The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News , Press Conferences | WHO , WFP
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing Tigray Update WFP - WHO 13 July 2021
UN appeals for smoother passage for aid convoys to Ethiopia’s Tigray UN humanitarians appealed on Tuesday for better access to Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region, after the first aid trucks in days to reach the local capital, Mekelle, encountered multiple, rigorous checks on their way there. “The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 50 trucks arrived in the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle Monday with 900 metric tonnes of food as well as other emergency supplies,” said Tomson Phiri, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP). “It was the first humanitarian convoy to reach Tigray since WFP re-started operations in the northwest on 02 July following fighting…Of the 50 trucks, 29 truckloads transported food commodities comprising of wheat, split peas and vegetable oil, enough to cover the most pressing urgent food needs of 200,000 people for a week. It is not enough.” Unobstructed aid deliveries are crucial in the northern Ethiopian region where four million people need emergency food assistance after more than eight months of conflict between regional and central government forces, the WFP spokesperson explained. “What is important here is to note is that these convoys are going through rigorous checks,” Mr Phiri said. “It should not be like that. We need to send these convoys every day from now on so that we are able to meet demand. We therefore appeal for quicker and smoother passage into the region as soon as possible.” According to WFP the aid convoy took four days to travel from Semera in the northeast to Mekelle, a distance of 445 kilometres. Drivers had to stop at 10 checkpoints where “at each and every stop, the humanitarian cargo was rigorously checked”, Mr. Phiri said. Some 100 aid trucks “need to be moving on any given day” and they need to for half the time if we are to reverse the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the region” he continued, before noting that WFP needs $176 million to continue to scale up its response in Tigray to save lives and livelihoods to the end of the year. Latest reports from Tigray on Tuesday also indicate that healthcare provision is non-existent in many areas, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. “Most health facilities are not functioning at the moment and first-hand accounts that we just received this morning tell us that medical equipment and supplies were removed or destroyed in almost all health facilities in the region,” said spokesperson Christian Lindmeier. Despite the challenges of access, the UN agency has allocated $1.9 million for malaria, cholera and nutrition treatments. “But this is only a fraction of what’s needed (it) will be critical for local authorities and partners to deliver assistance,” Mr. Lindmeier insisted. In June, the WHO warned that conflict between Ethiopian Government troops and those loyal to the dominant regional force, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), had left hospitals “barely functioning”, people displaced and famine “looming”. The agency also underlined the serious danger of communicable and vaccine-preventable diseases spreading owing to a lack of food, clean water, safe shelter and access to health care. ends
STORY: Tigray Update – WFP, WHO
TRT: 02 min 22s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 13 July 2021 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, overcast.
- Wide shot of press conference room at UN Geneva, TV camera on tripod in centre, podium and host/participants to rear and to sides.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme (WFP): “The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 50 trucks arrived in the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle Monday with 900 metric tonnes of food as well as other emergency supplies. It was the first humanitarian convoy to reach Tigray since WFP re-started operations in the northwest on 02 July following fighting.”
- Medium shot, technician, masked, wearing white coat and checking mobile phone, partly obscured by conference microphones.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme (WFP): “What is important here is to note is that these convoys are going through rigorous checks. It should not be like that. We need to send these convoys every day from now on so that we are able to meet demand. We therefore appeal for quicker and smoother passage into the region as soon as possible.”
- Medium shot, participants seated behind laptops, masked, interpreters’ booths to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme (WFP): “Of the 50 trucks, 29 truckloads transported food commodities comprising of wheat, split peas and vegetable oil, enough to cover the most pressing urgent food needs of 200,000 people for a week. It is not enough”
- Medium shot, participants seated behind laptops, masked, podium with host and UN logo backdrop to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme (WFP): “We need 100 trucks to be moving on any given day for half the time if we are to reverse the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the region.”
- Wide shot, big screen TV showing remote participant and host seated at podium, UN logo backdrop to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Christian Lindmeier, World Health Organization (WHO): “Most health facilities are not functioning at the moment and first-hand accounts that we just received this morning tell us that medical equipment and supplies were removed or destroyed in almost all health facilities in the region.”
- Wide shot, big screen TV showing remote participant and host seated at podium, UN logo backdrop to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Christian Lindmeier, World Health Organization (WHO): “With our limited remaining financial resources, WHO is procuring vitally needed supplies worth $1.9 million for malaria, cholera and nutrition. But this is only a fraction of what’s needed; these will be critical for local authorities and partners to deliver assistance.”
- Wide shot of press conference room, TV camera on tripod in centre, podium and host/participants to rear and to sides.
- Wide reverse shot of press conference room at UN Geneva, TV camera on tripod in centre next to arc light, participants to the sides.
- Wide shot of podium, host seated and masked in front of UN backdrop, arranging papers.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Iranian authorities to end violent repression and calls for accountability.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNICEF , OHCHR , OCHA , WHO , WMO
Michele Zaccheo, Chief, UNTV, Radio and Webcast Section, United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of United Nations Children's Fund, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
At the UN bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado commented on the widespread repression and intimidation against political opposition ahead of the general elections in Uganda.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , UNICEF , OHCHR
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children's Fund and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights spokesperson, made the following comments at the bi-weekly press briefing of the United Nations on the United States’ intervention in Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR
Venezuela: US military intervention ‘far from victory for human rights’, makes world less safe – UN rights office
The UN rights office (OHCHR) on Tuesday expressed concern over the situation in Venezuela following the United States military operation and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, insisting that the move runs counter to international law and damages global security.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA
U.S. Mission in Geneva hosts MOU signing and funding event with key humanitarian speakers.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , IOM , FAO , WHO , OCHA , UNICEF
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
As fighting spreads across Sudan in a dangerous new escalation, "people are scared, people are fleeing their homes," the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Friday, noting that more than 50,000 people have fled attacks and violence since late October in Kordofan region alone.