the National Authority is responsible for issuing
those warnings. But we obviously provide.
We help provide a platform to support this, but I'll set you up with somebody else at
it would be most helpful. Thank you very much, Claire.
I don't see further questions.
Maybe I just I would like to just express on behalf of the United Nations our sincere
condolences to the the more than 100 and 50 people who have lost their lives and,
of course, condolences to the government of Spain.
Um, and of course, uh, we'll be looking at what happens in Baku the week after next.
And I'm sure early warning will be among the various subjects
that it will be among the various issues that vital issues.
I should say that will be issued, uh, rather addressed
at this important gathering from 11. To 22 November if I'm
Um, so thank you. Once again, Claire and Omar
throw back to Margaret, Uh, who has a guest, uh, to introduce,
introduce on another very important issue. M Po,
in the DRC and neighbouring countries. So
Hi. And thank you very much. Rolando.
Uh, yes. I've got the great pleasure
who you mostly should know because he's led many,
many of our really difficult responses in emergencies,
particularly Ebola and others in, um,
And he's now our incident manager for the
ox response and has just been to DRC.
So he's coming to give you an update on what the situation is,
but also what the response is, what's really happening.
So over you to you, Michelle.
Thank you very much. Uh, can you hear me?
uh, so thank you for the opportunity. I will be speaking about the SA
outbreak in Africa, especially in DRC.
Uh, where I just, uh, been, uh, so, uh, I will start by saying that, uh, the mul
a viral disease. Uh, spread mostly, uh, through close contact.
It is painful and sometimes disfiguring
and debilitating disease, uh, mul
patient can face also stigma
make it quite difficult in terms of, uh,
comprehensive reporting and others. So on the 14th of August this year, W-2
outbreak as a public health emergency of international
concern. And this is due to the spread of a new trend in East and Central Africa,
um, mainly, uh, related to one of the strains that is, uh, cleared one. B.
Uh, since then, we have been, uh, seeing, uh, uh, scale up, uh, response to
airport at the international regional, but also national and sub
national level, Uh, in September 2024
uh, the last month, uh, for which, uh, we have, uh, globally data.
47 countries reported confirmed, uh, cases of imports.
In addition, countries have been, uh, on high alert for cli one B the new strain.
And together, uh, with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
10 countries have so far reported outbreak,
and, uh, including imported case of outbreak linked to grades one B
targeted vaccination begun, um,
in affected countries to protect the health workers and other, uh um, uh,
uh, larger scale vaccination will also be possible
as, uh, more, uh, vaccine doses become available
and, uh, and and intensive effort as underway to scale up community engagement,
diagnosis, uh, clinical care, sanitation, hygiene and others.
the need to have a comprehensive. Uh
And integrated intervention for this response is not only about vaccine
and in DRC So far 50,000 people have been vaccinated.
Uh, with the leadership of, uh, affecting countries, the support of donors and, uh,
search support from WHN partners. The level of response is greater than it
has ever been. However, more needs to be done given the challenging circumstances.
Uh, in most of the affected countries,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, is facing conflict cholera,
malnutrition, measles, malaria
The epidemiological situation is complex and continue to evolve,
There is a multiple outbreak in different viral. Uh uh uh, strain
And, uh, what we call, uh, mainly, uh, clades the strain.
All clades of the virus are known, uh, to transmit from person to person.
However, two of them mainly grade one B and C
two B have been found to transmit efficient
efficiently through sexual contact.
We now have some indication
there is also sustained human to human transmission
of Grade one A in sexual network in Kinshasa
following importation from endemic part of the country.
This may reflect sexual transmission in other provinces,
uh, of which, uh, we saw evidence, uh, in a cluster of, uh, cases, uh, mid 2023.
And just, uh uh to hand the mul
it's a zoonotic disease, but with, uh uh uh initially, uh, uh, zoonotic disease, Uh,
with, uh, recurrent spill over from an animal to human, Uh, in DRC.
Mainly, um, So, uh, now the
the issue is, uh, the repeated, uh uh,
human to human transmission.
Uh, that could also trigger, uh, change, uh, within the the virus.
sorry more the more, uh, impulse transmit between people, the more
opportunities the virus have to change. And this is our main concern.
While most of the global population does not
currently have protections against these families of,
is working with the national health authorities and partners
hotspot, where the response must be intensified.
This is one of the things to highlight,
which was identified as a gap in my discussion with national authorities last week.
Uh, one of the many concrete way that WHO is supporting Ministry of Health, uh,
is helping to improve the quality of disease surveillance and data and even under
difficult circumstances that you can imagine in
DRCWHO is also providing over technical support.
Uh uh, expecting, uh uh, also including, uh,
regulatory approval for all the neighbouring countries.
Looking forward, we need more data, more feed presence
and more phone to stop the outbreak. WO
to date receive a third of the 80 million we are appealing for.
So this is, uh, my preliminary report waiting for, uh, maybe, uh,
Thank you very much. Uh, Doctor Yao, uh, more data, more field presence, More funds.
Thank you very much for that. Uh, we do have a question for you from Robin of Agen
Uh, thank you. Thank you very much for this, uh, briefing,
uh, for you. From what you see, does this
pox outbreak bring home the importance of finalising a pandemic agreement?
Yes, please. Please do so
we can take just few examples if we
take the vaccine allocation mechanism for equitable access,
uh, WHO and partners have set up, uh, an allocation mechanism based on uh,
transparent criteria, epidemiological situation,
Uh, as well as capacity in countries to implement.
And as I'm speaking, uh um,
the vaccines made available have all been allocated.
We are now supporting countries to implement it completely.
So this is, uh, one of the example,
among others in terms of ensuring that once something start,
uh a mechanism that triggers equitable access to countermeasures to control them.
So, uh, of course, uh, the the coming treaty, uh,
will certainly have to reinforce these mechanisms that will help To have, uh,
means available and accessible to all to deal with this kind of, uh
uh, emergency public health emergency.
Thank you very much. Doctor,
Do we have, uh, further questions for Dr
Yao? Or perhaps Margaret?
No, I do not see. That's OK. So thank you once again for this important
intervention and good luck with with this lofty task.
Ok, colleagues, I just have a few quick announcements before we wrap up.
As I mentioned at the onset of this briefing, we have this, um,
media seminar taking place, um,
me media seminar on peace in the Middle East, taking place in Room 26
which is well underway. It continues all day.
So do try to make it over there if you can,
lots of rich discussions to be had on freedom
of the press and safety journalists in time of war
and specifically on the situation the media challenges
in the context of the conflict in Gaza.
I should mention that tomorrow the second of November is
the International Day to end impunity for crimes against journalists.
Now, uh, in the secretary general's message,
he notes how worldwide there is an estimated nine out of 10 of
an estimated nine out of 10 of journalists murdered go unpunished.
Impunity breeds for the violence. This must change, he says,
calls on governments to bring these commitments to
life by taking urgent steps to protect journalists,
investigate crimes against them
and prosecute perpetrators everywhere.
That's in the SGS message,
Uh, just to simply highlight the message, uh,
the statement rather from the secretary general we shared with
you yesterday concerning the de Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
in which the SG strongly condemns
the launch yesterday of a long range ballistic missile from the
D PR K So that message is in your inbox.
In terms of meetings, we have a press conference taking place. Uh, here.
Um, in fact, uh, this is at
I'm sorry. It's not today. It's It's, uh, for F Friday, Monday, Monday,
Monday, the fourth of November at 12. Noon in this room.
Uh, you and trade and Development, uh, will hold a press briefing.
a Rebecca Greenspan will be here to brief you. I know. She was here early this week.
She's going to be briefing you again,
uh, to talk about the presentation of the least developed countries.
Report for 2024 levering leveraging carbon markets for development.
Very important encounter at 12. Noon
Uh, the Human Rights Council. Uh, human rights. Sorry.
Human Rights Council, Human Rights Committee,
uh, is holding, um, its session. As you know, the 142nd session is underway,
And, uh, this morning it had a public meeting to discuss, uh,
optional protocol on communications
committee against torture. Another treaty body
is still, uh, that meeting is session.
Rather is underway, and they have their next meeting on Tuesday.
This coming Tuesday, The fifth of November,
And last, but not least now,
the Human Rights Council Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic review
The 47th session is taking place over the next two weeks,
starting this coming Monday.
at 9 a.m. in room 20. And there are lots of states to be reviewed.
14 states to be reviewed, all contained in the media advisory we shared with you
We start off with Norway Review in the morning and then the afternoon Albania.
the media advisor that was shared with
you, uh, from colleagues at the Human Rights Council. Uh, Secretariat,
That's it for me. Any questions?
No, that's not the case. So I wish you a good afternoon and bon weekend.
