Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva.
Today is Friday, 7th of February.
We have a few guests with us.
I would just like to start, maybe I will, just sorry.
I'll start immediately with our first guest.
I would like to thank Charlotte Sector to bring us Christine Stagling, who is the UN AIDS Deputy Executive Director.
Welcome, Madam, to brief you on the effects of the US funding cuts on the ground and for its organisation.
Madam, you have the floor.
Thank you very much and good morning everybody.
To give you a short brief on the impact we're seeing with the pause of US foreign assistance to the AIDS response.
It is quite a systemic shock, not just to the AIDS response, as we will hear from others, probably to the development and the the multilateral system overall.
You all know that we have an emergency humanitarian waiver, which was issued by the US Secretary of State, and we're really grateful for that, ensuring that people living with HIV, HIV will remain on treatment.
But there is still a lot of confusion about that waiver and we're hearing and seeing on the ground that it is slowly being implemented.
The waiver should mean that 20 million people living with HIV that depend on US aid for their treatment can continue their medication.
That's 20 million out of the 30 million people living with HIV in the world.
So it's a huge number of people who depend on that support.
And let's remember that there's still 10 million people living with HIV in the world that are not on treatment as yet.
As I said, there is still a lot of confusion, especially in communities, how the waiver will be implemented.
And we're seeing a lot of disruption of, of delivery of treatment services, especially at the community level.
You know, community delivery of medication, of transport services, community health workers, all of these services are currently still impacted and we're trying to continue monitoring what's happening on the ground.
From our perspective as UN AIDS, as the joint programme on AIDS, we see that the biggest interruption will be on community health systems, which all of you know have been at the centre of our success, access to to HIV.
So for example, in Ethiopia, we have 5000 public health workers contracts that are funded by US assistance and all of these in all regions of Ethiopia have been terminated and 10,000 data clerks, very important in Ethiopia so that we continue monitoring and ensuring that people are are on treatment.
So as UNAIDS, we estimate that if PEPFA wasn't reauthorized between 2025 and 2029 and other resources were not found for the HIV response, there would be a 400% increase in AIDS death.
That's 6.3 million people, 6.3 million AIDS related deaths that will occur in future.
I was speaking just a couple of nights ago to a colleague from civil society in Uganda, Richard Luzimbo from the Ugandan Key Populations Consortium.
And he was, you know, he was describing what the impact is for communities and really urging me to, to keep on talking about the fact that foreign aid has been more than financial support in the fight against aid, HIV discrimination and systemic inequalities.
It has been a lifeline for many communities and especially for those most vulnerable and most marginalised communities.
You know a cut, a possible cut and a pause has an impact on all of us in the AIDS response.
70% of the global AIDS response are paid for through US foreign assistance and we have seen and it will have an impact on us as an organisation, as UN AIDS.
50% of our own funding comes from the US government almost we have seen a decline over the years, almost 8% decline between 2020 and 2023 in terms of support.
And so therefore, that's $8 billion short of what we needed, what we need for the AIDS response.
So any penny, any cut, any pause will matter for all of us.
Let me just end by saying how important it is that we remember and we have all seen most recently with COVID, that infectious diseases have a global impact on health and on security.
And as we all know, HIV is an infectious disease, one that we are successful in fighting over the last 40 years.
So we really urge other Member States, national governments to step in.
But we also are waiting eagerly to hear what the outcome of the review is of the of this current pause.
Thank you very much, Christine.
That was very important to underline.
I open the floor to questions in the room.
Hi, Thanks for bringing a little bit more about the confusion that you're seeing here and how concerned you are.
I mean, even if, if the funding stays up that this, you know, what impact that will have even if the funding does stay up.
Yes, I think what we're seeing is that only as of yesterday, we're starting to get clarity what exactly the waiver will cover.
So many community organisations, but also many governments are not sure what will be covered and they're therefore pausing.
They're overly cautious because they're pausing things that they think they might be asked to repay in the end.
And so there's a lot for us to do at country level.
And as you know, UN AIDS is in 70 countries.
So we're trying to make sure that we're creating that clarity with communities and with governments.
There's more likelihood that governments are stepping in, especially in the treatment area.
What we're really concerned about and the long term impact is on prevention of new HIV infections because we know that many of those services are coming from from communities.
But also governments will focus right now on keeping people on treatment rather than 'cause, you know, preventing new infections.
I hope that the confusion will, we will, you know, it's early days, so maybe the next 3-4 days we'll get a bit more clarity at the ground level and can really estimate what the impact is.
We're doing a live monitoring with our country offices to see where the bottlenecks are, but also where the long term impact will be.
Thank you very much, Olivia Leopard van Reuters.
Thank you for this briefing.
My question to you is could you just give an estimate in terms of what percentage of groups that you're working with and and other services have actually resumed their work following the the confusion?
I think it's early, It's too early to tell.
We can see that the most affected services are community services or counselling in communities, you know, education in communities, but also treatment services in communities.
We know that a lot of community clinics are exactly for those people who might not go to a government clinic.
So what we are really concerned about are treatment interruptions are for people not to come forward for treatment at all.
And as you know, if people are not on treatment, that means we are also having an increase in new HIV infections.
Treatment is a is also prevention.
So our biggest concern at the moment is for communities, but also ultimately for governments.
Depending on how long the pause will take, governments will step in immediately.
We have seen many good examples, you know, Botswana, even in Ethiopia.
In many countries, governments have stopped, stepped in, for example, in Ethiopia, but they're doing it on a month by month basis.
So it's a little bit too early to tell what the impact is.
I would say that the impact on community groups is a very, very **** percentage because if they were entirely dependent on U.S.
I go to the platform Lauren Sierra, Swiss News Agency.
Yeah, thank you for the briefing.
First, if you would be kind to repeat the figure you gave for Ethiopia because I, I, I missed it in the middle of of what you said and then so you mentioned that 50% funding.
As the HQ have taken some precautionary measures in order to anticipate we, we could see that with WHO and other agencies have have something been decided for the HQ in Geneva.
So what I was talk when I was referring to Ethiopia, I was saying that we know that 5000 public health worker contracts are funded by the by US assistance in in all regions of Ethiopia.
So they have all been terminated and 10,000 data clerks were terminated in the last few days.
Many governments are trying to bring people, health workers in from leave, from retirement to fill the gaps, but these are obviously only temporary measures.
In terms of our own situation, obviously all of our agencies that are heavily dependent on U.S.
government funds and I, as I said in my in my earlier remarks that global AIDS response has been heavily dependent on on U.S.
70% of all money for HIV comes from the US government of the global response.
Yes, we are making, we have made contingency plans.
We are looking at different, different scenarios and we are obviously preparing for what the outcome of the review is.
And as all agencies, we're hoping that the outcome that the US government will continue this really important work that they have been done with bipartisan support for over 30 years now.
Virginia Pinon, Japan Broadcasting Corporation and HK yes, hello, thank you.
Well, I understand that the, the waiver, the waiver has brought a lot of uncertainties and you are still waiting to, to clarify this.
But is there a possibility that some of the actions or some of the, the, the work or the places that have been closed and actions stopped could not be restarted due to, to this pose?
So how do you estimate the, the impact on the ground of this period of uncertainty and, and the not only on the effect of funding?
It's a very good question and one that I don't think any of us can can respond to with any certainty.
The pause is probably no longer 90 days by now.
It's probably 70 days that we had or 75 days.
I think we are really gratefully concerned that that there will be specific impact, especially on communities, but also on HIV prevention services.
And yes, there is a real risk that services will not be, will not open again.
And I think it's really a moment where we need to come together as the global community to think about with national governments how we can fill those gaps.
But those gaps are huge in the HIV response.
Paula Dupras, Geneva Solutions.
I wanted to ask you about the impact of the US decisions regarding US aid in in DRC given that right now as we speak, there's the special session taking place discussing the situation there in the Human Rights Council.
Yeah, Paula, thanks for this question.
I give the floor to Christine, but also for your information just afterwards we will hear from The Who representative in DRC.
But please Christina, maybe you have.
Yeah, and I think specific on it.
Yeah, I think the W Joe representative from DRC is much better place to answer that question.
But just to, you know, have a broader comment on this, what we're seeing is we're having many areas at the moment in the world that are, you know, have conflict.
And we know that conflict has real impact on our ability to provide health services.
And a subset of that is obviously our ability to offer testing, HIV testing to people, but also to continue treatment, HIV treatment.
We are all impacted in that region.
We ourselves are also in DRC and we know that in this really volatile situations, those most, the weakest, the most vulnerable and what we refer to as key populations will be there will be one of the group it's most affected.
But I, I really would rather have their, their colleagues from, from DSC answering the question directly.
I don't see, I mean, I have a follow up, sorry.
I just wanted to circle back to what you were saying about the impact if the if the funding was actually fully cut on the 400% figure.
I'm just wondering how you calculated that if you can give a little bit more details on how, how you reach those figures.
So yeah, these are, these are modelling models right that we're doing and we have more of those figures and you know, you're welcome to have a follow up conversation.
But what we are modelling is treatment interruption.
It is modelled on people not initiated newly on treatment.
And as you know, we're continuously having problems now with people with advanced disease that are coming forward for treatment late.
And all of these things follow into these models.
We are also we our model also tells us that we will have 8.7 million new HIV infections.
So these figures go together, but happy to refer you to to the people in our office that do the modelling.
Christine, there is another question, sorry, from Isabel Sacco, the Spanish news agency.
Isabel, thank you very much.
It's just if you can share with us some key figures on the, on the funding on the finals that is needed to, to fight against HIV because I am seeing that now in the in the web, in the web that at the end of 2023 there $20 billion were available.
So what that what were the expectations for the next year on the needs that you would have and how this situation will impact on the goal of end with AIDS for 2030?
Yeah, thanks for the question.
And I think I, I muddled that up a little bit when I said the the figures.
So our expectation was $28 billion per year for the AIDS response and the last year that we have data for it is the one that you're referring to for 2023.
So we were 8 billion short globally on the AIDS response.
We are obviously enormously worried what that will mean for 2025 and and going ahead, I think there are ways that we can try to mitigate some of that impact and some of that work we have been doing as UNAIDS, working with national governments to see how they can step in and how they can take greater responsibility for their own national responses.
But as I said, 70% of the global AIDS responses funded by the US government, you know, countries, the Global Fund ourselves, communities on the ground through their own treatment programmes.
This will be, you know what we're seeing right now and if we're not seeing new donors or current donors stepping up and stepping in depending on what the outcome is, it will be will have a massive impact on the AIDS response.
Thank you Christine, sorry, thank you very much.
I think this concludes the questions from our journalists.
Thank you so much for this updates.
And as you know, Charlotte is is also available if you want to follow up with more data and speaking to more experts.
Thank you, Thank you so much.
Let's indeed stay on DRC.
And I would like to welcome Christian, who has brought us Doctor Burai Mahama Sambod, who, as I said, is The Who representative for the DRC and is reaching us from Kinshasa.
Before giving the doctor the floor, I would just like to underline, of course, as it has been said that this morning the Human Rights Council is meeting on the situation the human rights in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
While we are speaking, the participants are hearing from the UN **** Commissioner for Human Rights from BIN to Qatar, the Special Representative of the Secretary General in the DRC and Chief of MONUSCO and Surya Deva, the Chair of the Coordination Committee of the special procedures.
This and then they will hear about the interventions from the Member States and the NGOs.
As you may have seen from the information which Pascal distributed to you, there will be a consider the consideration of a draught resolution for adoption this afternoon.
And of course, you can count on Pascal and his team to send you the appropriate information.
But I would also like to underline that yesterday, the Secretary General made a special appeal for peace in DRC ahead of the summit today with the leaders from the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community which is taking place in Tanzania.
The Secretary General added that next week in Addis Ababa, he will take part in the summit level meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council where the crisis would be front, left and right and left, front and centre.
Sorry, He said his message is clear.
Silence the guns, stop the escalation, Respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of DRC, Uphold international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
And of course, you have seen the full transcript to be ascended to you.
And with that, I would really like now to go to Doctor Hamas ***** and to hear about the alarming health crisis in this region of DRC Doctor, thank you and good morning to all.
And thank you also for the opportunity given to W2.
I have to describe talk about the deal health and International Crisis in Materson, Democratic of the Congress.
I guess to say the recent surge in violence in the GRC has led to significant loss of life, trauma, displacement and destruction of critical health infrastructure, exacerbating an already indeed situation of millions of people.
The situation remain tense and volatile and the health needs are in them.
WHO remains on the grounds and is providing life saving intervention and medical supplies, supporting health workers to deliver and coordinating the emergency response in all aspects that come to the health.
Yes, to say when it come to injuries and death, the hospitals and more are overwhelmed and in and around the Goma region in North Kivu, this is in Goma, more than three thousand 3082 injured and 843 dead have been reported from 31 health facilities in South Kivu where the fighting was actually spilled over the last few days.
We have so far reported more than 65 angels from only three hospitals in the South.
The impacts on Healthcare is really the attack on health are the violation of international law, as we all know, and we have counted about 70 health facilities in North Kibu that have been damaged or completely destroyed.
We have also seen that ambulances that have been attacked on, some destroyed and WHO supported health clinic in North people was temporarily occupied by the arm group.
Health workers were not spared and somehow fled for them to save their lives.
And others who remain are completely overwhelmed with the number of wounded and what we are taking care of.
We have the risk of multiplied as you know S people or North evil.
It was already endemic for cholera and for the 1st 25 days of January alone, condemning for 1st to 3rd 27 January what about 600 suspected cases of cholera had been recorded with 14 deaths.
And we know also in 2024 in Northwest S, people close to 22,000 kids of cholera were identified with 60 deaths to cholera before the fighting erupted.
You know, they are responding to monkey pox, M pox.
Before the escalation, there were 143 patients in isolation.
In isolation which is not given.
One week later, 95% of them have fled, have fled and health workers have been able to bring back some of them.
Vaccination was partially restored or resumed.
Yes, three days ago in Goma and we have been able to vaccinate about 276 contacts of about contact of 101,000 after being the contact of contact.
Malaria continues to be a major killer.
Measles is also in the north people.
In 2024, more than 11,000 KGS and 115 deaths due to measles were reported.
The province also had many cases of meningitis and tuberculosis.
When you come to the opportunity of care, this is in question.
This has to do with chronic disease both chronic disease from infectious origin and chronic diseases of non infectious origin clinic dissolve non net functioning origins such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, mental health and complication during pregnancy and childhood.
All have been seen has been impacted malnutrition in that is also a health person.
Before the crisis over one out of four people in the region were facing an acute food deaths and security IPC 3 and above.
When they come to the lab, he shows the north he who has one of the two major labs of the country.
This is a lab where we have **** pathogens and those working in the lab have been able to continue the analysis and the lab is still working.
The Who is present through it's hard in Goma and Bukavu and The Who is coordinating the health and the humanitarian response, assessing health sector capacity and identifying gaps.
And just to mention that before the airport was closed in Goma WHO was able to fly in cargo with 23 metric tonnes of medicine and life saving IPC supplies and 20 five times to increase hospital capacity to about 1000 births.
And the life saving medicine and supply we were able to brought to bring in is compare is about to treat about 20,000 injured people and more than 10,000 polarised patients.
The emergency helps supplies like IV fluids, anaesthetics, antibiotics and so more for more than 300,000 people have been able to be fly in just before the airport was shut down.
Supplies for IPC such a hand washing waste management supplies have also been fly sliding but now are actually getting to very minimum level of source of the supplies what the region needs and the even what we have been able to deliver WH have been supplying to almost all the humanitarian and those on the ground now saving medicine.
So WHO needs additional resources to bring to be able to save more life and we have estimated urgent need for about 5050 million U.S.
WHO is calling for a humanitarian access for protection?
I have workers and facilities and an end to attack on healthcare facilities, health facilities, supplies, workers and patients should be protected.
Ultimately, we call for peace and our end of the unimaginable and long-suffering of people in this region.
Thank you very much, Doctor, for this comprehensive updates.
I'll open the floor to questions now.
I see online Yuria prelev free anniversary.
My question is relating to the laboratory that is in Goma.
We had the past week ICRC saying that they are a little bit scared that some viruses and especially Ebola can go out from this laboratory because the parties we're fighting not far and because of the cut of the electricity.
Do you have any idea how is the situation with this laboratory now?
Is there a scared also in WHO that the viruses can go outside this laboratory?
Do you have any information on that?
Thank you, Doctor Hamsambo, thank you.
Yes, we have the labs we love.
We have visited ourselves just the Friday before the fighting erupted.
This lab has actually what you call level 2 and Level 3, the capacity meaning that yes, it has **** pathogen such as Ebola, Marlboro, M Pops and COVID-19 viruses.
The biobank of this lab is very well kept and who was able to supply fuel for the generator to keep running even when electricity was cut out in my involvement.
So I can say the lab is safe because the lab also can be remotely locked.
And this is what has been done until we understood that electricity, water and everything is back.
And now I told you the lab is functioning normally and there's no ****** coming out of this lab for the moment.
Yeah, just to follow up on that.
So in terms of the the fighting that's been happening nearby the the lab, you're sure that it's it's secured and it won't be breached?
And I also have a question on another subject.
Yes, as I said there is a private company going in the lab and they were there and we have been able to visit them and even make sure that not only their own sites and bring them what they need as since when there was a limited movement and we work very much with ICRC.
We brought, as I said, film for the generator to continue running and we are able to bring those who are borrowing food and water so to make sure that nothing has been attempted from the lab.
So I can assure you the lab is safe.
And as I said, this lab is to be mostly locked because it's a lab that is actually working in city Mirio of France.
And they know very well that even from France, there where they are, the lab can be automatically locked.
So really, the lab is safe and I can assure you there's no answer for now that any partition can leak out.
The other question was not for Doctor Sam.
We'll take it afterwards then.
Paula Dupras, Geneva solution.
I'd like to return to the question that I had earlier regarding the funding suspensions from USUS aid and how that may be potentially affecting emergency response in the region.
But doctor, I don't know if it's for you or maybe Christian want to say something, but please, please go ahead.
I can attempt to respond.
And certainly if Christian want to just to say United States, there is some decision to freeze foreign aid is a significant significantly impacting the democratic country.
Just to mention that last year US contributed to as much as 70% of countries humanitarian response.
Additionally, the US is a major founder of impact response that Director General has to declare public health control of public health emergency of international concern and has pledged US has pledged about 1,000,000 vaccine doses on of its own stock to the global effort.
So while WHO humanitarian response in the region relied on funding from other donors, including the European Union, the United Kingdom and WHO Contingency Fund for emergency reduction in overall AIDS, we now have repercussions of people people's health in the Democratic.
In the briefing before me, I know many questions were asked about HIV.
I've mentioned the HIV these are chronic disease of infection origin.
Both chronic HIV and tuberculosis have been also been concerned because of the suspension of the US family doctor.
Sorry, you said 17 or 70 percent 771-7700, No 70.
OK 7017% for the country to humans.
I don't know if Christian want to add anything to that.
Yeah, let me let me just one or two things.
So on, on the one together with the HIV teams and the UN AIDS colleagues, we are revealing this and it's it's likely to have likely severely impacted.
Of course on the other hand, we do welcome the the recent PEPFAR announcement.
So that's that's certainly good news.
But the most important thing is is that we will make every effort to maintain the response to to infectious diseases whatever necessary that that's our main priority on the ground.
Second note the there was a press release sent just before the press briefing this morning on DRC and we will also share the speaking notes of of Doctor Wimmer would would be welcome.
I'm sure Christian since you're on Nina had a question for you.
Sorry, because I think we don't have other questions on DRC.
I had it's also regarding US funding, but also the CDC.
I'm wondering yesterday apparently the CDC put up a notice on its website briefly about concern around cats spreading H5 N 1 to humans and then removed it.
And I'm wondering if that's something that you've been informed about and also what the communication is like now and the concerns around the spread of H5 N one in, in light of the possible lack of communication from the US on this.
The only thing I do have is that we were recently informed by the IHR focal point on the so-called twine flow H one and two cases in the USI have no further info on the H5 at this point.
OK, so I don't see other questions for WH2.
I would like to thank very much Doctor Bure Mahaba ***** calling in from Kinshasa and wish him good luck with his work.
And thanks, Christian, for being with us.
James, would you like to come to the podium?
While we are waiting for James, I would just like to read you a message that I received from Julia Tuma and from UN Unrah Commissioner General.
And that's on behalf of Unrah.
And it's of course, on Gaza.
The rights of the Palestinians continue to be violated, say the message.
Since the war began, people in Gaza have undergone systematic dehumanisation.
Palestinians do matter, including those in Gaza.
Their rights, lives and futures matter.
Human rights cannot be applied selectively, as the UN Secretary General said peace requires, and in the occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Gaza as an integral part, a viable and sovereign Palestinian state side by side with Israel.
At Undra, our teams are committed to continue providing critical assistance to Palestinian refugees who need us most, until empowered Palestinian institutions become a lasting and viable alternative.
You also have this on the X account of UNDRAW Commissioner General, and we can distribute it to you later on.
Juliette is not with us today, but she's available to answer your questions if you have any.
Just contact her directly.
And that brings me to welcome James.
James, you are back from IET.
And just maybe give us an update on the situation of the children there.
Yeah, a staggering 1000% increase in sexual violence against children in Haiti has turned their bodies into battlegrounds.
So the tenfold rise between 2023 and last year comes as armed groups inflict unimaginable horrors on children.
Now remembering of course, that these are verified reported incidents, so the real number is likely to be much worse.
Almost equally staggering is how little coverage this gruesome statistic has received.
And so perhaps then, if numbers have lost meaning, the the children behind the horror will count.
Rosalynn is a girl I met, not her real name.
Late last year she left her friend's house to go to the shop and was abducted by armed men.
She was placed in a van with a number of other young girls and taken to a warehouse.
There she was extensively beaten, she was drugged and over what she believes to be the course of a month, relentlessly raped.
When the armed groups realised that Roslyn didn't have anyone to pay the kidnapping ransom, she was released.
She's currently in a UNICEF supported safe house with more than a dozen other young girls or receiving care.
Now of course, this is a press briefing and we know that numbers do matter.
So let me share a few more from Haiti.
Armed groups now control 85% of Port-au-Prince.
Let me repeat that, 85% of the capital of Haiti is controlled by armed groups.
It's an astounding case of insecurity for a capital city.
Last year alone, child recruitment surged by 70%.
So right now, up to half of all armed group members are children, some as young as eight years old.
Many are taken by force, others are manipulated.
Many are driven by extreme poverty.
Children are recruited into the groups that then fuel their own suffering.
And in Haiti, that suffering is immense.
1.2 million children live under the constant ****** of armed violence.
Essential services have collapsed in Haiti.
Hospitals are overwhelmed.
More than half of the healthcare facilities lack the equipment and the medication to treat children in emergencies.
Playgrounds, schools and homes have been turned into battlegrounds, forcing thousands and thousands of families to flee.
More than half a million children have been displaced.
An estimated 3 million of this tiny island require humanitarian assistance this year.
More than one and a half million children and teachers are affected by school closures.
And as we noted at the start, sexual violence is rampant.
Now that the abhorrence of an attack on a child is obvious, a tenfold increase is ruinous.
The the pain, of course, doesn't stop with the survivor.
It ripples through families, it shadows communities, and it scars a society as a whole.
And yet, Haitians refuse to give up.
UNICEF has 135,000 new reporters now.
These people embody the commitment of Haitians.
Everyday Haitians bringing energy, dedication and help to those who need it most.
A digital platform created by UNICEF, It engages communities, particular youth in social issues.
So in Haiti, in one month last year alone, these year reporters, their efforts lead to the identification and referral of cases of malnutrition under vaccination and essential support to pregnant women.
Haiti's progress starts with children.
Now with incredible partners UNICEF has and I give you a few things, there are many more.
We've identified 32 sorry, created 32 mobile safe spaces to prevent and respond to gender based violence, deployed more than 380 healthcare professionals across more than 105 institutions, distributed cash to 30,000 families and treated more than 80,000 children for moderate and severe wasting.
Programmes that meet children's needs can disrupt the cycles of violence and reduce children becoming victims or children becoming perpetrators.
And yet, UNICEF's funding appeal for Haiti last year, 2024 was $221 million.
Seventy, 2% of that is unfunded.
That, of course, starkly contrasts with the urgent need for education, for protection and development opportunities to prevent children being drawn into violence.
Without these, violence is going to continue to consume this generation and future generations.
Thanks for spotting light on this crisis, James.
I open the floor to questions.
I've got so Yuri upper left on the platform.
Yes, thank you, Alexander.
Thank you, James, but it was for WHO, So I don't know if you left already or yeah, Christian is still on the platform.
Maybe afterwards, after a hit, we can we can give him the floor and you can ask your question, any question on IETI don't see any hand up, but that doesn't mean that it's not important.
Thank you very much for briefing us with this incredibly dire situation.
Jameson will include, of course, the the notes in in the summary.
So let's let's go to you, Yuri and Christian.
Maybe you can answer the question from from Yuri.
Yes, thank you, Christian.
It is more a request than the question, but just asking when we will have the next briefing, even if it's online with Doctor Tedros for journalists because it has been a long time that we didn't have anyone and we have a lot of questions, as you can imagine for Doctor Tedros.
So just wondering if you have a plan to do that or when?
And we're also waiting for it.
Now there's the ongoing EB and during the EB and before during the feedback he he never does it.
So during the ongoing governance meeting.
So but we're expecting one soon after the the count on next week, but it needs to be confirmed.
So if there are no other questions for any of our colleagues, see any hand up.
So let me just read you my last announcement about the Committee on Determination and Discrimination against Women, which is reviewing today the report of Luxembourg.
The next country to come up are the Congo, Sri Lanka and Liechtenstein.
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will open next Monday, Monday morning at 10 AM.
Countries to be reports reviewed under this session are Croatia, Peru, United Kingdom, Rwanda, Philippines and Kenya.
So we will keep you informed about the various countries when they come up.
This is what I have on my list if there are no other questions for anybody and I don't see any.
So I hope you'll continue to follow the Human Rights Council special session on DRC.
I wish you a very good week and then I'll see you next week.
