UN INFORMATION SERVICE GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

9 December 2025

Situation of children and mothers in Gaza

Tess Ingram, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), speaking from Gaza, said that at least 165 children were reported to have died painful, preventable deaths related to malnutrition during the war. But far less reported had been the scale of malnutrition among pregnant and breastfeeding women, and the devastating domino effect on thousands of newborns. The pattern was clear, said Ms. Ingram: malnourished mothers, giving birth to underweight or premature babies, who died in Gaza’s neonatal intensive care units or survive, only to face malnutrition themselves or potential lifelong medical complications.

Before the horrors of the last two years, an average of 250 babies per month – 5 per cent – used to be born with low birth weight, or weighing less than 2.5 kilograms at birth. In the first half of 2025, even with fewer births, more babies had been underweight: 10 per cent of all births, or about 300 babies per month. In the three months before the ceasefire, from July to September, this had surged to an average of 460 babies every month, almost double the pre-war average. In Gaza’s hospitals, Ms. Ingram had met several newborns weighing less than one kilogram, their tiny chests heaving with the effort of staying alive. Low birth weight infants were about 20 times more likely to die than infants of normal weight; they needed special care, which many of the hospitals in Gaza had struggled to provide. Data also showed the number of babies who had died on their first day of life increased 75 per cent – from an average of 27 babies per month in 2022 to 47 babies per month between July and September 2025.

Between July and September, about 38 per cent of the pregnant women screened by UNICEF and partners had been diagnosed with acute malnutrition. UNICEF continued treating them in high numbers. In October alone, UNICEF had admitted 8,300 pregnant and breastfeeding women for treatment for acute malnutrition – about 270 a day – in a place where there had been no discernible malnutrition among this group before October 2023.

Having spent many months in Gaza over the past two years, Ms. Ingram had seen and heard the generational impacts of the conflict on mothers and their infants almost every day; in hospitals, nutrition clinics and family tents. It was less visible than blood or injury, but it was ubiquitous. UNICEF was responding: replacing the incubators, ventilators and other lifesaving equipment destroyed; providing supplements to over 45,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women to prevent malnutrition; screening over 150,000 under five year years for acute malnutrition and enrolled over 14,00 in treatment; providing breastfeeding counselling for over 14,000 caregivers, as well as mental health and psychosocial support. To improve the response, more aid had to enter the Gaza Strip, especially aid that strengthened the health of pregnant and breastfeeding women and equipped hospitals with everything they need to save lives.

Answering questions, Ms. Ingram said that October 2025 had seen the highest number of the year for pregnant and breast-feeing women admitted for treatment for the year, partly because UNICEF now had the supplies to treat pregnant and breast-feeding women. Some 4,000 children were estimated to still need medical evacuations from Gaza. The rate of malnutrition for children and pregnant and breast-feeding women remained stubbornly high. Some 9,300 acutely malnourished children under five had been admitted for treatments in October, down from the peak in August. The expected opening of the Rafah crossing would hopefully increase influx of necessary foods and supplies. Most families currently could not afford the very expensive food available at local markets. There were many examples of women barely eating and sacrificing themselves to feed their children. On another question, Ms. Ingram said that since the ceasefire, an improvement had been measured in the quantity of aid being picked up, but it was still nowhere near enough of what was needed. Since the beginning of October 2023, 165 children had died of malnutrition, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Ms. Ingram, who would soon be leaving Gaza, said that over the past two years she had seen the best and the worst of humanity. She spoke of people begging her to tell the world of their suffering and that they just wanted to live in dignity. The bedrock of international law had been broken in Gaza, and injustice had been normalized. She was leaving a place where the people needed international support and recognition as much as ever.

Medical evacuations were complex procedures that required numerous clearances, added Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization (WHO). The total of 10,620 patients had been evacuated from Gaza since October 2023, half of whom were children. People, including children, had died while waiting to be evacuated. Mr. Lindmeier stressed the need for more countries to accept patients medically evacuated from Gaza.

Assessment after the floods in Sri Lanka

Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, speaking from Colombo, stated that the recent disaster was a stark reminder of the growing climate risks Sri Lanka faced and the urgent need to strengthen resilience. UNDP, in collaboration with the Government of Sri Lanka and partners, had conducted a rapid integrated assessment to understand the scale and urgency of this crisis. An estimated 2.3 million people had been living in areas flooded by Cyclone Ditwah that had hit Sri Lanka; 635 people had lost their lives and 192 were still missing. The analysis showed that the floodwaters from the cyclone had inundated more than 1.1 million hectares – one fifth [SB1] of the country’s land area and caused significant damage to homes, infrastructure and essential services. Over 1,200 landslides had been registered. More than half of the people in the flooded areas had already been living in households facing multiple vulnerabilities before the cyclone, including unstable income, high debt, and limited ability to cope with disasters.

Ms. Kubota said that the scale of the disaster was staggering. One in every twelve buildings in Sri Lanka had been touched by floodwaters. More than 16,000 kilometers of roads had been exposed. Over 60 per cent of all exposed people were concentrated in Colombo and Gampaha districts, placing immense pressure on essential services and local systems. It was estimated that Cyclone Ditwah had exposed over 530,000 hectares of rice paddies to flooding across Sri Lanka, with direct impact on the livelihoods of many. Ms. Kubota stressed that many of the hardest-hit areas had already been among the most vulnerable nationwide, while climate shocks were outpacing the current capacity to adapt. She emphasized that UNDP was committed to supporting both immediate relief and long-term recovery. Priorities were to restore basic services, strengthen local capacities, and direct resources to the areas with the most urgent needs, while developing long-term resilience.

More information is available here, while the full analysis and set of data can be accessed here.

Conditions for women and girls in Northern State and Khartoum, Sudan

Fabrizia Falcione, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative in Sudan, connecting from Port Sudan, said that if this war had a face, it would have a face of a woman. Not a single new mother Ms. Falcione had recently met had had any antenatal checks. The great majority of pregnant women had lost their husbands, leaving them as the sole breadwinners of their families. Women living in camps for internally displaced persons said that access to toilets was their top need, followed by bread. Ms. Falcione spoke of a young girl who had just given birth to a baby conceived in rape. Some displaced women were doctors, nurses, teachers, now struggling to survive, but also using their skills to support other women in camps. UNFPA was providing obstetric care, psychosocial care, through reproductive care services and in safe spaces. These services were a lifeline, but only if they could continue. UNFPA had received 42 percent of the funding it needed. UNFPA was appealing for USD 160 million for 2026. She reminded that over 12 million women and girls were at the risk of gender-based and sexual violence. The world should not forget the people of Sudan, concluded Ms. Falcione.

Replying to questions from the media, Ms. Falcione said that one of UNFPA’s concerns was about mothers giving birth to babies conceived in rape. Real numbers were difficult to provide because of the obstacles collecting full figures and the stigma of reporting rape. UNFPA was going to continue providing support for the survivors of sexual violence, and was hoping to increase psychosocial support.

Pernille Fenger, head of UNFPA Geneva, informed that on 11 December UNFPA would launch its 2026 Humanitarian Action Overview, an annual report that highlighted the organization's critical work in crisis settings. The event would be webcast live, and shown live on Zoom here, with interpretation in Arabic, French, and Spanish.

Online violence against women human rights defenders, activists, and journalists

Yeliz Osman, UN Women Policy Specialist, Ending Violence against Women and Girls, said that the new report, Tipping point: The chilling escalation of violence against women in the public sphere, showed that 70 per cent of surveyed women had experienced online violence in the course of their work. Even more worryingly, 41 per cent of respondents reported offline harm linked to online abuse, proving that online violence had very real-life consequences. For women journalists, the link between online abuse and offline harm had become more concerning: in a 2020 global survey published by UNESCO, 20 per cent of women journalists associated the offline attacks or abuse they experienced with online violence. In the new 2025 survey, that share of journalists and media workers had more than doubled to 42 per cent. The report also found that close to one in four surveyed women human rights defenders, activists and journalists had experienced AI-assisted online violence, such as deepfake imagery and manipulated content. Writers and public communicators who focused on human rights issues faced the highest exposure, at 30 per cent.

Women who spoke up for human rights, reported the news or lead social movements were being targeted with abuse designed to shame, silence and push them out of public debate. Increasingly, those attacks did not stop at the screen but continued offline as well. Impunity had to end; some two billion girls lived in countries without adequate laws to protect them from violence online. Effective implementation of such laws had to be ensured. Specific measures protecting women in public life had to be put in place. Finally, further investment was needed in both raising awareness and research and data to monitor trends, to understand intersectional impacts, and to inform evidence-based policy and practice. The tech sector had an important role to play, stressed Ms. Osman.

Julie Posetti, Director of TheNerve’s Information Integrity Initiative and lead researcher of the UN Women report, said this data showed that in the age of AI-fueled abuse and rising authoritarianism, online violence against women in the public sphere is increasing. But what was truly disturbing was the evidence that women journalists’ experience of offline harm associated with online violence had more than doubled since 2020 – with 42 per cent of 2025 survey participants identifying this dangerous and potentially deadly trajectory

Responding to questions from the media, Ms. Posetti explained that participants in the survey had been given a chance to identify types of harassment they had experienced online. She spoke of the worrying effective use of disinformation tactics. For example, Daphne Galizia, the murdered investigative journalist in Malta, had been targeted online in the line-up to her assassination. On another question, Ms. Posetti said that there was a wide range of perpetrators, including presidents and prime ministers around the world, including Brazil, the Philippines, and the United States. This represented a continuum of violence against women, which tended to stir up the mobs online. Some influencers, such as Andrew Tate, used their online presence to roll back women’s rights. Effective regulatory mechanisms were urgently needed, which would protect the rights of women journalists and others acting in public interest.

Replying to more questions, Ms. Osman stressed that education programmes, social norm change programmes and engaging men and boys as allies could all make a difference. She listed several initiatives to turn the tide, including UN Women’s “HeForShe” initiative. Ms. Posetti added that AI technologies could be used for early detection in real time, while continuing down the path of developing regulatory frameworks. Unfortunately, nowadays, hate speech was being prioritized through algorithms. There was no right to commit hate speech under international law, stressed Ms. Posetti. Journalists, including women journalists, had to be allowed to safely practice journalism online. Human rights had to be preserved and protected online the same way it was done offline.

Global Refugee Forum Progress Review

Matthew Saltmarsh, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), stated that a UNHCR’s press release on the 2025 Nansen Refugee Award had been shared under embargo, including the names of one global winner and four regional winners. On 16 December, at 7:30 pm, the award ceremony would take place in Geneva. The event would be open to all accredited journalists, but they would need to inform the UNHCR media team in advance.

Nicolas Brass, Chief of the Global Compact on Refugees Section at the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025 would take place from 15-17 December 2025, at the International Conference Centre (CICG) in Geneva, following on from the Global Refugee Forum 2023. These forums were the main tool to implement and advance the Global Compact. The three-day meeting would welcome a wide range of stakeholders, representing the entire ecosystem of the Global Compact; at least 200 refugees, IDPs and stateless persons were expected to join. There would also be a series of side events, said Mr. Brass. He spoke of the climate of decreasing humanitarian assistance, with the data for the year ahead not more encouraging. Beyond financial constraints, there was also insufficient political will to respond to the refugee challenge. Many refugees were being scapegoated, and hate speech, misinformation and disinformation would also be on the agenda at the event. The main objective was to take stock of the progress made since 2019, and particularly since the 2023 Forum, and how the commitments were being implemented. Many actors, including refugees themselves, were hopeful that this meeting would truly count. Mr. Saltmarsh added that Australian actress and producer Cate Blanchett, UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador, would attend the Forum.

Mr. Brass further said that data collected since 2016 showed that when there was a will, there was a way. Collective efforts from specific sectors allowed refugees access to jobs, but also third-country solutions, such as resettlements and family reunifications. All the gains reached over the past decade were at the significant risk of being lost, he warned. The event the following week would be an opportunity to reaffirm the collective commitment to refugees and their host countries, but this would not be the end of the journey. Every action, every commitment made a difference.

More details are available here.

Answering questions, Mr. Brass confirmed that the outgoing High Commissioner Filippo Grandi would deliver opening remarks on 15 December at 10 am, as well as closing remarks on 17 December. Mr. Saltmarsh said that the High Commissioner would brief the media at the CICG around 2:30 pm on 17 December, which would be his last media meeting in his role as the High Commissioner. Over 25 side events and strategic dialogues would take place, including on Syria and Sudan. The private sector would take active part in the meeting, including at a session on employment.

Announcements

Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service, reminded that on 10 December, the Human Rights Day, at 10:30 am, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk would hold his end-of-year press conference.

On 10 December at 3:30 pm in Room VIII, UN Women, the Council of Europe, and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Moldova would organize a closing event of the UNITE to End Violence against Women and Girls campaign with an event “Reclaiming Digital Spaces: Women’s Activism for Peace and Gender Equality”. Registration was possible here; a valid UN badge would be required.

Ms. Vellucci informed that the Committee on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families would close its 41^st session on 11 December and issue its concluding observations on the three reports reviewed during this session: Mauritania, Indonesia, and Honduras.

Finally, at 6:45 pm today, in Cinerama Empire in Geneva, there would be the last Ciné-ONU event of the year, with the screening of the documentary “Igualada” about Colombian Vice-President Francia Márquez, once dismissed as an outsider who dared to reach too high - as she transformed an insult into a rallying cry for justice, dignity, and representation. The screening would be followed by a panel discussion.

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TOPICS

UNICEF Ricardo Pires (PR) with Tess Ingram, UNICEF Communication Manager (From Gaza)

• The toll of maternal malnutrition and unrelenting stress on newborn children after two years of war and fragile ceasefire.

UNDP Sarah Bel with Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative (From Colombo)

• Rapid damage assessment on the floods in Sri Lanka.from

UNFPA Fabrizia Falcione, UNFPA Representative in Sudan (From Port Sudan)

• Conditions in maternal health facilities and women and girls safe spaces in Northern State and Khartoum, following a visit to these locations.

UN WOMEN Sofia Caltorp (Zoom) With Yeliz Osman, Policy Specialist, Ending Violence against Women and Girls & Julie Posetti, Lead Report Researcher

• Launch of the report on online violence against women human rights defenders, activists, and journalists on the International Human Rights Day.
  
  

UNHCR Matthew Saltmarsh with Nicolas Brass, UNHCR’s Chief of the Global Compact on Refugees Section

• Geneva gathering to reaffirm solidarity and deliver new results for refugees
  
  

  ANNOUNCEMENTS

  UNIS on behalf of UNESCO IBE