OK, so thank you very much. Welcome back to the,
uh, press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva.
We will continue with our,
um, topics of briefing, and I have the pleasure
on the podium. Uh, Matthew Salars.
Uh uh, the spokesperson of
UNHCR who has brought us Arafat Jamal,
who is the UN HCR coordinator for the 2023 Global Refugee Forum.
uh, next week we are gonna have the organisation of this, uh,
very big event that happens every four years,
And I don't know who would like to start Ma who are out of it with the, uh,
information about the brief.
The the forum, Please. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Uh, Alessandra
Uh, so, as mentioned, my name is Arafat,
and I'm the coordinator for the second Global Refugee Forum, taking place next week
at the end of a devastating year marked by new,
resurgent and unending refugee situations,
It can sometimes feel like we're on a precipice.
Humanitarian needs are outstripping resources.
And for a 114 for forcibly displaced and stateless people,
including 36 million refugees. Conflict
It is also taxing the communities that have so generously hosted these people.
Next week, Geneva hosts the world's largest gathering on refugee issues.
We meet in a spirit of solidarity, determined to mobilise political will,
to relieve the stress on hosts and refugees
and to seek lasting solutions for refugee situations.
and we bend the arc of history upwards DeLay
and the consequences will be all too obvious.
Four years ago at the Global Refugee Forum,
our high commissioner, Filippo Grandi,
when asked about the outcome of that
We have the makings of success
What we have discovered is that we now have the engine
for that success, and that engine
is our approach and the means by which we intend to achieve our goals. The approach
is whole of society. It's multi stakeholder.
In addition to UN member states, we have 14 other groups involved.
athletic organisations, NGO S, international financial institutions,
in short, whole of society,
the motor by which we will achieve success are the pledges.
These are not simply financial pledges, although these are always welcome.
these are thematic and situational pledges around specific issues of great need.
Refugee education, for example.
Only 60% of refugees are enrolled in school
As we all know, nobody flees simply because of changing climate.
They flee because they are unable to adapt to that climate.
We have pledges around this.
We have pledges around self reliance.
We have pledges on economic inclusion,
and then we have situational ones, including those concerning Afghans,
including refugees in the Horn of Africa,
Rohingya refugees, Central Americans and Central Africans.
this global refugee forum, we are, um,
having quite high level representation from a number of governments.
We're expecting around seven heads of state
vice presidents and heads of government,
three deputy prime ministers, 30 ministers of foreign affairs, plus
95 ministers and deputies.
convenor of this forum are Colombia, France, Japan,
This time around, we will also have 300 plus refugee delegates.
That's around 10% of the attendees.
This is a meaningful and overdue input to our discussions,
the highest levels of sport and business
will also be present alongside charitable institutions,
financial institutions, UN agencies,
humanitarian and development organisations
A word about the Global Compact on Refugees from which the GRF
emerges. This compact was ratified in 2018
and the first forum was held a year later.
At that forum, we garnered 1700 pledges and initiatives. That was an amazing
demonstration of support for objectives. But it was also somewhat confusing
and difficult to keep track of
The pledging is focused around some of the themes that I mentioned.
and there is a greater level of accountability built in.
In other words, we will now have the capacity to very
precisely track who has pledged and how they're meeting
Just to reiterate the four objectives of this forum.
The first one is easing the pressure on host communities
Uh, three quarters of all refugees are hosted in the so called global South.
Those countries providing
this service to refugees are should be
recognised as providing a global public good,
reward them for that service.
Secondly, self reliance for refugees
a refugee who is unable to work is a burden,
one who can work as a net contributor to a country.
Many host countries have taken their responsibility
on this and have lifted restrictions on labour
access and other access to other institutions.
We hope to support them in these noble gestures.
Third is resettlement and complementary pathways.
This is a means by which wealthier countries
may may demonstrate global solidarity by taking in
When we call it complementary pathways. We're also expressing a notion
that it's not simply an act of charity,
but it may actually be in your self interest.
It may be labour migration, for example,
finally and perhaps most importantly but least
subscribe to is creating the conditions conducive to voluntary return.
It's all very well to celebrate a refugee
and to compensate countries that are hosting them.
But far better it is to find a solution.
This is one area that is the least subscribed to,
and perhaps the most important.
Ladies and gentlemen, I myself, like many of you in Geneva,
have worked on the front lines of
humanitarian emergencies for over two decades now,
accumulation of human misery that one
witnesses in such situations can be overwhelming
myself. I take heart from the times that we can provide life saving assistance.
And I draw hope when we work with partners towards real solutions,
even under imperfect circumstances.
this imperative and this ethic to the GRF working
towards solutions together where we can find them.
And I think that with focus,
the Nobel Prize winning economics, uh,
professor has called constructive impatience.
I think that we can mobilise our allies towards hopeful, substantive
and actions that counter complacency and
stabilise and resolve refugee situations.
The global Refugee Forum provides us with such a platform.
for unity and action and a chance to engage in modern multilateralism
and help to make things go right. Thank you so much. Thank you very much.
Alessandra and good morning.
I'll just add a couple of words on some of the media logistics.
So in terms of the arrivals and the plenary session,
the media access will be pulled for that.
And we've been in touch with correspondents here but do
reach out to me if you have questions about that.
There will be a press conference on the first day of the forum at
with High Commissioner Filippo Grandi.
He'll also make some remarks to the press at the end of the event.
I can give you the logistics of where these events will take place.
We have a planner for the
Expo, so do get in touch with my team around that.
There'll also be other briefings from other parties that are
at the event and the announcements on
that will come from Alessandro's office and from
UNICE. During the course of the events
the programme has been updated online. So do go and have a look at that.
The global refugee Forum website.
There's a host of panels, as Arafat said, some of them focusing on themes,
some of them focusing on different regions, a lot of interesting
many of whom will of course be open to interview and we can help to facilitate that.
If there's interest in that
accreditation closed for the event last night for the media
and then in terms of audio visual questions and requirements,
we can provide detailed information on that for those who need it.
Thank you. And I believe there will be a dedicated press centre.
And maybe taking the advantage of being the chair,
I would also like to say that in the framework of the very
many side events that have been organised around the global Refugee Forum,
our office is also organising a special session of Cine.
Uh, that's gonna be a screening of the film the swimmers, Lena,
that ha will happen on the 12th in the evening, the night before,
Uh, at 8. 30 at the Cinerama and Pier.
You may have heard about this movie which tells the
story of two sisters who to refugees from Syria who swam
their dinghy together with other two swimmers to safety.
Um, because they were almost drawing and, uh uh,
exceptionally before the screening, Yusra
Mardini, the protagonist of the film,
and UN HCR goodwill ambassador and Olympic athletes
will be there to tell you about the story her story, and we'll have a short discussion
dorani the UN women, Geneva head of office,
together with another Olympic refugee foundation
So I hope I'll see you, uh, at the cinema
and Pierre at 8. 30 on Tuesday the 12th.
And now I'll open the floor to question. I'll start with Stephan Bussard,
the the correspondent of Leon.
Yes. Thank you for this, uh, briefing. Um,
I have a question. You were talking about the global compact.
Uh, what? Ha. What impact has this global compact since its adoption
in 2018, uh, have on the whole global issue. And what did the countries?
The countries that didn't
adopt this, uh, global compact mess? Uh,
I think if we if we say that the 1951 convention solved one problem,
namely the question of access to safety
and it, by and large has has met
that what the compact has done is it's recognised
the the the the the issue of the quality of asylum and the need
in countries of large asylum.
And I would say that perhaps the biggest victory at the moment of the Global
Compact has been in the recognition that there
are no humanitarian solutions to refugee problems,
that solutions have to lie in the development and the peace building sphere.
The most significant element of this has been
the involvement of the international financial institutions,
in particular the World Bank,
but also others. Just to give an example. At the first GRF, the World Bank
pledged $2.8 billion under a window for hosts and refugees.
These are grants, not loans.
And they're provided to countries providing that global
public good of hosting large numbers of refugees.
So I would say that is one of the big victories.
Yes, it's true that some countries have have not signed on to the to the compact.
Other questions in the room before I go to the platform.
I don't see any. So let's go to Jan Jan Dirk
Obermann. He's a correspondent for several German speaking newspapers.
Uh, yes. Good morning. Uh, can you hear me?
of course on the global forum, I was wondering,
uh, do you cover only refugees under the mandate of the UN HGR, or do you cover
the entire population of displaced people?
That's the first question. And the second question is basically a follow up,
Uh, to my colleague's question,
I could you please elaborate more on the success rate
of the pledges, Uh, of the 2019 pledges. So how many of these pledges
have actually been implemented successfully?
And, uh, could you please repeat the numbers you gave, uh, from the World Bank?
For your question regarding the first about the population groups covered
first refugees versus non
Internally displaced people
are not specifically part of the global compact. So it is a compact on refugees,
not IDPs. In as much as the population
uh, they can be covered, uh, at the GRF. But they are not, um, part of the GRF as such.
um uh, refugees themselves.
Uh, there are two refugee agencies UN, HCR and UNRWA.
Um, UN. R A has a very specific mandate.
As you're all aware, uh, to pertaining to Palestine.
Refugees in five areas of operation.
Uh, and UN HCR does not, but UN
Uh, their commissioner is also part of the GRF And he will also be speaking, uh,
Uh, secondly, um, you asked the question about the
the pledging and the success rates from 2019.
Uh, as per the books, the the official, um,
rate of closing of pledges is around one third Of the 1700 pledges made
in 2019 have actually been closed.
However, I think this is not, uh this doesn't indicate, um that 70%
have not worked. Rather, some of them are ongoing.
Uh, and they will continue to be ongoing, and some of them
indeed have not been implemented. This is the reason why Just to give a contrast
between the 1700 pledges we have, then we have
a much lower number. At the moment, they're still coming in.
40 are quite significant because 40 are what we call multi stakeholder pledges.
And of these 40 maybe six or seven
will emerge to the level of a transformational pledge.
So we are all pledges are welcome,
But rather than have 1700 pledges as of the first one, we're grouping them.
Uh, and we are now also focusing on sort of transformational mega pledges as well.
And there was a question on the numbers. If you could repeat the figures,
uh, sorry. The World Bank. Yes. So
that's the window for hosts and refugees. That was a $2.8 billion
in, uh, grants. Uh, and I think it was over a three
year period that they were to be dispersed. It's under their ID a 9, uh, 19.
Thank you very much. Arafat. John Zaro.
I've got more people. Sorry, Stefan. I I come back to you, John Zaro
Yes. Uh, good morning. Uh,
I was wondering, sir, if you can, uh,
elaborate a little bit, uh, the, uh,
timetable for the VIP S and when they plan to address the forum,
if you have the list of the heads of
UN multilateral agencies that are partners with UN HCR
Uh, if they besides the head of UN R
if, for instance, the head of UN FP a will address the conference or,
OO Mr Griffiths or others, uh,
do you have a compact, uh, document that captures all this stuff for the journalists
And, uh, if I may ask, the other day you had a pledging conference in the Palais.
Do you have a summary of what was in the end,
uh, agreed by the various donors?
And what is the shortfall for going forward
in terms of for refugees and asylum seekers?
So, John, thanks for the question. In terms of a briefing pack,
we will. We have produced an
We have the briefing note today,
but in terms of logistics, yes,
we'll pull together a media kit that will be available at
So we'll make sure that you get that in terms of the arrivals of VIPs.
Its forecast for on the first day of the forum Wednesday between eight and 9 a.m.
and thereafter. The plenary will start at nine
and will run through till approximately 130
you'll hear addresses from
the co conveners from the hosts and from various other
people who are involved in the forum as well. After that, the plenary will become
will go around to the different member states,
and we'll hear many of the different pledges,
the pledges will also emerge.
We think through some of the side events and the panels.
So if you have a specific interest
in a specific area, I think it would be good for media to follow those panels.
I think that was it. In terms of logistics,
In terms of the arrivals, we are doing a pooling system,
which will include wires and, of course,
photographers from the official delegations. And we'll be in touch with
the Correspondents Association to arrange that for next week.
Yeah, I think there were two other questions. One was on the UN, uh, participation,
Uh, and then, uh, last week's pledging conference on the UN participation.
uh, Martin, uh, Griffiths and, um, the Secretary General,
uh, all the the main UN agencies will be represented. Uh, I am not certain about
their level. Um, I think that there are a few featured in some of the side events.
I'm sorry we could get back to you for for sure on that.
Secondly, on the on the pledging conference,
I just wanted to make a I'm sure that there is a report out which I don't have,
but just to make a distinction because obviously
it is confusing since it's the same word.
The pledging conference is pledges that are that are made towards
UNHCR it is to the situations or to the theme.
And in fact we are encouraging pledges to go
directly to countries or even to other organisations.
that's clear. I think that was a little bit good to
uh correction so. But I see John has a follow up.
Yes, thank you. This is for Matt. Actually, it's a clarification.
Matt, I was aware of the pooling for the, uh
uh, arrivals. I'm more interested, uh, to have, uh
the timetable of the keynote addresses by the VIP S.
Uh, the way we have it say when the Human Rights Council,
So journalists know exactly when
the various heads of state or the Secretary General will be taking the platform.
And secondly, will the event uh, Alessandra be webcast on UN TV or not? Thank you.
The answer to your last question is yes,
and I let not answer the other.
I can't give you the exact run of show now, John,
but we will put that in the media kit that we get out at the start of next week.
But, I mean, I think the key time will be between 9 a.m. and approximately 130
and then followed by just after lunch. The press conference.
OK, so, Peter Kenny all African news.
uh, you mentioned that there are gonna be some heads of state there,
Are you able to name some of the heads of
state and national leaders who are going to be there?
Yes, I mean, th those. So those that have confirmed through an official note for
a bal include, um uh, for example,
Uh, there is the king of Jordan who is one of the the co convenor.
There is the vice president of Colombia,
uh, who has also confirmed, um, there is
the prime Minister of Lebanon,
the prime Minister of the Central African Republic.
Uh, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Um, and, uh, I think There's one more. These are some of the ones that have confirmed.
Obviously, this can be subject
to change. But this is what we have at the moment.
So we we have over 30 M FA SJ Japan is at the M FA and and about 95 line ministers.
Thank you very much, Stefan. Sorry. I forgot you had a follow up.
Yeah. Thank you. By the way, I is macron coming
because, uh, everybody was talking about macron.
I would I I would ask you to direct that question to the French permanent mission.
France will be represented at a very high level. I know that they're having some,
uh, scheduling issues, so they they will They will confirm that later.
when the global compact was adopted in 2018,
uh, a lot of disinformation and, uh,
set off a lot of very strong reaction from extreme right
I was wondering here how today,
uh, are you afraid of, uh, of that coming up again?
And have you noticed over the last five years,
uh, some kind of kind of big, uh
instrumental of the global compact by extreme right movement.
I wouldn't necessarily say that the causality was
that the compact triggered different reactions to it.
And obviously, as we know, migration is is a is a very hot topic,
surrounded by clouds of disinformation and often short term
political manoeuvring around it.
All I can say on that is first of all, we should, if we look at it historically, Um,
the issue of refugees has never been a left right issue.
It is, in fact, enjoyed a lot of, um, consensus in many different countries
from different sides for different reasons. Because refugees have been seen as
escaping tyranny, refugees have been seen in the in the view of of human rights.
political shadings have seen refugees as as a good thing or the
act of of receiving refugees as a as a good thing.
be able to do at this GRF is to rise
above this polarisation and to take a longer term view.
Um, we don't get involved in these, uh,
in these discussions at at at the domestic level.
Rather, what we want to demonstrate is that
you can demon. You can show unity. You can show solidarity
even if things might be troubling at home. Because
the act of hosting refugees is a stabilising factor globally,
and it needs to be supported.
uh, those messages vis a vis the the the polarisation of today.
And I would say also that we see examples
where countries that may seem unlikely
to be refugee supporters because of what may be going on domestically are actually
very strong supporters in terms of international
assistance and political support for refugee issues.
I'd like to thank our colleagues of UN HCR both Mr uh uh, Jamala and Matt
and we will hear more. We will hear much more on the on the Refugee Forum and good luck
Um, let me just do some housekeeping.
So we have a lot of other, uh, points to to treat with the, uh uh, other hosts.
Uh, sorry, guests, Um, we are now going to WHO,
to hear about situation in Sudan and then to
our friends of the International Committee of the Red Cross
to have an update on Afghanistan. And then we will have also a guest from Rome
talking about the global food commodity prices.
And then we will have also some announcement, including from Christian
and Key. So quite a long list of things to do.
So I will now suggest for your information,
I will now go to Christian Christian. Hello? You have brought us, Uh uh,
Tawfik Mashal, who is calling in from Port Sudan.
Mashal is Deputy Chief Representative, uh uh,
officer in charge and medical officer for Sudan.
And he can give us an update on the situation worsening situation in Sudan.
So I don't know if you want to start or we go directly to
Doctor Michelle. Let me maybe thank you very much.
Alessandra, let me maybe just say we already shared the the speaking notes,
so they should have been received by now, so
you can follow very nicely.
And you did all the introductions, so please go ahead, Dr Michel.
Ok, Thank you so much. Colleagues. Uh, thank you so much, Christian. Uh
and, uh, Good morning. Uh, good afternoon. Good evening.
to all our journalists and other colleagues. Uh, in call.
Uh, it is, uh, almost nine.
It's almost eight months since the start of the conflict in, uh uh,
Sudan, which affected the
life livelihood and the health.
Uh, the health system and the health service delivery is overstretched.
Uh, by, uh, this conflict, uh, particularly in the hotspot states.
It's also affected, uh, uh,
by population movement in ITPs.
Uh, in the States, which are relatively stable,
uh, the service delivery in primary health care centres as well as in hospitals.
According to the most recent, uh, information and data that we have, uh,
more than 12,000. Uh, people, unfortunately, lost their life.
And, uh, more than 33,000, uh, of Sudanese injured,
uh, as, uh, reported by the federal Ministry of Health.
communicable disease is very high. Even before this oral conflict. Uh uh,
51% of all deaths amongst you that
is reported to contribution of non-communicative diseases.
Uh, disease such as, uh, diabetes,
renal disease and chronic heart disease are on the top of the list.
The communicable disease is also another public health problem. in Sudan,
Uh, recently, uh, Sudan reported the, uh, outbreak of cholera.
But we also have protracted outbreaks of measles, malaria and dengue
Uh, population movement, because of the conflict is another,
According to most recent data,
6.8 million people forced to displace from their home,
in other words, uh, every 15 sudanese actually displaced from their
So with all of these challenges, uh, W-2 stay
Uh, we are working with the federal and state ministries of health,
uh, with other UN agencies,
uh, with our implementing partners
in order to sustain essential most needed and life saving,
to the most needy people of Sudan.
They need these, uh, services Now more than ever.
work with other, uh, health workers in UNICEF, uh,
completed a mass immunisation campaign for other cholera
vaccine in response to cholera outbreak in Sudan,
we vaccinated 2.2 million, uh, target population from age one year and above
in six localities of two states,
The reported coverage is 98%
overall in case management
and surveillance and risk communication, community engagement and also in
for ensuring better health of the people and also to
responding the urgent need of the health of the people
Uh, we are also calling on the international community to support
the Sudan Health Emergency Response Plan
for the urgent need of the people on the ground.
to support the health system of Sudan
in order to build back better a resilient health system.
I am grateful for your attention. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much, sir.
Um and I will now open the floor. The two questions, uh, the journalist in the room.
Let me see if there's any hand up.
I don't see any, so I'll go to Peter. Kenny, All Africa media.
I was just wondering, Is there any particular area of Sudan
where the need is greatest? Because, as we know, Sudan is a huge country.
And if so, uh, what are the reasons for the needs there. Thank you.
Please, go ahead. We answer one question after the other,
OK? And thank you so much for this question. Yes, Uh,
Sudan actually has 18 states,
and the impact of this conflict is different from state to state.
The most affected states are 5 to 4 and
And the situation over there, particularly in part of the
Khartoum, most part of the
and some part of the Darfur is very difficult.
And also security wise. It's unaccessible.
So if you see the population movement is also hugely from Darfur
and as well as from Capital
that is actually, uh, because of the fact
war over there or the conflict over there, the or
or conflict over there is,
much dominant compared to the other United States that we
have in peace and not part of the country.
Thank you very much. John
Yes, I have a question, but on another topic for Christian, I'll wait. Thanks.
Please. Um Lisa Schlein Voice Voice of America.
Uh, I would like to ask you, um,
what sort of access you have to
people who are in need of, uh, of health interventions, particularly in Darfur.
pretty ripe throughout the country.
Um, so, uh, and also, if you would talk about
the, um, level of malnutrition, what is happening in regard to the Children,
whether many of them are dying because they're
not getting the health care that they need.
Uh, and, uh, I understand that sexual violations is, uh, peaking in many places.
and if you would discuss that And what sort of
an impact that is having not only on the physical,
problems of the people who are involved. I'm not sure whether I mentioned D
uh uh, that situation. Do you have any access to the people there?
Uh, sorry. Just one more thing. I think
you are calling for international support.
Um, I get the impression that perhaps you're not getting enough. So
what is it that you need? And how much are you getting? Thank you,
Ok, thank you so much. Uh, Lisa, uh, I think you
got four questions. Uh, first in terms of access in Dur, Uh,
there are several reports, uh, in place in order to reach out as much as possible, uh,
chart, uh, particularly reach out, uh, to West Darfur.
And through that, I'm time to also to North Darfur
Uh, so we are delivering over from there the supply, including medicine, uh,
commodities. Uh uh, inside the
In addition to that, uh, WO actually activated three
hubs. Uh, here, uh, for supply and logistic.
Uh, one is in, uh, Red Sea, the second in Jazeera
State, and the third is in White Knight State.
So, through white Knight State, uh,
we are also dispatching supply together with our other UN agencies convoy,
based on the opportunity that we find for the ground reality
which is enabling us in order to move this convoy.
recently, we, uh, dispatch a supply of medicine and, uh, non medical equipment, uh,
And then there are implementing partners like the international
NGO S who are helping us in order to
reach out the supply to the end user and health facilities
on, uh, your second question regarding the malnutrition. Yes, uh,
in total, Uh, 43% of, uh, sudanese population are at risk of, uh,
high risk of the food insecurity
among Children under 5. Uh uh,
3.2 million Children under five are, uh,
uh, within these 3.2 million, uh,
around, uh, 700,000 of them are, uh, severely acute, uh, malnourish.
And within the 800,000 of them are
with medical complication, which require hospitalisation and, uh, hospital.
So that is why W-2 activated, uh
stabilisation centres, uh, across the states.
WO providing, uh, medicine over there, Uh, as well as, uh, operational support, uh,
to this, uh, stabilisation centres
in terms of, uh, gender-based violence. Yes. Uh,
and this is one of the unfortunate event, uh,
in most of the conflict, uh, settings.
according to the information that we have a total of 4.2 million, uh, women, uh,
are at risk of the gender based violence, Uh, in in Sudan
and that's, uh I think also very, uh, unfortunate event in the countries, uh, with,
And, uh, and, uh, uh, countries where we will
for such kind of, uh, situation
regarding the, uh, need for response. Yes.
We already developed our, uh, uh, health emergency response plan, which cost at,
Uh, up to now, we only receive $59 million.
Mean, uh, the plan is, uh, cost budgeted, like, 40% in total.
Uh, we are still in need of, uh, $60 million.
Uh, that's why we are calling on all, uh, international community in order to,
uh, fully funded this plan, uh, to enable, uh, W-2, uh,
for implementation of the plan activities for the
urgent need of the of the people.
I hope I cover your questions. Thank you.
Um, I don't see other questions for you.
I haven't forgotten John's question to Christian, I hope. Christian, please.
I know you also have an announcement, so
hopefully Christian will stay. But now I would like to thank very much,
Michel, for for updating us on the dire situation
And thank you, sir. And good luck with your work. And I'll go now to my right
who is the outgoing head of delegation in Afghanistan of IC RC.
And he is here to give us an update on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
No, thank you very much. Thank you for having me this morning.
I've just completed my last assignment in Afghanistan for the last
two years and a half a bit more than that.
starting this assignment just a couple of months before the takeover.
And, um, and up to now, uh, the the the situation has been
evolving in terms of humanitarian response
perspective to not only maintaining
mid 2021. Maintaining long lasting
operations in a country where we have been answering
to the needs of Afghans for more than four decades
while responding to the consequences of intense conflict
was spreading into many cities of the country
involving displacement, distraction, destructions of infrastructures,
are picking up the wounded and the dead on the battlefield and so on and so forth.
in August 21 by a dramatic change of regime that you all
has more than tripled the size of its
operation in order not only to maintain existing activities
services delivered to Afghan in need,
but to compensate for the dramatic immediate suspensions
of the massive international funding which was participating
to the running of the public services in Afghanistan
and here. A few organisations such as the
on top of what they were already doing,
started to fill the gap left by development actors
having left the countries and other international financial
institutions such as the World Bank and others.
perspective focused on supporting the health services to Afghans.
We have engaged into bringing the finance necessary
to support the 33 biggest hospitals of Afghanistan,
paying for the salaries, the running costs and the supplies.
we have engaged into bringing finance necessary
to support electricity and water authorities in
order to continue running services for large
amounts of urban populations across Afghanistan.
this extra efforts that we were engaging into in order to support public
services to Afghans which were left without the finance necessary to function.
We I mean this engagement was meant to be only temporary,
while development actors and international financial institutions
would be back in activity in Afghanistan,
which, unfortunately for all the reasons we know in terms of
the political impasse that we are all facing in a
may be mainly revolving around
continuous restrictions on women's rights.
This has not allowed basically development actors
be done in Afghanistan and the
um, an organisation like IC RC was, uh,
bringing to public services spec specifically the hospital sector,
um, couldn't be maintained, uh, on the longer term, uh, financially wise And, um,
we are facing today in Afghanistan not only a
crisis linked to decades of conflicts and its consequences
the fact that since the change of regime,
international sanctions that have a negative impact
on the development of the economy,
but as well on many humanitarian
be it in health or in nutrition.
We are now facing a large contractions of humanitarian funding available
for Afghanistan, which forces many organisations such as the
programmes. And when we look at 2024
huge concerns are coming from a humanitarian perspective.
There is no prospect of the economy improving
and we see these engagements from
but as well from other organisations in the support that we have been giving so far to
many vital public services to Afghans, which will have negative consequences on
humanitarian indicators in health, in nutrition and others.
And this is of course bringing a lot of concerns for
the well being of the Afghan population for the future.
So this is a bit where we are at
after the mission have just completed.
We are maintaining from an
perspective a robust operation in Afghanistan next year,
but not to the scale of what it has been for the last couple of years and a half,
in an environment where the needs of Afghans are not,
which of course is raising a lot of concerns for the future of the country,
and I know that we don't have much time.
So I will stop here and leave the floor for questions.
Thank you very much. And I'll start with Chris
Thank you for taking my question. And thank you for the briefing.
Um, could you just give us
a better idea of how much you're forced to scale back. So tell us how big you were,
how much you have to scale down.
And I guess we all understand what that means for the Afghans.
No, that that's a very key question.
Look, from 21 to 22 we more than triple the size of our operations from an ICRC
perspective only, which was basically the tripling of our budget.
and we we managed in 22 to receive
the funding necessary to manage that huge increase.
We maintain the same level of operations in 23
because the needs and the environment was not changing.
but we couldn't in 23 receive the same amount of funding that we received in 22
and already in 23 we had to cut down very dramatically into our operations.
the initial plan that we had at the beginning of 23 and
the realisations of that plan at the end of this year,
we have got about a good third of what was initially planned.
That's the reality today.
And when we project ourselves,
we have today launched our appeal for next year's operations, which includes,
of course, the plans for Afghanistan.
We are projecting ourselves into an operational size budget,
which is about a third of what it was in 22 and initiative plan in 23.
the size that we were in before the takeover,
while the value for money is not the same in 24 compared to 21 so with the same amount,
we will be doing less, that's for sure.
And in an environment where other actors,
especially from the development sectors but as well private actors are not back,
there is no alternative to what the humanitarians were doing
to fill the gap left by the departures of others,
and the needs are not decreasing. On the contrary,
economic indicators are going down,
humanitarian indicators are going down and they will be going down even
more rapidly next year than this year.
Because there are many of us humanitarian organisations are forced to
disengage from the support to vital public services to Afghans.
And this is the main concerns we have
thank you for his briefing. Um,
you were saying that in 2023 you didn't get the same amount of funding,
uh, for your operation in, uh, in Afghanistan.
Uh, and as your president was saying, uh, you ha you have now to concentrate on core
your core business. Is that the case?
In Afghanistan, you have to concentrate on your core business.
And what kind of, uh, activities
Very clear. Look, yes, in Afghanistan as well.
We had to review our priorities and to focus on what
we believe was where the most important part of our output
we have looked into the specific identity that we
have in Afghanistan compares eventually to to other contexts.
In order to decide which of our programmes would be prioritised against others,
the main focus will remain in Afghanistan on our protection activities,
the work we do in detention,
the support that we do to families to re establish the the the
link with their missing family members and so on and so forth.
the assistance programme that that we have in the health sector because
we are still running seven orthopaedic centres in Afghanistan which are serving
yearly 250,000 disabled patients.
that's something that we cannot interrupt.
We have to continue delivering that service.
So the health support that we are providing
to Afghans will continue to be prioritised,
has with armed and security forces as well as armed groups across Afghanistan.
In terms of engaging into a dialogue for,
I mean linked to their behaviour not only behaviour in combat
but as well behaviour in maintaining law and order today in Afghanistan
and the support that we are giving
jointly with other Red Cross and red
croissant movement partners present in Afghanistan,
the support that we are giving to the Afghan Red Crescent Society and that will be
for our priorities next year,
other activities that were
on the increase for the last couple of years and a half,
especially livelihood programmes,
cash assistance to very vulnerable communities.
The support that we were giving to water and electricity
authorities in different provinces to maintain the service delivered to
urban populations mainly all this will be dramatically cut
Thank you very much. Other questions to the IC RC in the room
or on the platform. John, I believe this hand up is still the one of before.
So I'm not giving you the floor now.
this question is for the representative from IC RC. And I still got my question
in pending for Christian.
so ask the question to Mr
in context of, uh, funding.
Uh, you mentioned it'll be a third of what it's been in 2022 2023.
Can you give us the amount in Swiss francs or in dollars? That going forward?
What would be the budget for the IC RC operations in Afghanistan?
And if you are cutting back in, uh,
And if you could repeat the figure on
the number of disabled people you're looking after.
OK, The number I mean, the the figures of, uh, disabled patients receiving
services through IC RC Orthopaedic centres in, uh, in Afghanistan
reaches now about 250,000 patients a year.
Um and these are regular patients that are, uh, coming for treatment.
Uh, plus all those new patients that, uh, that are registered in a year,
looking at budget figures, we are looking.
I mean, we have been reaching a budget size in Swiss francs
of over 220 million last year,
which we couldn't keep at that level.
So we had to cut that of about a good third, as I said,
And next year, the budget figures that we are projecting in in
terms will be running around 100 million Swiss francs.
I don't have the precise figure now because the
calculations were finalised over the last few days,
So I don't see other questions for you, Mr.
Thank you very much for coming and briefing us on this situation
and, uh, thank you. And, uh, thanks. And congratulations for the end of your
Um, I go now to our last guest,
who is connecting from Rome. We have the pleasure to have.
I mean, we we we know him well. And thank you for being with us again.
senior economist of FA U Markets and Trade Division.
So you have an update on the, um what is your monthly update
on the global food commodity prices?
Uh, and also, I think he has a short announcement, and then we will go to Christian.
So, uh, you have the floor. Thank you.
Uh, good morning. Uh, everyone,
my briefing, uh, is on the, uh, FA O food price index.
Uh, which we released, uh, this morning at 10 o'clock. Uh, wrong time.
Uh, if your food price index, uh, remain unchanged.
what we have as a decline in the cereal price index. Uh,
and a marginal drop in the meat price index will
counter balance by increases in the other three indexes.
Namely, uh, the vegetable oils, dairy and Sugar
International. Uh, food prices are now,
uh, 11% below what they were in November last year,
and if you were to compare the prices, uh, current prices with, uh, the, uh,
peak it reached in March 2020.
Uh, as for the cereal price index, uh, the index fell,
uh, fundamentally reflecting declines in maize and wheat prices.
Maize prices, uh, fell on increased the
farmer sales of old and new crops in Argentina
and seasonally high supplies in the United States.
Uh, seasonally high supplies in Argentina again as well as uh,
in Australia and good progress, uh, in harvest in the Russian Federation
led to lower wheat prices.
international rice prices remain stable due to contrasting
price movements across origins and market segments.
moving forward to the FA O vegetable oil price index.
It increased after declining for three consecutive months
uh, sunflower oil prices.
More active purchases by leading importing countries,
uh, underpin the increase in palm oil prices,
while seasonally low outputs in major producing countries
led to a moderate increase in
By contrast, while soy oil prices dropped slightly
on subdued global import demand,
outweighing the impact of global production prospects in Brazil,
uh, moving on to the FA O, dairy price index,
which also increased for the second consecutive month,
reflecting increases in butter and milk powder Prices may
increase the purchases by,
which coincided with limited inventories
and increased the internal demand in, uh, mostly in Western Europe.
Now, whole milk powder prices increased, uh, relatively
as seasonally high milk production in Oceania's current season.
I'm referring to the 2023 24 production season,
uh, basically kept the the price increases.
Uh, cheese prices, however, fell further on high exportable availabilities,
especially for cheddar cheese,
despite seasonally tight milk production,
uh, if your sugar price index in increased reflecting market concerns over
global export availabilities in the current season,
worsening, uh, production prospects. Uh
primarily related to the El Nino weather
condition in particularly in two countries,
Uh, plus, uh, shipping delays from Brazil.
Uh, and the strengthening of the Brazilian real against the United States. Dollar
also supported the sugar prices,
but was somewhat moderated by a strong pace of production in Brazil.
FA O me price index fell marginally.
Uh, basically, uh, this is the 5th, 5th consecutive monthly drop in the meat prices.
Uh, as global exportable availabilities were more than adequate to meet
currently subdued global import demand.
Uh, despite challenging production conditions due to animal diseases here,
I'm referring to mostly to, uh,
Uh, related, uh, production setbacks in many countries and challenges to exports.
uh, colleagues have ques any questions? Uh, more than happy to answer. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Let me look at the room. Is there any question for
Let me see. Sorry, I don't see any hands up apart from John.
And I believe this has been there for the
So if there are no question for FA
UK, maybe you want to just, uh, give your announcement,
and then we will go to Christian.
Um hello. OK, so I'll keep the announcement very short.
we would like to do a short announcement for the
upcoming International Mountain Day happening next Monday on December 11th
and this year's theme will be Restoring Mountain Ecosystems and it
will be a contribution to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
and to the five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions.
And for this on this occasion,
a new publication jointly developed by FA OUEP
and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat will be launched
that day at the FA O Pavilion at Cop 28 at
2 p.m. GST, which is 11 a.m. CE T, uh CE T.
And this report, titled Restoring Mountain Ecosystems,
explains how mountain ecosystems
and the millions of rural people who depend on them
are under threat and particularly vulnerable to climate change.
With case studies from around the world,
it de it will demonstrate what needs to be done to preserve and restore them.
So for those interested, uh,
there will be a press release out next Monday and I will also share the launch uh,
the launch webcast after this briefing, So
thank you very much. Thank you. Key.
Um, is there any question to us?
No. OK, so that's not for you. Sorry.
OK, so I don't see other questions for FA
U. I'd like to thank very much, uh, Mr
to connect, uh, for connecting from Rome
and key for this announcement.
So let's go to, uh, Christian and I believe there are questions for you.
just wanted to say something about,
um uh, next week, Uh, key has mentioned, uh uh,
the International Mountain Mountain Day that is happening on Monday.
Monday, we have quite a few other events,
and I would like to remind you that, uh,
on Monday we are also having the launch of the 2024 global
Um, this is on the occasion of the launch, and the, uh,
UN office for the co ordination of humanitarian affair will
host an event in Geneva on 11th on Monday.
Um, as you know, the overview is the annual, uh,
the GHO is the annual overview of humanitarian trends
and the interagency plans to respond to the crisis.
You've already, uh, of course, spoken about it with, uh, Mr Griffiths.
uh, hold your horses, because we will hear more on that morning.
Uh, about, uh, the situation,
uh, about this, uh, overview. So the event will take place from 1030 to 12. La
AC access the room as a media accredited to you. No,
this is one of the three events that will be
happening during the day for the launch of the overview.
The other two will be taking place in Doha
Um, we'll have a recorded message by the Secretary General,
which will be followed by opening remarks from Mrs Joyce
the assistant secretary general for humanitarian
affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator.
This will be followed by a high level panel,
uh, to discuss humanitarian action,
community engagement and protection risks in the context of the climate crisis.
The panel will be moderated by
our US G Melissa Fleming.
And we'll include the following speakers. Mr Janet
Commissioner for Crisis Management of the European Commission.
Mrs. Kelly Clemens, the Deputy Commissioner for Refugees.
Ahmad, the chief of Executive Office of Islamic Relief.
Moto International. Jens is in the room.
And of course, we'll be happy to answer your questions about,
the week will be extremely complicated And in addition to the event on Monday,
you know, uh, because Liz as as as briefed you about it, we will have the,
uh, two days of the, uh, uh, event, uh, related to the 75th.
of the Human Rights Universal Declaration.
And in general, uh, uh, the situation of human rights.
There will be some limitations, uh, in terms of access to the Palais,
Uh, because of the high number of, uh, VIP S that we are, we will be expecting,
please, as much as possible. Use the
Um, and if possible, public transport, that would be even better.
Um, uh, we will, uh, give you some information, Uh,
in addition to that on security arrangements.
But as you know, on Monday and Tuesday, you can use your badge, your, uh,
UN badge to access those events.
And then, of course, as we have heard from Matt on Wednesday and Thursday,
we will have the events at the public expo.
So, um, lots of things to do.
I also would like to give the floor to Christian because
I think on Monday you will also have a press conference.
Uh uh, at 4 p.m. So maybe you want to tell us a little bit more about this?
Yeah. Thank you, Alessandra. And hello, everybody.
Just to add on the long list of events for next week,
the global status report on road safety 2023 details the
scale of global road traffic deaths and
the progress in advancing laws,
strategies and policies to reduce them around the world.
We will have an embargoed press briefing,
a virtual press briefing on these key findings of the global
Global Status report on Monday at four o'clock in the afternoon.
press advisory media advisory this afternoon,
and there should be an address on it where you can
before the briefing already over the weekend,
I assume get the embargoed material to work with
this beforehand we will have Dr Etienne Krook,
the director of the Department of social determinants of health,
in from WHO with us and Dr Nant and
the head of the Safety Mobility Unit. So those those will be the two speakers
on Monday. The the launch of the report itself is on December 13th Wednesday.
So obviously the material everything embargoed until Thursday.
The launch, the virtual press briefing
four o'clock in the afternoon,
we received a Christian. And just maybe before we open the floor to question,
let me remind you of the press conference that will take place at 1. 30 today.
uh, by the UN Committee on the elimination of racial discrimination.
They will present the findings
of, uh, their, uh analysis of the reports of Bolivia, Morocco, Germany,
South Africa, Bulgaria and Vietnam.
And the four members of the committee will be there
to, uh, brief you and, uh, maybe just, uh,
one last point on the Committee on the protection of the
rights of all migrant workers and members of their families,
which will close this afternoon.
It's 37th session after having reviewed the report on Uruguay, Kyrgyzstan and Soom
I think given you everything I had and so now
let's go to the questions and I have to start
with John because he's been waiting for a long time.
Yes. Uh, good morning, Christian.
It's a logistical question concerning the
special session of the executive board.
will there be a resolution draught resolution discussed at that meeting or not?
Or will it be just the director General's report on the health situation in the OPT?
Uh, and if we could have the list
of, uh, participants, uh, from the board membership,
who might be at ministerial level.
Uh, and I understand it might be hybrid.
Those that are not in Geneva and might connect from
the capitals. And if you have an update on the humanitarian situation,
All right. Uh, thank you, John. A list of questions here.
Um, the executive board special session that that's officially called
remind you everybody, this is the executive board who calls for this. And that is
it needs to be at least 10 members of the executive board,
uh, that request a special session.
This is then when the executive board has to hold,
uh, that session the Secretariat is obviously facilitating it,
but it's the member states who are asking for it.
Uh uh. The executive board has 34 members. The the the composition is on the Web.
Um, there's a short agenda provisional agenda available on the Web as well.
It's it's very simple. It's it's exactly one item on it.
And that's the the discussion of the health conditions in the occupied
including East Jerusalem.
We will have a report by the DG.
We will have most likely also report by
the Emergencies Programme on details and then discussion.
members have been SP of the EB.
60 members of the EB of the executive board have been sponsoring a
Um, that will be discussed.
And whenever that comes to a close, um, this whole discussion or
around the session and around the decision,
um, it will be communicated.
That means we cannot give you, really, uh,
I can only tell you logistically from our side,
we're prepared from 930 in the morning until 930 in the evening.
There's a provisional timeline also also on the Web and the link to
the to the Webcast is also already on the on the Web.
So it's all there. It's all ready for for Sunday.
Um, members participating should be made
available some 24 hours before. That means we shouldn't expect that today,
but most likely tomorrow or during the day tomorrow.
yes, it's a hybrid session. Some members are coming in person.
We also don't know who's coming remotely, who's who's who's joining in person,
and for yeah, and and and that's it.
But again, it's Webcast, so the easiest is to watch it live.
The whole session from Ada
Um, before I come to the next point, maybe are there any further?
Let me take over here, Alessandra, any questions further on the special session?
Maybe we can do that first before we go to the
to the other part. Good suggestion. And I see that John has a follow up.
Hopefully on this, uh, otherwise
I think this question was asked Tariq on Tuesday. We still don't have the, uh,
letter from the sponsors that requested the special session.
I don't see it on the website yet. which is highly unusual.
why is that letter not posted yet of the people
or the countries that asked for the special session?
will the Director General address the Security Council meeting today
on the triggering of article 99 by the Secretary General.
uh the names of those members requesting I understand they were not being made
Those requesting a session or the the sponsors
look out for them again 24 hours before.
Whatever we can publish, we will publish in the approximate 24 hours
I don't at the moment have information about the
the special session today at the Security Council.
so don't don't have any feedback on that with me. Maybe I can get that in the remaining
but yes, of course. This afternoon, Geneva time.
Morning in New York, there will be a meeting of the Security Council, and
Tatar is the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine question.
And, uh, the Secretary General will address that meeting.
And, uh, you can find the link on UN Web TV, but before we go to the Gaza issue.
Um, can I ask, uh, Robin and Antonio? If the questions they are,
uh, they want to ask is around the meeting of Sunday, Uh, of the
Yes, thank you. Just a logistical one. If you do.
You know when Doctor Tedros will be speaking, Is he going to be,
uh, you know, in in the morning session? Is he gonna be first up?
If you if you just have an idea of of when that might be. Thank you,
Yeah. Thank you. So, to my information, that's one of the first items.
because the report by the director General and then possibly followed by the,
um, emergency health emergencies it will
also be a part of forming the, uh
the the the the The Discussion. So, yes, that should be one of the first items
Antonio also question on the meeting.
Yes, a very fast one. maybe you have mentioned already, Christian.
Sorry, but what time does it start? The session
9. 30 to my knowledge. But again, um, everything is literally just coming together.
As you as you know, This has been called very shortly.
I just put the link to some of the documents that the the available documents in, uh,
Um, 9. 30 is what we have on our list for starting,
yeah, I. I don't expect it to start earlier.
Um, but just to not keep an keep an eye on the proceedings if if you want for the day
is that on the same matter?
but this is not about Gaza, so I don't know,
let me finish with Christian so we can free him.
Any other question to Christian on this Sunday
I don't see any. So OK, so let me go back. Uh, maybe Christian.
Now you want to take up the question, start with the first question, uh, on Gaza from,
And then we'll go to Musa,
Right? So let me let me give you a bit of an update on on, um
on what's going on? Um, because we received a bit of an update on the situation today.
let's also remember, it's 8 December now, today and, uh, 7 December
two months of a really sad anniversary.
So it's been two months since the these horrendous
and horrific attacks by Hamas and other armed groups
on Israel. It's been two months, um,
of that, that the sort of killing of
innocent civilians in villages and and kibbutzim,
it's all. It's two months
that we started chasing down and the slaughtering of
peaceful young people at a music festival in Israel.
200 plus hostages were taken and uh,
in a in a very horrific way and kept away somewhere in Gaza.
But it's also two months since the start of Israel's campaign,
not only in self defence against Hamas and armed groups,
against the whole population of Gaza.
It's It's in a campaign against innocent civilians, women,
that have been targeted since
in what even the closest allies of Israel called is indiscriminate bombing.
Uh, it's cutting off Israel from water. Uh, it's cutting off Gaza
food, anything which is necessary for any
it's a cruel campaign, and right now it's even worse.
With the continued cramping down and pushing the people
of Gaza further down to the south Now,
even from the once before called safe zone around
to Rafah in Rafah, supposedly to specific areas.
The situation is getting hor horrible, more and more horrible by the day.
Um, if there's any possible escalation
in in describing that scenario,
we've been we had discussions or we had the
report from our own staff in Gaza right now,
this really describes some horrific scenarios of of, uh,
Children and people actually begging and crying for water.
We're at that level where
the most normal and basic supplies are not available anymore.
I think the humanitarian colleagues who counted out the
recent days that normally in any refugee situation,
any camp situation you would have, you
would calculate with seven litres of water per day per person
to fulfil their basic needs.
the calculation for Gaza is between one and two litres of fresh water a day,
and that's water for everything and not only for drinking.
And you know that we are calculating. As for a normal person
on a normal day, three bottles of drinking water alone
have scenarios where they would describe that
people are starting to cut down telephone poles to have a little bit of firewood.
Still, to do any keep warm to maybe cook if they have anything available.
So we're at that level where really
the civilization civilization is about to break down.
The society is about to break down.
our convoys had been stopped on the road
as they were trying to bring
medical supplies to the North. They've been stopped more than one time only.
So we tried to force food and water out
of them until they realised its medical supplies,
the convoy could move forward. Um,
very understandable situation and the situation that you have in many
in in in any scenario where the population has been being
pushed beyond comprehension is being forced into a horrible scenario.
Uh, that all civil society,
today we had a A convoy supposed to go up to
medical supplies and to evacuate 12 patients from all
Ali in the north to the South.
That mission, we were told this morning,
had to be suspended because of the security situation.
Um, we're trying to evacuate some patients to the UAE.
And and that's maybe the only positive note of the day.
Um, this afternoon, our teams in Gaza,
uh, in in Egypt. Sorry for that.
So our teams in Egypt want to visit the, uh,
the hospital where the babies that have been evacuated a couple of weeks ago
to see about their whereabouts and about their health conditions to have a
a positive note in that home
the situation in Gaza is beyond belief. Literally.
The health system is on its knees.
Gaza cannot afford to lose any more health facility any any more single ambulance,
what we're fearing, that the South will experience the same as the North.
And with all rhetoric around what's going on in individual places
we should not let get ourselves distracted from the realities on the ground.
We see these pictures every day. We have people on the ground who see it.
We have all UN agencies somehow present and bringing reports.
Let's get not. Let's not get distracted from what's going on the ground.
Whatever the narrative out there is. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Uh, Christian
and I think you have abundantly answered. Uh, John question.
But I see that Musa has a question also
year, uh, in video of the
Thank you, Alexander and Musa.
Sorry, I did not get exactly the the part about the 3000. Sorry.
Um, please, please repeat that.
Mussa Sorry. This this is nearly turning into a personal question here. Um,
I think we and I in particular have been talking about
the victims in Gaza and in Palestine territory a lot,
minutes a child death list every day in every moment. Um, we have been
showing you and telling you the figures About
and in Israel being Children and women. Um,
other colleagues have been
pointing the the Children victims
everywhere out at every occasion. So I don't think
your your comment is appropriate here. I must say it as as clear as I can here
we have 17 about We're approaching about 17,000 deaths in Gaza now,
and it's a horrible death.
And I also been mentioning, as you pointed out,
the first part of my my intervention here.
the, uh, attacks against Gaza from day one on.
I think I did that, and I hope everybody could hear that
amongst these Now soon, 17,000 deaths. We have at least 7100 Children
and that's many of them who are under the rubble who have not been counted for.
And this does not include the ones which I also mentioned who
are begging for food and begging for water on a daily basis.
we are pointing out. I think that more than many others
the plight of the civilians in Gaza and in the West Bank,
uh, and in East Jerusalem
and the absolute horror on the ground
Thank you very much. And I also, uh,
uh, yes. Uh, Christian, You mentioned some evacuations to the UAUE.
A, uh, field hospital from which hospitals are Are the patients uh, coming?
And do you have any figures? Even approximate.
No, on that one. Antonio, thank you for that. Uh, no. On that one.
I don't have figures yet. It's actually to to the information I have.
We're working on evacuating, actually, not to the specific UAE hospital,
but outside of Gaza to the UAE.
Um um, but again, once we have more, once we have figures. Once, we have also,
uh, more success on that. Uh, we will. We will certainly communicate.
a last question from Mohammad.
My question for ah, also Christian Ah WHO. Ah,
There are reports Ah, saying that
Ah, Israelis. Ah, planning to float to the ah tunes.
Ah, in Gaza with salt water
claiming to fight terrorism.
The Israeli government also didn't deny this.
Ah, I was wondering what do you think about such methods.
Ah, that will make Gaza's
ah lands infertile with salt and
destroy its, uh, resources water resources.
Do you have already, uh, a call to Israel on behalf of humanity for such methods?
I. I see I can get all the questions and representing the U all UN agencies here now?
no, I don't because A it's, uh I can't verify it.
And, B, it's not a primary, uh, focus of WHO. Let's not.
our focus is on the health system in Gaza on
on all the needs of the health system in Gaza.
And while Yes, of course, if that happened, and then this might impact the health.
the health system in Gaza is what What is our
focus and the needs of the people on the ground?
as I said before and let me let me say that one more time Gaza cannot afford to lose any
single, more hospital or any even single more hospital bed.
The health workers don't have food.
The health workers need to flee and take care of themselves. On top of it,
they don't have food they don't have water to continue working.
Patients are bleeding on the floor. Trauma yards resemble battlefields.
This must end. This callousness must end. We need a cease fire, and we need it now.
Absolutely. Thank you very much.
Uh, OK, so thanks everybody for having followed this very long
That's right, I. I had promised you the floor. Sorry. Sorry. Go ahead.
Uh, Fatima. Fatima. Fatima was here in in person, but she's gone.
And I don't know if she's connected. No, I don't see her.
Sorry for that. Maybe you can address your question directly to her. Sorry.
OK, so thank you very much to everyone.
Uh, have a nice week and brace yourself for next week because we're gonna have
Thank you very much for following this pre, uh, press briefing.
Just one last point, please.
Because of the situation at the pale and a great number of people coming in
and the technical, uh, complications.
The press briefing of next Tuesday
press briefing on next Tuesday, which is the 12
will be virtual only. So don't come to this, uh room.
Uh, we will only have the connection. We will be doing it virtually fully. Virtual.
Uh And, uh, of course. All the rest will be in person at the Palais,
Uh, in room 19 and 20. Thank you very much. And, uh, I'll see you next week.
