So thank you very much for staying with us after this short break.
We will go now to the regular briefing and I have the very big pleasure to start with UNDP.
Maybe Sarah, you want to come to the podium.
And we have with us Luke Arenda, who is the Resident Representative in Sudan.
He is joining us from Port Sudan and he will be fastening new reports of UNDP on the socio economic impact of the conflict on Sudanese urban households.
I hope you can hear me well.
Good morning to all of you.
Yes, well, we can hear you well, Sir, OK.
And those in the room and also those online.
I am speaking to you from Port Sudan and I have the pleasure to introduce to you a new report by UNDP that we conducted.
You know, we prepared in collaboration with ESP with the Institute of Food Policy Research to measure the impact of the war on the urban households in in Sudan.
As you know, the war in Sudan has been raging now for over 18 months.
10s of thousands have been killed or injured or that have experienced the worst sexual violence.
More than 11 million people have been forced from their home and extreme food insecurity, perhaps on a scale not seen for decades, is threatening parts of the country.
The report that we're launching today looks at how this conflict has affected people in urban areas across the country.
It is based on a a phone survey of people in of 3000 households conducted between May and July this year.
And it makes for a green reading.
And let me give you some key results.
Full time and full time employment has half and almost 20% of urban households say they have no income at all.
Nearly half of the urban population cannot regularly get enough to eat.
This makes people more susceptible to disease.
But at the same time, access to full health services have dropped is just 16%.
No children go to school anymore, either because schools have closed or because parents can no longer afford the fees.
Almost half of the households cannot get tied to 1/4 and nearly 90% have less reliable electricity.
The scale of the humanitarian crisis is obvious, but the findings of this report also point to a large, longer term development crisis that must be addressed now if Sudan is to secure its future as well as its present.
The people in Sudan know this already, and I hear the same message whenever I visit our project around the country.
And the same worries, not just where we'll be sweet and what we'll be eating today, but when can we go back to work?
When can our children study again?
What is Sudan going to look like 5 or 10 years from now?
People are grateful for emergency support, but they don't want to be dependent on aid.
They want to support their families through their own work.
They want to fund the jobs and the farms.
They want to go home to buy food in their local shops and get medicines and local clinics.
They want their children to go back to school.
They want their neighbourhoods and communities back and even there is if there is no sign of an imminent end to fighting.
Unfortunately, people don't want to live day-to-day, they want to start rebuilding and do something to make their situation better.
Empowering the people of Sudan is how we can make this happen.
This is what we mean by development in crisis, finding ways to help people revive their own economies and rebuild their own communities.
It is how any successful recovery from conflict happens because there is a limit what humanitarian aid can do.
The international community just doesn't have the resources and never will to repair all the damage done by the war.
It is the people of Sudan who will rebuild their country.
And our job, the job of development actors is to provide the tools, equipment, the infrastructure, the services to help them rebuild wherever and whenever the situation allows.
Our report calls for an array of development solutions that can be implemented or scaled up right now in parallel with humanitarian assistance in parts of Sudan.
This work has already begun about proving what's possible even in the current circumstances.
For example, in Castella, we have just finished constructing a new Children's Hospital that will provide not just life saving assistance, but long term healthcare.
Healthcare in the rest state.
You would recall the collapse of the Arbat Dam back in August when we are starting to rehabilitate water wells, networks and plans to rebuild the dam that will provide water to hundreds of thousands of people in communities elsewhere.
We're helping farmers sustain their food production and this measure helped build resilience now and reduce the need for humanitarian assistance in the future because they empower people and drive their own development.
There are also some of the most cost effective ways that we have to deal with the damage outlined in this report.
I thank you very much and I'm open to questions.
Thank you very much for this update, Luca.
I also remind the journalist that you have received the material already a few days ago on this report.
And also maybe just before I give you the floor to remind you that today the Security Council will also examine the report of the Secretary General on the Sudan and South Sudan.
So that will be at the agenda of the Security Council today.
I'll open the floor to question Jeremy Launch Radio France International.
Thank you for the briefing.
Just want to know what's the latest famine wise?
We know that famine has been declared in some parts of Sudan, in Darfur, I think.
So I'd like to know what's the latest.
I mean, is it currently spreading even more to other places in Khartoum?
Can we talk about the famine there, Luca, We answer every question.
It's a press conference style if you want to go ahead.
Yes, thank you very much, Jeremy.
Indeed, our findings confirm the the the gravity of the food security situation in in the in the country.
We have about 8% of the interviewed households are reported to be in severe food insecurity.
You mentioned the IPC report that has, you know, identified catastrophic situation in at least 14 different location in in the country.
Our funding also showed that the situation is especially dire in certain parts of Sudan, particularly the Garfur areas and the South Kordofan in Hakun.
Farming in general or extreme food insecurity is caused not so much by lack of food.
We see that markets are in general functioning, although at the reduced rate.
It's mostly because of lack of income and the prices have gone up all because of lack of physical act.
That's why we are advocating this report to work both on the food system, increased food supply and at the same time on the capacity of of family to access through increased income, increased access to livelihoods.
And whenever, of course, this is not possible, then humanitarian aid should kick in.
And in some parts, as you know, the the UN has been able to reach communities that are in need, particularly in the full, although much more and it continues to be needed to be done.
The room on the platform.
Lisa Schlein, Voice of America.
I'm mystified by a number of things.
First of all, how how do you intend to have development projects go ahead in the midst of an active war?
And I'd like some clarification about that.
And I get this sense that in the midst of this terrible war, some people more or less are living a kind of normal existence.
Is that true or am I really in a strange universe here as it goes on?
Because you, you, you talk about food and other commodities being available on the market, but that they're overpriced, unaffordable for most people, but they are affordable to some people.
So are these the merchants of war who are the ones who are living a normal life and everyone else is not?
Well, the situation in the in the countries that there are certain parts of the country that are particularly affected by the conflict right now.
The most critical situation, as you're probably aware is in Al fascia in the in the north or in the capital city of Khartoum in Al Jazeera, where we've seen an escalation of violence over the last few days in parts of the centre state as well, other parts of the country remain relatively peaceful.
And so it is possible in those areas we conduct what we call, you know, resilience investment.
And I want to remind that there are of course partners and and entities that are channelling resilience investment money through UN agencies, for example, the World Bank or the African Government Bank.
It is possible and is needed.
We cannot wait for the world to to end, to help people stand on their feet, to support local system, local capacity for self-reliance and reduce the need for humanitarian aid.
This is our call and we are telling you it is possible and we it needs to be done right now.
Isabel Sacco, Spanish News Agency.
I would like to ask if the speaker could give us some more details on the situation that they are aware in, in Khartoum and in Darfur.
I would like to know if, for example, if they for this analysis, they could have access any access or to their food or what are the sources how they interview people in in the food?
How do they know about the food situation access there and in Khartoum, as Lisa said, is there an it, it appears that in some part of the capital there are some like people that are living like more or less in normal time.
So could you just explain us what is the situation in, in the capital of also if life is going on institutions or some sort of services are functioning?
Thank you for the question.
The SITU, the situation in Khartoum at the moment is that it is an active conflict area.
There are clashes ongoing between the army and the RSF.
There are bombardments, there are shelling, There is enormous destruction of the destruction of, you know, physical infrastructure, interruption services, very few facilities that are actually working.
And we do not have at the moment access to Khartoum.
We had intended to restore access at least in in Amberman, but the recent flashes are prevented access.
And there are of course a few NGOs that are still working there, both national and international providing essential services.
But I also want to remember the existence of mutual aid groups in in Sudan.
You've heard of the, for example, the emergency response room that are still working, that are still active and those are being supported, for example, through cash by a number of agencies and NGOs, including the NDP.
We're also providing a cash for work activities in two in both areas controlled by the different parties that can provide critical infrastructure, essential infrastructure repair through cash for work activities.
The way we conducted the interviews through phone interviews and we built a sample out of a, a sample that existed between, for example, assisted agency WFP, but also EFP.
And we, thanks to the work of the enumerators, were able to actually reach 100% of the sample that we have initially planned.
Some interviews are typical that you know, that we've tried several times because communication is not easy in certain parts of the country.
And yes, there is a bias in the sense that we are interviewing people who have a telephone.
So the, the families that have been interviewed are people with the phone that has to be taken into account.
But we were able to reach 100% through telephone interviews based on, on the plan.
Thank you, thank you very much.
And maybe just Isabel, just to remind you that we have spoken in the past and, and I think just to, to to remind it to you that in Khartoum there have been shocking accounts of widespread **** and sexual violence, especially against women and girls.
And we've been calling for immediate end to all gender based violence, including sexual violence as a tactic of war to terrorise people.
We've also recently heard always about Khartoum, the escalating issues against the young men and the fact that some of these men are arbitrarily executed.
We've heard all this recently on the situation in Khartoum.
And thank to Luca for adding these further details.
You have a follow up, Isabel.
Yes, Only to know if given the situation of active conflict that you described, do you know what is the remaining population in the capital and out of how many?
Yes, it is hard to estimate, you know, the, the, the remaining population in, in, in Khartoum.
All I can say is that according to our report, the the, the, the number of people that we interviewed, they report in total about 30% of them have been displaced.
But this number goes significantly up in certain areas and particularly in Khartoum where the the interview people report about 60% have been displaced.
At least one member of the family has been displaced.
So we are talking about large, large number of people who have fled the capital and have moved predominantly into the east where the largest number of new Idps have arrived.
Even here in Port Sudan, the population has considerably increase over the past few months.
We have states like Gadarev or Qasala that are still seeing in these number of Ibps because of the recent violence that have happened, horrific violence that have happened in in Jazeera.
So this is the the, the what what our report can can the information that the report.
Thank you very much, Luca.
There are no other questions for you.
And again, I I remind the journalist to also have a look at the reports of the Secretary General, which will come out today to the Security Council.
Thanks Sarah, for having sent all the information.
And we're also, of course, we'll send the notes out.
So thanks, Luca, and good luck with your important work going from one crisis to another, which is also unfolding under our eyes.
We have the pleasure to welcome Louise Wattage with us.
As you know, Louise is the senior emergency officer of UNRWA, and she's joining us from Gaza to tell us about the worsening situation in the north.
Louise, I give you the floor.
So I'm joining you from the Middle Gaza area today.
The situation in the Gaza Strip is nothing short of catastrophic right now.
I can tell you that in October alone, there were at least 64 attacks against schools turned shelters.
That's almost 2 a day, killing many, including dozens of of families and children.
You'll be aware of the recent report that states that nearly 70% of the civilians killed in this war have been women and children.
So here we are after 13 months of war and there's a looming famine.
We have winter approaching.
You might be able to see behind me.
The shelters that people have are completely insufficient.
People here are really sheltering.
Undo any kind of fabric they can find.
This is curtains, blankets, sheets, nothing is waterproof and people are sleeping on the floor, sewage all around the shelters and we are extremely, extremely concerned when the rains come to the Gaza Strip, what will happen to 500,000 people who are in areas of flooding when they are sleeping on the floor when they have no shelter to go to?
I was in Gaza City last week and one of the unrest schools we visited was now sheltering people displaced from Jabalia, from the besieged N People have been forced again to to flee for their lives, and they were sheltering in the school that was at any moment going to collapse.
The school had been severely damaged and destroyed in the bombardments, in the ongoing military operations, and yet families were sheltering there because they simply had nowhere else to go.
Everywhere you look, all across the Gaza Strip, there is a situation.
We're seeing it in Gaza City.
But I can tell you there's similar situations in Kanunis in the South, which has also been devastated by continued bombardments.
The aid entering the Gaza Strip is at its lowest level in months.
The average for October was 37 trucks a day into the entire Gaza Strip.
And I can tell you that's for 2.2 million people.
You will hear bombardments continuing behind me.
Yesterday was extremely active in the Nusaira area.
Civilians again been killed in this area in the ongoing bombardments.
People do not sleep, people do not have respite, they have no safety.
There is absolutely nowhere safe to go and and food.
Now we have the recent IPC update.
From from just a week ago saying famine is imminent, if not already happening in the besieged north.
And while we receive testimonies from people on the ground asking, begging for pieces of bread for water, the United Nations remains denied access to this area.
We have that very limited access to the besieged areas of the north over the last month.
It's been over a month now and you know, across the entire Gaza Strip, there's approximately 1.7 million people in October.
That is 80% of the population who did not receive their monthly food rations.
Acute malnourishment is 10 times higher than before the war.
It it's really hard to tell you in such a short amount of time all the levels and all the ways the situation is unfolding here and and continues to worsen.
People are losing a lot of hope.
As I say, with the winter coming and the rains coming, you know, 13 months of war with malnourishment, people really are suffering.
The suffering continues to worsen.
I can tell you last night a situation unfolded in the besieged N This is in the Bait Hanoon area.
We have received reports from colleagues that an Unruh shelter was forced forcibly evacuated by Israeli authorities and Israeli forces.
So once again, these families fleeing for their lives, fleeing for shelter and continued force displacement up until this morning.
I'll leave it there and, and thank you for the time and, and open to any questions.
Thank you very much, Louise and thanks for disappointing description.
I've got quite a few questions.
I'll start with Muhammad, our correspondent Ivana Dulwansi.
Thank you so much, Alessandra.
Louise, thank you so much.
As all I've shared on Tibeter yesterday, people in northern Gaza are now calling for urgent aid for basing supplies.
You already mentioned that small numbers 8 tracks get in Gaza for all Gaza.
Are these 8 tracks able to enter the northern Gaza as well?
If you have the latest figure, can you share with us?
For the besieged northern Gaza area, there was an entire month where no food was permitted to enter.
Every request that the United Nations put in to have access to this area was denied.
Since then there have been attempts that have been limited medical evacuations by the World Health Organisation, but I can tell you even this week I have had two missions to the north that I was supposed to be on for WASH for providing chlorine tablets and assessing facilities of those sheltering.
These missions were denied.
So the besieged N is becoming almost impossible and has been impossible.
No one from UNRWA has been able to access the besieged north in over a month.
But even into Gaza City and north of the Wadi Gaza, we are having a repeated scenario of our our missions and our convoys denied.
And in these areas people from Jabalia and the besieged N are are now displaced in sheltering.
So there is an urgent and critical needs in this areas for these families now displaced that.
Jamie Keaton, Associated Press Thank you, Louise for coming to see us.
We were coming up on the 30 day mark.
I think it's today since the US government, the Biden administration mentioned to Israel that it needed to do more to allow humanitarian aid into into Gaza.
And I'm just wondering, apparently you UNRWA was part of the, as one of the many aid agencies that have have have said that the that Israel has not met the requirements laid out in the United States.
So my question is for you, why are you speaking out now and what do you expect Israel or the United States to do?
What do you expect the United States to do now that that deadline is expiring?
The expectations are the same.
This is all with political will.
This has nothing to do even with the the letter of the 30 days, 13 months.
the United Nations has been calling for a ceasefire, for the release of the hostages.
They, these people need to go home.
The bombardments are continuous.
So yes, we welcome any any improvement and any move politically towards reaching the ceasefire.
But this has been a consistent ask of the United Nations for the last 13 months.
Anything that happens now is already too late.
Thousands and thousands and thousands of people have been killed senselessly.
They have been killed because there is lack of aid, because the bombs have continued and because we have not been able to even reach them under the rubble.
I go to the oh, no, sorry.
Thank you for taking my question.
I was hoping you could say I'm wondering how much insight you have into the situation in the north, which is given the lacking access and if you could say what your, your main concern is, is there?
And then also, I mean, there, there's been, there will be a change of administration in the, in the United States, Israel has has said that it's going to bar Unawa, I guess starting from January.
I'm just wondering if you have any thoughts on on how you can continue your operations and if you're already seeing impact of that?
So regarding the situation in the North, as, and I will reiterate this, the United Nations has been denied access.
Journalists are denied access, humanitarians are denied access.
So we don't have first hand accounts.
But what I can share with you is, is the pleas and the testimonies we've had from from our own colleagues who are trapped there.
We've also had pleas and testimonies from the doctors in the hospitals in the North.
These hospitals have been bombed.
The doctors inform us that they have run out of blood supplies, they have run out of medicine.
There are reports that people are left in the street, they are abandoned.
There are bodies in the streets.
The ambulances have stopped functioning.
So if people are injured, the only way to get to the hospitals is to get themselves there or on donkey cart.
The picture they paint is really horrific.
We hear reports of, of colleagues and people trapped in residential buildings, unable to leave.
They're surviving on whatever supplies they have.
The water wells that UNRWA runs in Jabalia, there's eight of them.
They have all ceased operations.
They have been bombarded, they have been bombed, they have been destroyed.
So people do not have access to water.
It's it's just an endlessly horrific image from what we what we're hearing.
And we will reiterate our call for access to these besieged areas.
We attempt to have access every day and this is becoming more and more critical each each hour.
Now that goes by on your second question on owner's ability to function in the Gaza Strip, I can tell you I've been here since April and there have always been restrictions against the agency.
It has, it's been very difficult for us to operate the access restrictions that we are giving, the denials to missions that we are given, the denials to movements, the amount of aid supplies that we get in.
But you then see the, you know, the polio vaccination campaign for example, when there is political will, the humanitarian response can function.
We vaccinated, you know, UNRWA, the World Health Organisation and UNICEF were able to vaccinate 560,000 children under the age of 10 in the space of 12 days.
This is what happens when there's political will.
This is what happens when there is a pause in the bombing.
This is what happens when the supplies are facilitated safely into the Gaza Strip.
We do not know the certainty of the coming weeks, in the coming months, but our staff are as dedicated as ever.
They are risking in their lives.
They are providing health consultations.
They are, you know, working in sanitation ahead of winter to clear the sewage, to clear the drains.
They're providing food, critical food.
People are fighting over bags of flour.
That's how desperate the situation is.
So I can only tell you what we know and that is that we will remain here working every day and and doing everything we can.
As we have continued over the last 13 months.
And I really take the opportunity to reiterate what has been said already.
There's no alternative to UNRA.
We've said it several times, it's the backbone of our humanitarian operations in Gaza and is mandated to provide public like services, including education, primary healthcare and social support.
We are very worried about the laws that you have referred to and the Secretary General has of course been bringing in the matter to the attention of the UN General Assembly.
We know that anything that would stop UNRAP from functioning would have devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees.
There are 1,000,000 now that fear that these public services could disappear.
So we really call to all member States and to the general Zambia, as there's GS refer to them to continue on doing their incredible work and their incredibly dedicated staff to continue acting for the good of the Palestinian refugees.
Allison, I just wanted to follow up on Ninas question.
You just mentioned Louise about the political will and the successes with the polio vaccination campaign.
The fact of the matter is that political will also in Washington and in Israel are very tilted against UNRA at the moment.
I mean, they, we, as she mentioned, the, the, the plans for the ban of, of, of UNRA and the US government is, is not, you know, it has, has paused its funding for UNRA as your boss, Mr Lazarini told us that he expects that to resume with the new Congress because of budgetary reasons, the Congress.
So how concerned are you about the funding from the United States?
Are are you, do you expect that the United States will in fact resume its funding given the new political realities, the new political will in Washington and then in Israel?
I can tell you as the largest humanitarian response on the ground, yeah, any, any reduction or any ****** to funding and operations here will have a direct impact on the civilian population.
It's 2.2 million people who have been forced to rely on the entire humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip because of the war and because of the siege.
So any impact to funding, to UNRWA, to the United Nations, to humanitarians here will have a direct impact on people on the ground.
I go to the platform now.
MFR just been patiently waiting.
Sorry I'm a bit sick, so I thought I'd keep my germs to myself.
Louise, thank you so much for your brave testimony.
I I was just hoping you could address this question bang on as to whether Israel has met the conditions set out by the US.
It sounds like you're saying no, but could you just address that directly because the Israelis are saying that they did open a new crossing, they have done some things.
Has it been a complete failure or is it more nuanced than that?
I can tell you what I have seen and experienced on the ground, and that is the aid supplies have worsened.
The month of October, it was an average of 37 trucks a day into the Gaza Strip, 37 trucks a day for a population of 2.2 million people who need absolutely everything.
It's never going to be enough.
The force displacements have continued.
The force displacements of the north have continued.
I've met people in the last week who have been displaced in Gaza City from the besieged area of the north.
They're absolutely traumatised from being forcibly displaced.
For some of them, the 14th or 15th time the medical evacuations, about 12,000 people are waiting on a list, life or death, to be medically evacuated from the Gaza Strip.
They have not been facilitated.
People are dying every day.
That's what I can tell you.
The people here need everything.
It has not been enough for the 13 months of this war.
We have never reached anywhere near enough humanitarian supplies to support the population, to provide them any kind of respite.
It's not OK What is happening and the suffering that we are seeing and experiencing here on the ground.
Gabriela Sotomayor, Processor Yes, thank you, Alessandra.
My, my question is, there's a lot of accusations from Israel that, that, that Andhra has kind of relation with Hamas.
Can you specify what is your relation with Hamas and do you have any call for them?
Are they doing something for the population?
Can you talk about that side?
Our call for Hamas, as well as the Israeli forces is a ceasefire.
That is our call for Hamas.
They are part of this war.
They have been involved in the fighting.
They have initiated these horrific attacks against Israeli civilians on October 7th.
It is unacceptable that the war continues and that civilians keep suffering.
We have seen horrific suffering of Israeli civilians on the October 7th attacks, followed by horrific suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
That is the situation and that is our call for everybody involved in this war.
There needs to be a ceasefire, a release and return of the hostages home, and finally some respite to all the civilians not just in the Gaza Strip, but the surrounding region.
You have just one SEC, Lisa Schlein, both of America.
Louise, what is the likely impact of Qatar reportedly is withdrawing as a mediator in the ceasefire negotiations with Hamas?
There are all sorts of reports about the office being closed and so forth.
So what is the likely impact of that upon future negotiations toward a ceasefire?
Is has this essentially dried up?
Where do you see any sort of of optimism about negotiations in a serious manner actually occurring?
I cannot speculate on on this.
I'm not Privy to any more information than the reports you, I assure, I assume, have as well.
But of course, we need both parties to come together to to discuss and to agree upon a ceasefire.
Unless that happens, we are stuck in limbo here.
Everybody around me, the population is stuck in limbo waiting for for this war to end and hoping everyday that this war will end.
Quick one, Louise, you mentioned the, the, the missions that were denied the two last week.
Can you just tell us if there's another one that is planned in the next coming days or, or or weeks in the in, in northern Gaza again, every day we are submitting requests to the besieged area of the north.
These, as I say, for an entire month were were flat out denied.
Tomorrow there is a planned mission to Gaza City.
We, we find out often in the morning whether we get approval or not.
Last week I was on a mission to Gaza City.
I sat at the checkpoint for 6 1/2 hours awaiting approval.
But it meant that half of the mission wasn't possible because we had spent 6 1/2 hours waiting at the checkpoint.
That's also the reality that we face even when the missions are approved.
By the time we're able to reach the north and reach Gaza City, it's, it's too late before we have to turn around and, and the mission is cut short.
So this is the reality that that we have.
There is a lot of waiting.
There's a lot of sitting at checkpoints.
There's a lot of waiting for green lights.
And, and it's incredibly frustrating, I can't begin to tell you.
But the humanitarians here just trying their best every day to to do their jobs and and for that to be denied.
Thank you so very much, Louisa.
I, I think we have asked you all the questions we want to ask.
Good luck with your job, Kuraj, and really stay safe.
That's that's really very, very important.
And thank you very much for all the efforts you're doing for the people of Gaza.
Sorry, Christian has raise your hand.
Christian Erich is our correspondent, DPA.
I just wanted to make sure I understand where exactly are you at the moment, Louise?
I'm in the middle Gaza area in Nusera.
Thank you so much, Louise.
Thanks for coming and please keep up updating us and stay safe.
Let's go to our last guest today now with Chi Lail, who is the World Food Programme spokesperson from Nigeria.
You're coming to us from Abuja, I understand, to tell us about the latest cadre Armanizo for security assessment for Nigeria.
Please, you have the floor.
Thank you and good morning everyone.
Normally, I would speak on behalf of the United Nations World Food Programme about the food security situation in North East Nigeria.
But today, I'm making a joint statement, for these are not normal times.
For this reason, today's statement is a joint one delivered on behalf of the three UN agencies most involved in food security and nutrition in Nigeria, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, UNICEF and WFP.
We know too that NGO colleagues in the NGO Forum for Nigeria and development partners stand by the main points in this statement.
Record inflation, climate shocks and ongoing conflicts are projected to push the number of food insecure Nigerians to 33 million in 2025, a sharp increase from the 25,000,000 who need assistance today.
Never before have there been so many people in Nigeria without food.
The data shows that immediate support is needed to avert a potential food and nutrition disaster where the combination of triple digit increases in food prices, the aftermath of devastating floods and 15 years of insurgency in the North East are stretching families to the limit.
The food security and nutrition reports show us that Nigeria faces a monumental hunger crisis in the second-half of 2025, particularly in the North Eastern states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe where 5 million people are facing acute food insecurity.
But the risks include other areas too, notably emerging hunger hotspots in Zanfara, Katsina and Sokoto states.
Sadly, there are 5.4 million children and 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women at risk of acute malnutrition or wasting.
Of these, an alarming 1.8 million children could face severe acute malnutrition and may require critical nutrition treatment.
What worries us most is 1 the speed of deterioration over the past year.
Second, the scale in terms of the number of people at risk.
Third, the geographic scope of food insecurity.
And finally, the very real risk of significant worsening in the coming months.
So our collective response must be immediate and massive in scale.
It must span prevention, mitigation and life saving assistance.
Preventative action in rural areas can halt the growth of hunger, providing the most vulnerable farmers with cash, seeds and fertiliser.
Mitigation will reduce the scale of further crises.
Urgent support in nutrition, health support, food supply and WASH will reduce the depth of the crisis and vital life saving support will keep those facing food insecurity alive.
Our collective response will be built around these three pillars but must be implemented as one if it is to be successful.
International partners, Nigerian civil society, private sector and government at state and federal levels must work together to avert the risk of disaster.
WFPFAO and UNICEF along with many other key partners are already in full scale up mode, reprogramming existing resources and preparing for a huge operational step up.
We have it within our grasp to stem this crisis and can avert catastrophe in Nigeria if we respond now.
It is manageable at full stretch but can be done.
We applaud and welcome those donors who are already making significant resources available.
Rarer has it been truer to say that urgent investments in food security will save lives.
Thank you very much chief for this joint appeal.
I'm looking at the room for questions.
I don't see any hand up on the platform.
Lisa Shrine versus America yes, thank you.
I'd like what are the main reasons for this hunger crisis?
Is it mainly the conflict or combination of conflict and government incompetence and corruption?
What is actually behind it?
And you talk about the need for urgent investment, how much money is needed?
Is it reaching any ears that are sensible to the great needs or are there just too many catastrophic events occurring in the world so that Nigeria has been put in the shade and whatever you're asking for is not being heard?
And, and, and how many people like you may have said it but went by me fast.
How many people actually are in this situation of acute hunger?
And are you concerned about a famine occurring, people starving and dying?
So if I start with your first question, the key drivers that have accelerated the rate of food insecurity in Nigeria have been a combination of economic policies over the past year.
And so we've seen a removal of a fuel subsidy which allow people to buy fuel at a certain rate.
As soon as that fuel subsidy was removed, fuel prices increased by 500%.
Nigeria is a country that has 200 million people all relying on fuel for their generators, for everything, for transportation to get to work.
And so automatically fuel became extremely expensive, but also it meant that the price of food shot up.
So the staple foods such as rice, maize, corn, beans, they will increase from 100 to 300% overnight.
Four people, those who were earning less than $2.00 a day, which is about 90 million people, couldn't afford the basic foods that they were usually before able to access.
And so we saw people who weren't food insecure suddenly thrown into food insecurity by no fault of their own in the region of the North East where we are predominantly working.
They were already facing a 15 year conflict.
And so when you add conflict plus economic shocks, plus the recent floods over the past two months, people just aren't able to cope.
If we take the overall picture of the country, there are 33 million Nigerians who are facing acute food insecurity.
It was 25,000,000 this time last year in the North East of Nigeria.
The floods over the past two months have wiped out 1.6 million hectares of farmland.
In terms of people, it could have fed 30 million people for one year.
That's a lot of food and a lot of people who now have no source of feeding themselves.
And so when we speak about this crisis before, we were very specific about it being in one location, but now we're seeing hunger hotspots emerging across the country.
The Northwest is a growing concern for us, where, as you may know, there is a rise in the number of violence through banditry and kidnappings.
And so insecurity across Natureia is on the rise, which means that food insecurity, unfortunately, is also on the rise.
Well, for the next 6 months, we require $118 million that is to provide life saving assistance only.
It is to make sure that those people who are in IPC phases 3 and 4, that's crisis and emergency, the very vulnerable receive food assistance immediately.
The people that we're assisting have one to two months worth of food stocks available.
And so if we don't step in, if we don't provide assistance in the next 3-4 months, there could be a disaster in Nigeria.
And that's why we're making this appeal to make sure that we get the food to the people who need it right away as soon as possible.
When you speak about the reasons why we may not have the attention or the funds that we need, it's because of all the people who have spoken before me and all the crisis that they have laid out around the world.
We are here because Nigeria is just as important the the rates of people, the number of people who are food insecure is too **** to ignore.
And so we're presenting the facts because the facts show that 33 million people who are food insecure is not just a Nigeria problem.
Actually it's a global problem.
And everybody should be concerned that in one country, 33 million people are hungry.
Is there any other question?
Alisa, you have a follow up.
Just to request that your statement be sent to us as soon as possible.
I guess one of your colleagues is online and maybe she can she can help us with this, the distribution of your notes.
Thanks for this important appeal.
I'll now go to Olga again, UNHCR, and this is about the COP just before giving you the floor.
Olga, of course, you will know that the 29th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is the long name for COP 29, I started in Baku in Azerbaijan.
You have just received the speech of the Secretary General to the opening ceremony where he has addressed the leaders and reminded them that unless emissions plummets and adaptation source, every economy will face the impacts of climate change.
The Secretary General urged urged the leaders to focus the to increase their efforts to slash fossil fuel production and consumption, agree with the rules for a fair and effective government markets and to take fundamental step changes on climate finance across the board, among other measures.
He has also had a message for the Group of 20, the G20 countries asking them to lead as they have the tools and the resources needed by all countries for climate action.
The Secretary General will also address today the **** level Dialogue on loss and damage and Africa's Green Momentum events.
And we meet also with various leader attending the Corp 29 And Olga, you have also an update on the COP 29 and UNHCR, please, just just a brief announcement.
So UNHCR is releasing today a new report, it's called Noscape on the front lines of climate change, conflict and forced displacement.
It's a report that we've done in collaboration with 13 expert organisations, research institutions and also refugee LED organisations, and it shows how climate shocks are interacting increasingly with conflict and with displacement, pushing refugees and displaced communities who are already in danger into even more dire situations.
The the findings of the report tell us that of the more than 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, 3/4 which is 90 million people living countries heavily impacted by climate change and the report projects that the situation is going to get only worse.
Just as a as a as an example, since we started to work on this report in January, we have seen 5 million additional people living in climate vulnerable areas.
And also the report highlights that climate financing is failing to reach refugees, host communities and others in fragile and war-torn countries impacting of course their ability to adapt to the effects of climate change.
At the moment, for instance, extremely fragile states receive only two US dollars per person in annual adaptation funding, which is an enormous shortfall when compared to the 161 dollar per person in non fragile states.
And when investments reach the fragile or conflict impacted states, more than 90% of the climate financing stays in capital areas and doesn't reach rural zones where refugees and displaced communities usually live.
So the report is being released right now in just 4 minutes by the **** Commissioner in Baku in a press conference that is also being webcasted back to you.
Is there any question to Olga or General on the COP?
So let me now go to a few announcements.
Gabriela, sorry, I just saw your hand.
If she can talk about if she's worried about President Trump opinion on climate change and that he's going to, you know, pull out from all the treaties and everything.
So what do you think about that?
Look, you want to look, Gabrielle, we, I think this question after the election of president of President Trump has been asked repetitively I think on all the matters, whether it's climate change, whether it's multilateral, in multilateralism in general.
I think that's our question.
And and Kelly Clements said it just before whether it's refugees.
We are going, we are not going to prejudged now on what's going to happen.
We are going to work with the next US administration as we have done in the past.
The secretary general has been very clear with it in his statement after the election.
And I think that unless you want to add something or I think we, we, we stay that it's really something that I've been asked several times and our answer is the same.
Now, let's see what happens.
At the moment, what the secretary general said is what stays.
And it's that we will work as we've always done with our administrations, including the one who will come up next year.
Thank you very much, Olga, for having come back.
So I just wanted to remind you of a few events.
And at the end, I haven't forgotten you.
I'll give you the floor in a second because I just wanted to talk to you about this week's activity around the safety of journalists.
So it's a very important subject for you today.
The Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights is organising a panel discussion on the safety of journalists in crisis and emergencies and the legal drivers behind impunity.
And this is going to be webcast, but you can also, yeah, you can follow it on on you and web TV.
It's an event organised by UHCHR with the permanent emission of France and UNESCO in order to celebrate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, which team theme this year is Safety of Journalists in Crisis and Emergencies.
And on this theme, I would like to remind you of our events of the 14th of November.
You know, I've already told you that you are warmly invited to come to the documentary screening State of Silence.
This movie is a plea for freedom of expression of the press, shedding lights on the perilous lives of committed Mexican journalists who face great risk while reporting on narco trafficking and systemic corruption.
As I told you last time, this is going to be in last briefing.
This is going to be at the cinema Ampere at 6:45 is a free entrance.
You can come and just come to the to the to the theatre.
But we are now able to confirm that the participants in the panel, as I told you last time, we will have the film maker Santiago Maza, but also Diego Luna, the Oscar winning actor and executive producer of the documentary, the Director General of Reporter San Frontier and the **** Commissioner for Human Rights for Couture.
So this will be our panel together with one of your colleagues, Gunilla von Hall, that will participate in the panel on the 14th after the screening of the movie.
And during the day, we're being able to secure a press conference for you with our colleagues of OHCHR that will be at 2:00 PM here in the press room and on Zoom.
The subject will be safety of journalists and the speakers will be the director General of reporters and Frontier, Santiago Maza, the film director.
As I said, Diego Nuna will be there, the actor, and we will have our colleague Renaud de Vilan, who's the human rights officer in charge of the issue of impunity of freedom of the press and, and, and journalist rights.
So this is going to happen on the 14th, but preceded today by this panel discussion on the safety of journalists that you can follow on Human Web TV.
And unfortunately on the same evening we have another event that Adriana is going to present now, which is going to touch upon the issues of women.
Before I give you the floor, I see Gabriella has a question.
Alessandra, at what time is the panel today?
And also press conference is on the on the on Thursday at 2:00.
So we have the panel discussion is at 3:00 PM today the on 14th November, the press conference is at 2.
Let me see that I'm not saying ****** things, but I've just read it.
It's 2:00 and the event at the cinema and pier is 645.
Yeah, I don't see her ends up so I I suppose it is.
So basically it's the same people who are speaking at the panel.
Discussion will be at the press conference, except for Fokker Turk, but Fokker Turk will be there in the evening to discuss with our speakers the issue of impunity of, of for journalists, crimes against journalists.
So let's go now to Adriana.
Adriana, I know it's unfortunately the same evening, but it's also a very important event that you're organising.
And this is an event ahead of the Unite campaign to end violence against women that launches on November 25th.
We invite you to the screening and discussion of Norma A Quest for Justice.
Which will be held on Thursday, November 14th from 7:00 to from 6:00 to 8:30 PM in the auditorium Ivan Piktet of the Mason Mason de la Pey in Geneva.
This is a documentary directed by Brigitte Leone that tells the story of Normandrade, the mother of Alejandra, who was murdered in 2001 in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.
As you know, Norma has become a human rights defender and the most active researcher to find justice for her daughter, as in a city where thousands of women and girls have been assassinated since 1993.
After 23 years of relentless struggle, Norma is now awaiting a sentence at the Inter American Human Rights Board and we are accompanying her efforts through our UN Women office in Mexico.
The screening and the panel discussion will be is organised by UN Women.
The Kofi Annan Foundation, the Filmar Festival of for Latin America and the Edelstam Foundation, with the support of the Spotlight Initiative, which is the largest investment to end violence against women and girls, supported by the European Union and the mission of Belgium to the United Nations, are in Geneva and the City of Geneva.
So after the film, we will have a panel for increasing awareness on the increasing violence against women and girls in the world, including on femicide, the need for accountability for perpetrators, but to highlight the efforts of women like Norma who have a formulated standards for research, for investigation and for justice and are still pursuing this for all of us.
So Norman will be available for interviews upon request if you may contact our Geneva office.
Thank you very much, Adriana, for for this announcement.
I see John has a question.
Yes, good morning, Alessandra.
Perhaps I missed it, but this press conference with the press, is there going to be someone from the AKANU Executive Committee representing the UN press corps here?
Sorry, I guess this is for me, not for Adriana.
Right, John, it's about the other press conference.
OK, Let me see if there is any question directly to Adriana and then I'll answer your question.
Is there any question for you and women don't see hands up.
So yes, Gabriella, yes, thank you very much.
It's not a question, but it's a pity that is so an important thing.
And it's at the same time that the the the film.
But, you know, these appearances in Mexico and femicides are an epidemic.
So it it would be nice to have a, you know, this separately, but OK, so, but it been it would be nice maybe to have Norma with a in a press conference or something like that.
Yeah, Gabrielle and and of course you can get that.
We have been discussing with our colleagues to see if there was any adjustment that was possible between the two events to be done in terms of the date.
But unfortunately, here we have a very heavy presence of external people and there was absolutely no way we could change dates, whether it was the events at the Gradit Institute or our senior.
So, yeah, I, I, I'm, I'm the first to be sorry because these are two very important subjects and they would deserve to be taken up, you know, separately.
But sometimes we, we cannot help it.
So I don't know if if Adriana wants to consider the possibility of having Norma for a press conference, but maybe, maybe, I don't know.
I mean, I don't know if we could host it.
It's going to be packed, but but I understand from Adriana that she would be available for interviews anyway, right?
Please let us know what you need and we will facilitate enormous presence.
This is a unique opportunity for her.
Thank you very much, Gabriella.
Maybe if she can send us, if this is going to be recorded, if she can send us a link to watch it after it it is happening.
That would be that would be a possibility.
So yes, thank you very much.
And so, yes, John, you had asked about I can.
So we have, we haven't had expression of interest, but we have Gunilla von Hall in the panel in the evening.
So we have asked Gunilla as one of our most, you know, our columns, our pillars of the Geneva press corps here in Geneva here at the UN to attend and she will be participating and for the press conference.
It's, it's a good suggestion.
I'll, I'll discuss with my colleagues, but we already have 4-4 speakers.
So yeah, but but let's, let's look into it.
So if there are no other questions for me, I will thank you very, very much.
Remind you that you can still register your child for the 14th of November.
Everything is happening on the 14th of November for future.
And to Jean and to Jean, he is here at the, at the palace.
Some of you have already done it.
If you're interested, let us know.
And with that, Gabriella, you don't want us to finish this press briefing.
Yeah, go ahead, go ahead.
I'm sorry Alessandra, but just go ahead.
Only housekeeping thing that you know, I'm I'm in the parking lot here in in the UNI tried to find a parking space to go to the briefing.
And then I don't know, when are you, are you finishing the remodelation of our offices if we are having a parking space for the press?
I mean, I don't know that, that the actor general, if he's considering the press in all her remodelation plans or I don't know.
Well, I can tell you very much.
So she's very much considering you.
As you know, she's been consistently advocating for your access at any time in any condition.
The parking is a problem for everyone, as you know.
The press, what we used to call the press parking, is now half covered by the construction works.
So for the moment we cannot really assign again as we did in the past, a certain number of slots to the press.
Unfortunately, we will have to to cope with this until the end of the work, since not tomorrow, as you know, but the offices of the journalists are ready.
Rolanda's been in constant contact with a can on this.
We hope you'll be able to move in the next months.
And well, for the parking, the press parking, I'm afraid we will have to wait until the end of the works to to be reassigning slots as we had done in the past.
We have to cope with this for a little while more, for a bit longer, I'm afraid So, yes.
But I hear your frustration because we share it all.
And so I'll see you hopefully on Thursday for both the press conference and the panel in the evening and then on Friday.
