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.
Maybe Sarah, You want to come to the podium
Arenda, who is the resident representative in Sudan.
He is joining us from Port Sudan,
and he will be facing a new report of
on the socio economic impact of the conflict on Sudanese
households. Thank you. Please go ahead. Look up.
Except that this is not to come.
Thank you very much. Uh, I hope you can hear me. Well, uh, good morning to all of you.
we can hear you. Well, sir,
And those in the room and also those online,
um, I am speaking to you from Port Sudan, and I have the pleasure,
uh, to, uh, introduce to you a new report by U NDP that we conducted.
You know, we prepared in collaboration with
for Food Policy Research,
uh, to, uh, measure the impact of the war on the urban households in in Sudan.
Um, as you know, the war in Sudan has been raging. Now, for over 18 months,
uh, tens of thousands have been killed or injured
uh, the worst, uh, sexual violence.
Uh, 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.
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 on
of 3000 households conducting between May and July of this year.
And it makes for a green reading. And let me give you some,
Uh, full time and, uh, full time employment has halved,
and almost 20% of urban households say they have no income at all.
Nearly half of the urban population cannot regularly get enough food.
This makes people more susceptible to disease.
But at the same time, access to full health services have dropped to just 16%
in two thirds of households. No Children go to school anymore,
either because schools are closed or because parents can no longer afford the fees.
Almost half of the households can now get tied to
have less reliable electricity.
the humanitarian crisis is obvious,
but the findings of this report also point to a large,
uh, 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,
and I hear the same message
whenever I visit our project around the country and the same worries,
not just where will be sleep
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 five or 10 years from now?
The people are grateful for emergency support,
but they don't want to be dependent on aid.
They want to support the families through their own work. They want the F,
They want to go home to buy food in the local shops and get medicine 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
to what humanitarian aid can do.
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
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 human
This work has already begun
proving what's possible even
in the current circumstances.
we have just finished constructing a new Children hospital that will
provide not just life saving assistance on long term healthcare healthcare
in the Red Sea State. You would recall the collapse of the Arba
dam back in August when we are starting to,
and plans to rebuild the dam
uh, to the hundreds of thousands of people
in communities elsewhere. We're helping farmers to
stain their food production.
And this measure help build resilience now and
reduce the need for humanitarian assistance in the future
because they empower people and drive their own development
and also some of the most cost effective ways that we have to deal with the damage
I thank you very much and I'm open to, uh, questions. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for this update, Luca.
I also remind the journalists that
you have received the material already a few days ago on this report
and also maybe just before I give you the floor
the Security Council will also examine the report of
the Secretary General on the Sudan and South Sudan
so that will be the agenda of the Security Council today.
I'll open the floor to question Jeremy.
Hi. Thank you for the briefing.
what is the latest famine wise.
We know that famine has been declared in some parts of Sudan.
so. I'd like to know what is the latest. I mean, is it
currently spreading even more to other places in Khartoum?
Can we talk about the famine there?
Look, we answer every question.
It's a press conference style if you want to go ahead. Thanks.
Yes, thank you very much. Jeremy. Indeed. Uh, uh.
finding confirmed the the the gravity of the food
security situation in in the in the country,
households are reported to be in a severe food insecurity.
You mentioned the I PC report,
Uh, that has, you know, identified catastrophic situation in at least, uh,
uh, 14 different location in in in the country. Our funding also showed that,
uh, the situation is especially dire in certain parts of Sudan,
particularly in the Darfur
Farming in general or extreme food insecurity is caused
um, lack of food. We see that markets are,
uh, uh in general functioning
is mostly because of lack of income and the prices
have gone up or because of lack of physical app.
That's why we advocate in 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, uh, uh, kick in. And in some parts,
uh, as you know, uh, the the UN has been able to reach, uh,
communities that are in need, particularly in in Darfur,
And it's, uh, continues to be, uh, uh needed to be done. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Are there questions for the NDP?
I don't see anything in the room on the platform. Lisa Schlein, Voice of America.
Yes. Good morning. Thank you. Um, I'm 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.
I don't get it. 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.
uh, 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,
uh, 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.
Yes. Thank you, Lisa. Um, well, the situation in the in the country is that there are
certain parts of the country that are particularly affected by the conflict.
the most critical situation, as you're probably aware, is in Al Fasher
where we've seen an escalation of violence,
uh, over the last few days in parts of the centre,
state as well, other parts of the country remain relatively, uh, peaceful.
And so it is possible in those areas to conduct
what we call, you know, resilience, investment.
And I want to remind that there are, uh, of course, partners
and and, uh, entities that are channelling resilient, uh, investment money,
uh, through, uh, UN agencies, for example,
the World Bank or the African Development Bank.
It is possible, and it is needed.
We cannot wait for the war to to end, to help people stand on their feet
uh, local capacity for self reliance and reduce, uh, the need for humanitarian
And, uh, we are telling you it is possible, and we It needs to be done. Uh, right now.
Thank you very much. Isabel
Saco Spanish news agency.
Um, I would like to ask, um, if,
the speaker could give us some more details on the situation that, uh,
Uh, I would like to know of, uh, for example, if they for this, um
uh, analysis. They could have access any access to Darfur or What are the sources?
How they interview people in in Darfur.
Uh, how do they know about
the food situation? Access there
as Lisa said, Is there an
it it appears that in some part of the capital, there are some like, uh,
people are living, like, more or less in normal times.
So, uh, could you just explain us What is the situation in in in the capital of Also, if
life is going on, institutions or some sort of services are functioning. Thank you.
thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the question.
Khartoum at the moment is that it is an active, uh, uh, conflict area.
uh, the army and the RSF. Um, there are, um uh,
compartments that are shelling
there is enormous, uh, destruction of the destruction of, you know,
uh, interaction services. Very few facilities that are actually working,
and we do not have at the moment uh, access,
We had, uh, intended to restore access, at least
But the recent flashes are prevented,
uh, access and There are, of course, a few,
uh, uh, NGO S 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,
uh, cash by a number of agencies
and NGO S, including the NDP. We're also pro
providing the cash for work, uh, activities in Hatoum
in both areas, uh, and controlled by the different parties.
Uh, that can, uh, provide critical infrastructure,
uh, essential infrastructure prepared through cash for work activities,
the way we conducted the interviews through phone interviews.
And we built a sample out of a, um, a sample that existed between, for example,
And we, uh, thanks to the work of the enumerators, we're able to actually reach 100%
of the sample that we have,
uh, some interviews that we
that you know that we tried several times because communication is not easy
in certain parts of the country.
there is a bias in the sense that we are interviewing people who have a telephone
so that 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%
interviews based on on the plan.
Maybe just Isabel, just to remind you that we have spoken in the past.
think just to remind you that
there have been shocking accounts of widespread rape and sexual violence,
and girls. And we've been calling for an 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,
and the fact that some of these men are arbitrarily executed.
We have heard all this recently on the situation in Khartoum and thank to
You have a follow up, Isabel.
Yes, Uh, only to know if, uh, given the situation of active conflict that, uh,
Do you know what is the remaining population in the capital. Uh, and out of how many?
it is hard to estimate, you know, the the the remaining population in in, uh, in
Khartoum. All I can say is that
according to our, uh, report,
uh, the the the the number of people that we interviewed the report.
In total, about 30% of them have been displaced.
But this number goes significantly up in certain areas and particularly in Katwe.
Uh, 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,
uh, ID PS, uh, have arrived. Even here in Port Sudan, the population has
considerably increased over the past
last few months. We have states like
that are still seeing increased, uh,
number of I GPS because of the recent violence that have happened.
Horrific violence that have happened
in in Jazeera. So, um, this is the the the what? What?
Our, uh, report can, uh, can, uh uh
the the information that the report can
There are no other questions for you and again.
I remind the journalist to also have a look at the reports of the Secretary General,
which will come out today
Thanks, Sara, for having sent all the information.
And we also of course will 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 Louis wage
As you know, Luis is the senior emergency officer of UN
And she is joining us from Gaza to tell us about the worsening situation in the north.
so I'm joining you from the middle Gaza area today.
Uh, the situation in the Gaza Strip is nothing short of catastrophic right now.
Um, I can tell you that in October alone,
there were at least 64 attacks against schools turned shelters.
That's almost two a day, killing many,
including dozens of of families and Children.
You will be aware of the recent report that states that
nearly 70% of the civilians killed in this war have been
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.
Uh, people here are really sheltering and do, uh, any kind of fabric they can find.
This is curtains, blankets, sheets.
Nothing is waterproof, and people are sleeping on the floor,
a 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, um,
was now sheltering people displaced from
Jabalia from the besieged north.
Uh, 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 them because they simply had nowhere else to go.
Everywhere you look all across the Gaza Strip there, it's the situation.
This is not uncommon. We're seeing it in Gaza City.
But I can tell you there's similar situations in Khan
Yis 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 Nusra area,
Civilians again being killed in this area in the ongoing bombardments.
It is relentless. People do not sleep. People do not have respite.
They have no safety. There is absolutely nowhere safe to go,
Um, and and food. Now we have the recent I PC
um 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
Uh, the United Nations remains denied access to this area.
we have had 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 approximately 1.7 million people
in October that is 80% of the population
who did not receive their monthly food rations.
malnourishment is 10 times higher than before the war.
Uh, it 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.
Uh, people are losing a lot of hope.
As I say, with the winter coming, uh, 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 north.
Hanoun area. We have received reports from colleagues that an UN
forcibly evacuated by Israeli authorities and Israeli forces.
So once again, these families fleeing for their lives,
fleeing for shelter and continued forced displacement up until this morning.
Um, 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 Mohammed,
yesterday. People in northern Gaza are now calling for urgent aid for bes
You already mentioned that
small numbers Eight trucks get in Gaza
for all Gaza. Are these eight trucks
enter the northern Gaza as well? If you have the latest figure, can you share with us
for the besieged northern Gaza area? Uh,
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
there have been limited medical evacuations by the World Health Organisation.
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.
the besieged north is becoming
almost impossible and has been impossible. No one from UN R a 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 north are now displaced and sheltering.
So there is urgent and critical needs in
this area for these families now displaced them.
Thank you very much. Jamie Keaton, Associated Press.
Thank you, Louise, for coming to see us. Um,
wanted to ask you there. Um,
we we're coming up on the 30 day mark. I think it's today. Um, since the, uh, US
Uh, the Biden administration mentioned to Israel that it needed to do more to allow
humanitarian aid into into Gaza.
And, um, I'm just wondering, uh, apparently, uh, you ura was part of the,
uh was one of the many aid agencies that have have have said that the
U that Israel has not met the requirements laid out by the United States.
So my question is for you. Um, why are you speaking out now? And what do you expect?
Uh, Israel or the United States to do? What do you expect the United States to do?
Um, now that that deadline is expiring,
the expectations are the same. We need a ceasefire. This is all with political will.
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.
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,
Um, I'll go to the platform. Oh, no. Sorry. Nina
Thank you. Uh, thank you for taking my question. I was, uh, hoping you could say
I'm wondering how much insight you have into the situation in the north.
Um, just given the lacking access,
um, And if you could say what your your main concern is, is there
and then also I mean, there, there has been,
uh there will be a change of administration in the in the United States.
Um, Israel has, uh, has said that it's going to bar
Uh, I guess starting from
January, I'm just wondering if you have any thoughts on on how you can continue, uh,
your operations And, um, if you're already seeing, uh, impact of that, Uh,
So regarding the situation in the north 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 firsthand 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.
Hospitals have been bombed.
Um the doctors inform us that they have run out of blood supplies,
they have run out of medicine.
Um, 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 UN R a runs in
Jabalia. There's eight of them. They have all ceased operations.
Uh, they have been bombarded. They have been bombed.
They have been destroyed so people do not have access to water.
Um, it's It's just an endlessly horrific image. From what?
We're what we're hearing.
And we will reiterate our call for access to these besieged areas.
We attempt to have access every day.
Uh, and this is becoming more and more critical each each hour. Now that goes by
On your second question on UN
R A's ability to function in the Gaza Strip.
I've been here since April,
and there have always been restrictions against the agency.
It has been very difficult, um, for us to operate,
uh, the access restrictions that we are, uh,
given the denials to missions that we are given the denials to movements,
um, the amount of aid supplies that we get in.
But you then, see, you know, the polio vaccination campaign, for example,
when there is political will,
uh, the humanitarian response can function. We vaccinated, you know, UN, R a.
The World Health Organisation and UNICEF
were able to vaccinate 560,000 Children under the age of 10
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
Um, we do not know the certainty of the coming weeks in the coming months,
but our staff are as dedicated as ever. They are here every day.
They are risking in their lives. They are providing health consultation.
working in sanitation ahead of winter to clear the sewage to clear the drains.
They're providing food critical food.
At this point, 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.
UNRWA is indispensable. UNRWA is irreplaceable. There is no alternative to UNRWA.
We have said it several times, the backbone of our humanitarian operations in Gaza,
and it is mandated to provide public services including education,
We are very worried about the laws that you have referred to,
and the Secretary general has of course,
been bringing the matter to the attention of the UN General Assembly.
We know that anything that would stop UNRWA from
functioning would have devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees.
There are millions now fear that these public services could disappear,
So we really call to all member states
and to the General Assembly, as
to continue UN doing their incredible work
and their incredibly dedicated staff to continue acting
for the good of the Palestinian refugees.
Thank you, Alessandro. I just wanted to follow up on, uh, Nina's question.
Um, you just mentioned, uh,
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, uh, in Israel,
um, are very tilted against
U UN, R at the moment. I mean, they we as she mentioned the the
the plans for the ban of Of, of UN, R
and, uh, the US government is, um is not, uh, you know,
it has has paused its funding for UNRWA as your boss.
that, uh, he expects that to resume,
um, with the new congress because of budgetary reasons. Congress.
So, how concerned are you about the funding? Um, from the United States?
Are Are you Do you expect that, uh, the United States will, um,
in fact resume its funding?
Given the new political realities, the new political will, um,
in Washington and in in Israel,
I can tell you as the largest humanitarian response on the ground.
any any reduction or any threat to funding and operations
here will have a direct impact on the civilian population.
There's 2.2 million people who have been forced to rely
on the entire humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip.
Uh, 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'll go to the platform now. MFR has been patiently waiting Reuters.
Yeah. Thank you. Sorry. I'm a bit sick. Um, so I thought I keep my germs to myself.
Um, Louise, thank you so much for your brave testimony, I.
I was just hoping you could address this question.
Bang on. As to whether, um,
Israel has met, um, 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. Ha!
Has it been a complete failure, or is it more nuanced than that? Thank you.
I can tell you what I have seen and experienced on the ground,
and that is, the aid supplies have worsened. They have lessened.
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 not enough. It's never going to be enough.
The forced displacements have continued.
The forced 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
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.
Children are dying. People are dying every day.
That's what I can tell you. The people here need everything they need more.
It's not enough. 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 acceptable It's not OK, what is happening?
And the suffering that we are seeing and experiencing here on the ground.
Yes. Thank you, Alexandra. Good morning.
Um, my, my question is, there's a lot of accusations from Israel
that that that Andra has kind of relation with Hamas.
Can you specify what is your relation with Hamas? And do you have any call for them?
Uh, are they doing something for the population?
talk about that side? Thank you.
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.
What is the likely impact of,
Qatar reportedly, uh, is withdrawing as
a mediator in the cease fire 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 optimism about negotiations In a serious manner
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.
Um, but of course, we need both parties to come together
to, to discuss and to agree upon a cease fire.
Unless that happens, we are stuck in limbo here.
Everybody around me, you know, the population is stuck in limbo, waiting
for for this war to end and hoping every day that this war will end.
the missions that were denied two last week.
Can you just tell us if there's another one that is planned
in the next coming days or weeks 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 6.5 hours awaiting approval.
Finally it came, but it meant that
half of the mission wasn't possible because we
had spent 6.5 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. Um 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. Louis,
I think we have asked you all the questions we want to ask. Thank you so much.
Good luck with your job, Kura.
And really stay safe. That's that's really very, very important.
And thank you very much for all the efforts you are doing for the people of Gaza.
Sorry. Christian has a raise. Her hand. Is that for Louis? Christian
Thank you, Alexandra. I just wanted to make sure I understand.
Where exactly are you At the moment
Thank you so much. Uh, Luis, Thanks for coming.
And please keep up updating us and stay safe. Thank you.
Let's go to our last guest today. Now
who is the World Food Programme spokesperson from Nigeria?
You are coming to us from Abuja.
I understand to tell us about the latest Kadr
Moiseev 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 northeast Nigeria,
but today I'm making a joint statement for these are not normal times.
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.
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 million 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 Northeast 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 northeastern states of Borno,
where 5 million people are facing acute food insecurity.
But the risks include other areas, too,
notably emerging hunger hotspots in
there are 5.4 million Children and 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women
at risk of acute malnutrition or wasting
an alarming 1.8 million Children could face severe
acute malnutrition and may require critical nutrition treatment.
What worries us most is one 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.
WFP, FA, O 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.
Has it been truer to say that urgent investment in food security will save lives?
Thank you very much. Uh, chief for this joint appeal.
Um, I'm looking at the room for questions.
I don't see any end up on the platform. Lisa.
what are the main reasons for this hunger crisis. Is it mainly
the conflict or a combination of conflict
and, uh, government incompetence
What is actually behind it? And
you talk about the need for urgent investment,
Uh, 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? I You may have said it, but,
Uh, how many people actually are in this situation
are you concerned about a famine occurring? People starving
Chief. Thank you. Thank you, Lisa.
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.
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 incr ex. Extremely expensive, but also it meant that
the price of food shot up so the staple food, such as rice, maize, corn beans,
they will increase from 100 to 300% overnight.
Poor people, those who are earning less than $2 a day,
which is about 90 million people,
couldn't afford the basic foods that they were us
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 Northeast, 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 million this time last year
in the northeast 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 13 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 Nigeria is on the rise, which means that food insecurity,
unfortunately, is also on the rise.
Well, for the next six months, we require 100 and 18 mil million dollars that is,
to provide life saving assistance.
Only it is to make sure that those people who are in I PC phases three and four. Let's
The very vulnerable receive food assistance immediately.
The people that we're assisting have 1 to 2 months worth of food stocks available,
and so if we don't step in, if we don't provide assistance in the next 34 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 crises 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 high 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 questions? Alisa, you have a follow up?
Uh uh. Just a request That, uh,
your statement be sent to us as soon as possible.
Thank you very much. I guess one of your colleagues is online.
And maybe she can, uh she can help us with this. Uh uh, The distribution of your notes.
important appeal. I'll now go to
and this is about the cop just before giving you the floor,
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.
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 plummet and adaptation soars,
every economy will face the impacts of climate change.
urged the leaders to focus to increase their
efforts to slash fossil fuel production and consumption,
agree with the rules for a fair and effective government markets
and take fundamental step changes on climate finance across the board.
he has also had a message for the group of 20 the G 20 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 high level
dialogue on loss and damage and Africa's green momentum events,
you have also an update on the cop 29 and
just a brief announcement. So
is releasing today a new report.
It's called No Escape on the front lines of climate Change,
Conflict and Forced Displacement.
It's a report that we have 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 displacement,
pushing refugees and displaced communities who are already
in danger into even more dire situations.
The findings of the report tell us that of
more than 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide,
three quarters, which is 90 million
people leaving countries heavily impacted by climate change,
and the report projects that the situation is gonna get only worse just as a as a.
As an example, since we started to work on this report in January,
additional people living in climate
vulnerable areas and Also,
lights that climate finance
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.
the moment, for instance,
extremely fragile states receive only $2 per person in annual adaptation funding,
which is an enormous shortfall when compared to the 161
dollars per person in non fragile states.
And when investments uh, reach, uh, the fragile or conflict impacted states,
more than 90% of the climate financing states in capital areas
and doesn't reach rural zones where refugees and displaced communities,
So the report is being released right now
in just four minutes by the High Commissioner in
Baku in a press conference that is also being Webcast
Is there any question to Olga
So let me now go to a A few announcements. Um, I don't I OK, Gabriela. Sorry.
I just saw your hand. Maybe it was for Olga.
if she can talk about, uh, if she's worried about,
uh, President Trump, uh, opinion on climate change
that he's gonna, you know, pull out from all the treaties and everything. So
what do you think about that?
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
multilateralism in general,
our question and Kelly Clements said it just before it is refugees.
We are going. We are not going to prejudge 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,
unless you want to add something,
it's really something that I've been asked several times,
and our answer is the same.
We can't prejudge now. Let's see what happens
What the secretary general said is what stays and that
we will work as we've always done with administrations,
including the one who will come up next year.
thank you very much. Uh, Olga
Um, so I just wanted to, uh, remind you of a few events.
And, uh, Adrian, 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
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 you can follow it on U Web TV.
It's an event organised by
with the Permanent Mission of France and
in order to celebrate the International Day
to end impunity for crimes against journalists.
theme this year is safety of journalists in crises and emergencies.
On this theme, I would like to remind you of our events of 14 November.
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 grave 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 Cinerama and
Pia at 6. 45. It's a free entrance. You can come
Um uh, uh, and and just come to the to the to the theatre. But we are now able to confirm
the participants in the panel, as I told you last time, we will have
the filmmaker Santiago Maza,
the Oscar winning actor and executive producer of the documentary,
the director general of Rapporteur Sans Frontieres and
the High Commissioner for Human Rights for kur.
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've been able to secure a press conference for you
with our colleagues of OHC HR
here in the press room and on Zoom,
the subject will be safety of journalists and the speakers will be the
director general of Rapporteur Sans Frontieres. Santiago Maza,
the film director, said Diego NNA
will be there the actor and we will have our colleague RNA de Ville,
who is the human rights officer in charge of the issue of impunity, of
So this is going to happen on 14,
but preceded today by this panel discussion on
the safety of journalists that you can follow
Unfortunately, on the same evening,
we have another event that Adriana is going to present now,
touch upon the issues of women's rights.
Sorry, Adriana, before I give you the floor, I see Gabriela has a question.
Yes. Thank you. Alessandra. Uh, at what time is the panel today?
And also, press conference is on the on the on Thursday at two.
So, uh, we have the, uh, panel discussion, Uh, is at 3 p.m. today.
Uh, the on 14th, Uh uh. November.
The, uh, press conference is at two. Let me see that.
I'm not saying stupid things, but I just read it. It's two o'clock.
And, um, the event at the cinema
don't see our hands up, so I suppose
So basically the same people who are speaking at
the panel discussion will be at the press conference,
will be there in the evening to discuss with our
speakers the issue of impunity
for journalist crimes against journalists.
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 are organising.
this is an event ahead of the Unite campaign to
end violence against women that launches on November 25th.
Uh, we invite you to the screening and discussion of Norma, a quest for justice,
um, which will be held on Thursday,
November 14th from seven to from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the auditorium.
in Geneva. This is a documentary directed by Brigitte Leone
that tells the story of Norman
the mother of Alejandra, who was murdered in 2001 in Ciudad
As you know, Norma has become a human rights defender and the most active, uh,
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 fad
festival of for Latin America and the Edel
Stamp 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
or in in Geneva and the city of Geneva.
we will have a panel for increasing awareness and 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
uh, formulated standards for research for investigation
and for justice and are still pursuing this for all of us. So Norman dra
will be available for interviews upon requests. If you may contact our
office. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Adriana, for for this announcement. I see John as a question.
Yes. Good morning, Alexandra. Perhaps I missed it. But this press conference
with the press is there going to be someone from the
executive committee representing the UN press corps? Here.
Thanks. That's all. Sorry. I guess this is for me, Not for Adriana, Right, John?
It's about the 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
Yes, Uh, thank you very much.
It's not a question, but it's a pity that is so an important thing
and is at the same time that the the the film, but, uh, you know,
disappearances in Mexico and femicide are,
uh uh, uh, An epidemic is is terrible. So
it it would be nice to have, uh, you know this separately, but OK, so
but it. It will be nice maybe to have Norma with that
in a press conference or something like that. Thank you.
Yeah, Gabriel. And and, of course, uh, 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
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 Graduate Institute or
I'm the first to be sorry,
because these are two very important subjects and
they would deserve to be taken up separately,
sometimes 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. Thursday is going to be packed, but
But I understand from Adriana that she would be available for interviews anyway,
Uh, please let us know what you need, and we will facilitate uh, nomas presence.
This is a unique opportunity for her.
Maybe if she can send us if this is gonna be recorded,
if she can send us a link to watch it after it, it is, uh, happening.
So maybe OK, thank you. That would be that would be a possibility.
I see Adriana nodding. So yes, thank you very much.
so yes, John, you had asked about akanu.
had expression of interest, but we have Gunilla
Hall in the panel in the evening. So we have asked Gunilla as one of our most
columns our pillars of the Geneva Press corps here in Geneva
to attend. And she will be participating
and for the press conference. Uh, let me see it. It's a good suggestion.
I'll discuss with my colleagues,
but we already have 44 speakers, so yeah, but but 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
Palais. Some of you have already done it. If you're interested, let us know.
you don't want us to finish this press briefing. Go ahead.
or? Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead.
Uh, I'm sorry, Alessandra, but
that you know, I'm I'm in the parking lot here in in the UN.
I tried to find a a parking space to go to the briefing. It was impossible. And then,
I don't know. When are you Are are you finishing? Uh, the remodel
If we are having a a, uh, parking space for the press
I don't know that the director General, if she's considering
the press in all her re, uh, remodel
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,
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
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 cope with this until the end of the work.
Since not tomorrow, as you know,
but the offices of the journalists are ready.
Roland has been in constant contact with
a can on this. We hope you will be able to move
for the parking, the press parking.
I'm afraid we will have to wait until the end of the works
slots as we had done in the past. We have to cope with this for a little while
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. Thanks.
