The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
PRESS BRIEFING BY THE UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE
19 August 2022
Secretary-General
Alessandra Vellucci, for the UN Information Service, said that at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, was in Lviv, Ukraine on Thursday to attend a trilateral meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkïye and the Ukrainian leader. Today the Secretary General was in Odesa, where he would visit the port, one of the three being used as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Before returning to New York over the weekend, the Secretary-General would be in Istanbul to visit the Joint Coordination Centre set up to implement the initiative.
Ebola and Monkeypox
Dr. Janet Diaz, lead of the clinical management unit in WHO’s Health Emergencies programme, said the World Health Organization (WHO) has published its first guideline for Ebola virus disease therapeutics, with new strong recommendations for the use of two monoclonal antibodies. Following a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials of therapeutics for the disease, WHO had made strong recommendations for two monoclonal antibody treatments: mAb114 (Ansuvimab; Ebanga) and REGN-EB3 (Inmazeb).
Developed according to WHO standards and methods for guidelines, and published simultaneously in English and French, the guidelines would support health care providers for patients with Ebola, and policymakers involved in outbreak preparedness and response. The two recommended therapeutics had demonstrated clear benefits and therefore could be used for all patients confirmed positive for Ebola virus disease, including older people, pregnant and breastfeeding women, children and newborns of mothers with confirmed Ebola within the first seven days after birth. There was also a recommendation on therapeutics that should not be used to treat patients: these included ZMapp and remdesivir.
The evidence underpinning these recommendations came from two trials, which showed that these reduced mortality by about 60%,s. This was an important advance, but it was important to remember that the drug could not be given alone, there was a need for optimized support of care, as well as other factors, such as access to nutrition, psycho-social support, and support post-discharge. However, more research was still needed, including on early diagnostics, which required community collaboration, national acceptance, among others. This would give countries the knowledge to incorporate these medicines in the clinical pathways for victims of Ebola and should serve as a model for future outbreaks.
In response to questions, Dr. Diaz said the mortality ranges for the disease were probably within the 60-80% case fatality ratio, but there were various different mortalities depending on the outbreak. Where there was a late diagnosis, mortality rates could be very high. The medicines cited aided all age groups throughout the entire course of the disease; however they were more effective when treated early. Dr. Diaz was not currently aware of the cost of treatment, nor whether access was available in all affected countries - the pathway to access was something which required work. The new recommendations were on treatments and on mono-clonal antibodies. Diagnostics were vital in order to get treatment to victims as soon as possible.
On a question on monkeypox, Dr. Diaz said the first guideline had been published in June, including a recommendation for the use of specific antivirals, such as tecovirimat. Its efficiency had not yet been studied in clinical trials. The first recommendation was to use it in clinical research, in order to generate data on efficiency. If governments chose to use it as an unproven therapy, they must use it under the Emergency Use Protocol, which had certain regulations, including that patients had to be informed of the risk-benefit ratio, and had to give informed consent. A Living Guideline process had also begun, and updates would be provided as information emerged on therapeutics and other clinical interventions.
Haiti
Jens Laerke, Deputy Spokesman of the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths had allocated 5 million USD from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help meet the humanitarian needs caused by gang violence in Haiti. Since July, hundreds of people had been killed in clashes between gangs in Haiti’s Cité Soleil, and many others caught in the fighting, cutting off their access to food, drinking water, and healthcare, and nearly 280’000 people were affected by the situation. The CERF allocation would help humanitarian agencies increase their response, and funding through UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) would provide food, drinking water, healthcare, and mental health and education support to more than 100’000 people in total. This year an estimated 4.9 million of the population, about 43% of the population, required humanitarian assistance. The Humanitarian response plan for this year, asking for 373 million USD, was currently only 14% funded.
Responding to questions, Mr. Laerke said from OCHA’s perspective, what was critical was that there were hundreds of thousands of people trapped because of gang violence, and who could not be reached, which was why the Emergency Relief Coordinator was injecting funds to this emergency situation.
Also answering a question, Alessandra Vellucci added that yesterday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had said that one year after the devastating earthquake that struck the south-western part of the country, more than 250,000 children did not have access to adequate schools. At the end of last year, UNICEF had requested $97 million through the 2022 Humanitarian Appeal for Children to reach 950,000 people, including 520,000 children in Haiti. To date, UNICEF had only received 30 per cent of the funding needed. The agency was asking for $64.6 million in urgent funding to continue helping the most vulnerable. Ms Vellucci mentioned that the World Food Programme had also some figures on food insecurity in the country.
Jens Laerke, responding to further questions, said sexual violence had been endemic, and he would provide more specific data on that issue. There were 280’000 affected in Cité Soleil, but there was 2.5 million people across the country affected by the gang violence. More detailed figures would be provided later. The allocation of 5 million USD served two purposes: first to inject urgent money into critical life-saving operations here and now, such as food, drinking water, mental health, and some educational support, for a limited period of time. It was a small but critical amount. The second purpose was more systemic: when money was injected, other donors followed, as the fund allocation came was a signal that this was a critical life-saving intervention that was needed now.
Shabia Mantoo, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), responding to questions, said there was a need to be clear about protection needs - people should be able to access asylum if they needed protection, and there were concerns over some of these needs and the issues that Haitian refugees faced. UNHCR had a small liaison presence within Haiti focusing on inter-agency cooperation, capacity-building and civil registration, and thus did not have the capacity to systematically monitor all returns. It referred returnees to places where they could get support, and also shared information with other United Nations agencies.
World Humanitarian Day
Alessandra Vellucci, for the Information Service, said that today the international community came together to commemorate World Humanitarian Day, an important day for the United Nations and the humanitarian community, when respect was paid to colleagues, commemorate lost friends, honor the strength of survivors, and recognize the courage of the affected families.
The message of the Secretary General had been distributed. In his video message, the Secretary General said: “There is a saying: “It takes a village to raise a child.” It also takes a village to support people living through a humanitarian crisis. This village includes affected people who are always first to respond when disasters strike — neighbours helping neighbours.” The Secretary General went on to conclude that “far from the spotlight and out of the headlines, humanitarians work around the clock to make our world a better place. Against incredible odds, often at great personal risk, they ease suffering in some of the most dangerous circumstances imaginable. Today, the number of people who need humanitarian assistance has never been higher. On this year’s World Humanitarian Day, we celebrate humanitarians everywhere. We salute their dedication and courage, and pay tribute to those who lost their lives in pursuit of this noble cause. They represent the best of humanity.”
Ms. Vellucci reminded those present that they were invited to join in the commemoration in front of Room XX in the Palais des Nations at 3 p.m. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the UNOG, would be addressing this event, together with Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of Coordination Division and Head of OCHA Geneva; Bradford Smith, Executive Secretary of the UNOG Staff Union, and the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Iraq to the to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
This commemoration was also an opportunity to remember the victims of terrorism: on Sunday 21 August, the International Day of Rememberance and Tribute To The Victims of Terrorism would be observed. The message of the Secretary-General had been distributed to the journalists.
Jens Laerke, speaking for Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), added that the event would also be livecast, and the advance remarks of Mr Rajasingham had been made available. He invited the media to look at the website, which was the backbone of the awareness raising campaign #ItTakesAVillage
Geneva announcements:
Ms. Vellucci said that on Thursday 25 August at 10 a.m. there would be a hyrid press conference by UNIDIR to launch the Cluster Munition Monitor 2022 report. Speakers included Robin Geiss, Director, UNIDIR; Mary Wareham, Human Rights Watch Arms Advocacy Director; Loren Persi, Monitor Impact research team editor, and Ruth Bottomley, Monitor Impact research team editor.
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination would conclude this afternoon the review of the report of Suriname.
The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, was concluding this morning the review of the reports of China, Hong Kong (China) and Macao (China). This afternoon, the Committee would conclude the review of the report of Indonesia, begun yesterday afternoon.
The Conference on Disarmament was having a public plenary meeting this morning.
Similar Stories
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WMO , OCHA , WHO , UNICEF , UN WOMEN , OHCHR , IOM , UNHCR
Update on Ebola from WHO and OCHA, update on the situation of children with the beginning of school in Ukraine from UNICEF, UN Women on the impact of the settlers and restrictions on women and girls in West Bank, OHCHR on the recovery of extensive human remains in Gaza, IOM and UNHCR on the new wave of displacement in Yemen
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC
Update on the human rights situation in Belarus by the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human Rights Situation in Belarus
1
1
1
Press Conferences | HRC , OHCHR
Update on the human rights situation in Syria by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNOG , IOM , UN WOMEN , UNCTAD , WHO , UNECE
IOM Yemen's Western Coast displacement; UN WOMEN on Gaza; UNCTAD Strait of Hormuz disruptions impacts; WHO Ebola logistics in DRC; WHO smoking and infertility; UNECE Data centres and energy.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNITAR , WMO
UNITAR: GA resolution on the merger of the United Nations System Staff College into the United Nations Institute for Training and Research; WMO: Air Quality and Climate Bulletin released; WHO: Ukraine update
2
2
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Powerful El Niño heightens extreme-weather risks through 2027, as countries brace for impact - WMO
Fuelled by extraordinarily warm waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean, the El Niño climate pattern is expected to intensify in the coming months. Forecasters are almost certain that it will persist through February next year, with unusually warm conditions expected across the globe.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , WFP , WHO , WMO , OCHA
UN WOMEN/IFRC: Update on the impact of the floods in Nepal, WFP: Food assistance in the West Bank, WHO: Gaza’s rehabilitation needs and continued spread of diseases
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , ITU , OCHA , OHCHR , UNCTAD , UNDRR , UNHCR , UNICEF , WHO , WMO
UNDRR/OCHA/IFRC/UNICEF/WHO: Nepal updates; IFRC/WMO: El Niño Update; WHO: Health situation in Ukraine; UNHCR: 65 years after landmark Convention; OHCHR: Human Rights situation in Haiti;
ITU: Upcoming Greening Digital Companies 2026 report; UNCTAD: World Investment Forum 2026 in Doha 25-27 October
2
1
2
Press Conferences | UNIDIR
Launch of the 2026 Arms Trade Treaty Monitor report
1
1
1
Press Conferences | ICRC , OHCHR , UN , UNICEF
UN/ICRC: Renewed Call from UN Secretary-General and ICRC President to Adopt Rules on Autonomous Weapon Systems; OHCHR: Human rights situation in Myanmar new report; UNICEF: Worsening child nutrition crisis in Afghanistan