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So, so we'll start with some announcements.
If we can do that in a succinct way, I'd be very grateful because we've got a number of people online.
We've got 3 briefers on Gaza and one on Sudan.
I'd like to start with the Zaina Awad from ILO, please.
If you're online, go ahead.
So listen, I'm going to call Katherine to come up for UN trade and development.
Just to note in terms of I gave you a little bit of a sense of what's coming up with this briefing, there is a 12 noon briefing also in this room by OCHA on the situation in Ethiopia.
It's connected to the **** level pledging event that's happening this afternoon from 3 to 6 Geneva time and the the link will be the same As for this briefing.
With that, let me give the floor to Katherine from UN Trade and Development, my economic.
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UNICE, you're going to speak to us about Resource Management Week.
So resource management next resource Management week, next week here in the Pali, we'll gather experts from around the world to advance cooperation on UN tools to address the sustainability crisis in resource use.
Now, as you may know, massive quantities of critical raw materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, graphite and rare earth elements will be needed for the energy transition.
They are crucial for renewable energy technologies, for battery production and for driving the global shift to electrification.
Now, to meet the demand for these and other resources, extraction could rise by 60% by 2060 from 2020 levels.
This comes at a huge environmental cost, as resource extraction and processing account for some 60% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, with huge impacts on biodiversity and water stress.
Minerals are also a major development issue, accounting for a significant role in the economies of 81 countries.
That's representing 1/4 of global GDP, half the world's population and nearly 70% of those living in extreme poverty.
Now, in this context, concerted efforts will be needed to ensure respect for human rights and well-being, including for workers in the extractive industry, indigenous communities and environmental defenders.
Well, overall demand for these resources must be stemmed through measures for energy efficiency of the circular economy and resource sobriety.
And in parallel, urgent action is needed for international coordination to bring resource management into balance with sustainable development.
And the good news is there are tools available that can support these efforts in the form of the UN Framework Classification for Resources and UN Resource Management System, both of which have been developed at UNECE.
Now, the rising global use of these tools will be in focus next week as the Expert Group on Resource Management meets here in Geneva.
That's in Tempest, the 22nd to the 26th of April.
And just to give you a little explanation of how these tools help, they they provide a common language and framework to classify, manage and report all energy and mineral resources.
They apply to mining and can be used to facilitate the reuse of mining waste for the circular economy and also apply to renewable energy projects.
The Secretary General has called for the extractive industry to align with UNFC.
That's the the framework classification and the the UN Economic and Social Council has endorsed the UN Resource Management System for global use now to support improved decision making on resource activities.
These tools integrate economic viability, environmental sustainability and social responsibility in line with the SDGS and the Paris Agreement.
They're the only globally applicable UN tools to do so and they're increasing use worldwide.
Just to give you a couple of examples before wrapping up, the recently adopted EU Critical Raw Materials Act stipulates the use of UNFC for all projects.
The African Union has endorsed a continent wide system based on UNRMS, the Resource Management System, and has just launched the Pan African Resource Reporting Code which is the only template to to report artisanal and small scale mining activities which employ millions of people, often in unregulated conditions.
So the resource management next week will showcase a variety of case studies and use of these tools in jurisdictions worldwide, from Cornwall in the UK to Queensland, Australia, Mexico, Zambia and and to provide updates on this share best practises.
It will also provide an update on the work of the Secretary General's Panel on Critical energy transition materials, Minerals.
So as always, we stand ready to facilitate contact with our experts.
I'll be sending you the written notes for this and please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Thank you very much, Thomas.
Just to repeat my, my plea, if you can, if you can make your announcement in a couple of minutes so, so we don't keep our, our other briefers waiting too long online, I'd be grateful.
I would give the floor to Zain Awad from ILO next, please.
Thank you very much and well noted.
This is to let the colleagues know that next Monday, the 22nd of April, we will be holding a press briefing at the study at 10:30 in the morning to share or to unveil our upcoming report on the impact of climate change on the health of workers.
The report is titled Ensuring Safety and Health at Work in a Changing Climate.
It's a global report and it'll be presented by our senior specialist on occupational Health and safety, Miss Manal Al Azzi, as well as myself.
We will also have the material available for interested parties and journalists under embargo as of this coming Friday at at on the 22nd of April, sorry, the Friday the 19th of April.
And the embargo will be lifted on the day of the briefing, the 22nd at 11:00 AM.
We will be sharing new figures to show the impact that climate change is having on the health of workers, including, you know, diseases as well as other conditions.
And we'll be taking a look, we'll be taking a wider look at the impact of climate change.
So we're not just focusing on heat stress, but we're also looking at climate change induced changes in the environment that are then triggering health concerns.
Thank you very much, Dana.
I've got my plans from the UN brief and then I've got kids stuff from Jean's most place.
Yes, thank you very much for taking my question.
Michael, Michelle, my question is I have several actually for you to one of the press officers for Catherine, if you could send me the notes to my e-mail directly.
I haven't received the the press release you mentioned and for Thomas also crawl Thomas, I have not received any of your latest press releases.
Perhaps you should add me to your distribution list.
And regarding the ILO of report also, if you could send us via e-mail, that'll be great because the link here sometimes you know you cannot save it.
So that's pretty much what I had to ask for.
So my plans to even brief asking to be on the distribution list for your materials for your events.
Just a quick question on the embargoed report, if I can ask to send it kind of early on Friday would be nice.
We all love to work on ILO reports during the weekend, but if we can start Friday, you know, it's always better.
Thank you and completely understood.
And Maya, you will, you will get the link I'm assuming, I think I understood that your question is to get to ensure you get the link for the press briefing on Monday and then the the the link to the content of of of the report itself on on Friday.
So for sure we'll be we'll be sharing those.
Many thanks, Zaina and colleagues.
I'd give the floor now to Claire Nollis from WMO.
Also staying with the subject of climate change, Monday, the 22nd of April, which is Earth Day, WMO and the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service will be releasing the State of the Climate in Europe report.
It's an embargoed report.
You should have already received the materials under embargo.
If you didn't, please let me know and I will send them to you.
There is an embargoed press conference at 2:00 PM this afternoon.
It's a fully virtual event.
It's hosted by Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Again, if you need access, please let me know.
Given that the report is embargoed until next Monday.
If you need face to face interviews with any of the WMO experts between now and Monday, please just please just let me know.
On Tuesday the 23rd, we have another regional State of the Climate report coming up.
It will be released at a meeting in in Asia, the UNSCAP meeting in Asia and that is the State of the Climate in Asia report.
And again, we'll send you material on that under embargo.
Probably not till till Monday, till Monday then.
I'll have a couple of announcements to make at the end of this briefing, but I want to thank our our briefers who are online have been who've been waiting patiently.
And I think we'll open up our segment on the situation in Gaza with UN Women.
We've got Suzanne Mikhail Eldhagen, Regional Director for Arab States, connecting with us from Cairo.
Suzanne, if you can hear us, the floor is yours.
I can hear you loud and clear, and I hope that you can hear me as well.
Thank you for having me today.
And I am here with you today to shed some light on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and with particular focus on the humanitarian impact on women and girls in Gaza.
Goes without saying, colleagues and friends, the humanitarian situation impacts on women, girls, boys and men, but the purpose of this very short brief is to pay some special attention to those distinct needs that we see very clearly amongst women and girls.
Colleagues more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed to date, and UN Women estimates that to date almost 10,000 women have been killed.
When we dig a little bit deeper into those numbers, and when we dig a little bit deeper into those demographics, the picture becomes even more disturbing because Human Women estimates that to date, around 6000 mothers have been killed.
That means leaving 19,000 children behind.
Of course those women who have survived similar to others in Gaza today have lost loved ones and of course in many cases their entire being around them, whether material.
But again, in terms of loss of life, losing siblings, children, parents etcetera, and of course spouses.
Up to date UN estimates that more than 8000 women might have become widowed because of the recent war on Raza.
These women are in a particularly vulnerable situation because, as we can imagine, they are solely responsible of the very protection, well-being, but also assurance of food and water for their entire families.
We also know, and this is not only in Gaza but in other humanitarian settings as well, that women often find it much more difficult to access services, in this case access food and water, than men do.
In the recent survey conducted in Gaza, it shows that 87% of women find it harder to access food than men in Gaza.
Now to the publication that would be released today in in an hour.
To be more exact, Water and Scarcity and Fear, which focuses particularly on water and access to water.
Of course, the entire population in Gaza now, regardless of gender, is food and water insecure.
No access to safe and clean water.
But there is a distinct group here that is particularly vulnerable to the situation and that it's the more than half a million women and girls in reproductive age.
If we follow the reproductive age cycle, if you will, the picture becomes clearer.
First, starting with young girls that are entering puberty and with monthly cycles have of course conveyed to you and women the tremendous vulnerabilities each month, not having any type of protection or dignity kits.
And that is of course played out in a crowded setting, overcrowded setting, very few latrines and again hardly any safe water.
Then from the early age of of teenage girls, if we look at the slightly older bracket, women giving birth again without water, without clean water and without anaesthesia at at times that have led to a surge as we have seen as in reproductive and and urinary tract infections and that also the urinary tract infections.
Of course I want to add that is also a result of again the the lack of sanitary kits.
Which means that many women revert to to using whatever is is found, whether it's cloth, sponges, etcetera.
The next phase or the third phase.
Lactating women of course have a highly daily water and calorie intake requirement but again with hardly any access to clean water.
Pregnant and lactating women need 7.5 litres of of clean water per day and that is five times the amount presently available.
And the lack of such is was bringing tremendous health risks for both mothers and their newborn babies.
Colleagues, I would like to end by also stating the obvious.
Of course I have today focused very much on the vulnerabilities, but what human women is, is very clear on the is the tremendous strength and resilience of women and girls in Gaza today.
Our work, our humanitarian work is in very close partnership, hand in hand with women LED organisations on the ground and I am deeply impressed and humbled by their sophisticated and sharp assessment on the exact needs on the ground.
And that is very much thanks to their very close proximity to affected women and girls.
They helped us collectively to understand, for example, that the initial humanitarian response package by you and women needed to be expanded beyond the the food packages that we already started delivering in November.
So more so in terms of winter clothes, blankets, soap, dignity kits, diapers for children and even very, very simple, I would say recreational items for young children such as as colour books and and colour pens.
We work very closely with our partners on the ground, particularly the World Food Programme in Asda, but also the Egyptian but Crescent from Egypt and of course the Hashemite Charity organisation from from Jordan.
Before I I conclude, I would like to emphasise, particularly in the increased volatility that we have seen in the past week, the urgent need of ceasefire.
Whoever we speak to on the ground, regardless of gender, and of course our communication is continuous, particularly with women and girls, is the plea, the call for immediate ceasefire.
We cannot underestimate the disturbing message this gives to young people throughout the Arab states region, throughout the world.
I would pause here and give the word back to you.
If are there any questions on, on the briefing we just received, we've got two other briefers or three other briefers on on Gaza this morning.
So if, if, if there are none coming up now, perhaps they'll ask uses and if you don't mind staying on online in case questions come up later on.
I'd like to give the floor next to Ravina Shamdasani from the Office of the **** Commissioner for Human Rights.
Ravina, the floor is yours.
The UN Human Rights Office urges all states with influence to do everything in their power to halt the increasingly horrific human rights and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the rising violence and targeted attacks in the West Bank, and the heightened risk of wider escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Resolving the catastrophic situation of civilians in Gaza must remain a priority.
Israel continues to impose unlawful restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance, carry out widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure as well.
The UN **** Commissioner for Human Rights repeats that there must be an immediate ceasefire, the hostages must be released and full, unfettered humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow immediately.
Those delivering or trying to access humanitarian assistance must never be attacked.
No area of the Gaza Strip has been spared from Israel's bombardment.
We have nearly 1.7 million people who remain forcibly displaced, living in appalling conditions and under constant ******.
In the past week alone, fighting has intensified in Middle Gaza, leading to the displacement of some 10,000 people from in and around a Nazareth camp and near Wadi Gaza.
We've also received reports that during Eid Al Fitrnet last week, the Israeli Defence Forces attacked at least 8 mosques in Al Nazareth and Gaza City and struck a further 3 on the 14th of April and we are concerned that there have been further strikes on mosques since then.
We're collecting information on this.
Since the since October twenty 23534 mosques have been destroyed or damaged, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.
We remind that places of worship are protected under the laws of war.
On the 14th of April, Israeli Defence Forces reportedly opened fire on a group of Palestinians on Al Rashid Rd who were attempting to return to their homes in northern Gaza.
At least one Palestinian woman was killed and eleven others were injured.
Intentional targeting and killing of civilians is a war crime in the West Bank.
Escalating violence over the past few days is also a matter of grave concern.
Palestinians have been subjected to waves of attacks by hundreds of Israeli settlers, often accompanied by or supported by the Israeli security forces.
Following the killing of a 14 year old Israeli boy from a settler family, 4 Palestinians, including a child, were killed and Palestinian property was destroyed in revenge attacks.
According to information received by our office, armed settlers and Israeli forces have entered a number of towns and villages in various governorates, including Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron governorates.
Dozens of Palestinians have reportedly been injured, including through the use of firearms by settlers and by Israeli security forces, and hundreds of homes and other buildings, as well as cars have been torched.
3 Israeli soldiers suffered injuries after they were hit with stones.
It was also reported that settlers established at least 2 new outposts in the past two days in the Jordan Valley and in South Hebron Hills, near Palestinian communities, which have been repeatedly attacked by settlers in the past months and are at imminent risk of being forcibly transferred from their homes and their lands.
In Israel, as the Occupying Power must take all measures in its power to restore and ensure, as far as possible, public order and safety in the occupied West Bank.
This obligation includes protecting Palestinians from settler attacks and ending unlawful use of force against Palestinians by Israeli security forces.
The Israeli security forces must immediately end their active participation in and support for settler attacks on Palestinians.
Israeli authorities must instead prevent further attacks, including by bringing those responsible to account.
Those reasonably suspected of criminal acts, including ****** or other unlawful killings, must be brought to justice through a judicial process that complies with international human rights standards and follows a prompt, impartial, independent, effective, transparent investigation.
Neither Palestinians nor Israelis should have to take the law into their own hands to extract revenge.
With your permission, I'd like to go to UNICEF next and perhaps we can take questions on Gaza collectively after that.
Now a very quick introduction.
Tess has just got back from a fortnight in Gaza, which coincided arriving there on the day those World Central Kitchen colleagues were killed.
She did a mission to the north, multiple missions in the South.
In fact, her own convoy came under attack.
As James just said, I left Gaza yesterday after two weeks there, and it was my second mission to Gaza this year.
And by far what struck me most about this mission was the number of wounded children not just in the hospitals but also on the streets, in their makeshift shelters, going about their now permanently altered lives.
Over the last six months, a staggering number of children have been wounded amid the intense and often indiscriminate attacks, their lives forever changed by the horrors of war.
The total number of injured children in this conflict is quite difficult to gather, but the most recent data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health documents more than 12,000 children, which is about 70 children a day, injured in Gaza since the current conflict began.
This is almost certainly an underestimate because only a small number of reported injuries are disaggregated to specify when it's a child that's been injured.
Regardless, these children have become the faces of the ongoing war.
From devastating injuries sustained in airstrikes to the trauma of being caught in violent clashes, their stories paint a harrowing picture of the human cost of conflict.
Imagine for a second being strip searched, left naked and questioned for hours, told that you're safe, and then you can leave.
You quickly walk away down the street, praying that you'll be OK.
But then you're shot at, your father is killed, and a bullet penetrates your naked pelvis, causing serious internal and external injuries that are going to require reconstructive surgery.
At a field hospital in Kan, Eunice Youssef told me this happened to him is 14.
In the last two weeks I also met a nine year old girl with major open wounds from a blast, a 16 year old girl orphaned and recovering from a broken leg, a 13 year old boy still recovering 3 months after a very difficult arm amputation without anaesthetic, and a 10 year old boy in intensive care after being shot in the head while buying herbs and he died the next day.
That's just five children of those injured in the past six months.
And I met so many others and there are thousands of similar stories, likely far exceeding 12,000.
And this tells us two things.
One, the nature of this war, it's volatile, it's often affecting civilians, including children and costing 10s of thousands of them their lives.
And two, it's disproportionately impacting kids.
Every second person in Gaza is a child, so children are wearing a tremendous share of the scars of this war.
Those injured in Gaza struggle to receive the medical care they need.
The medical directors of some of the 11 remaining hospitals told me that the lack of staff and supplies, needles, stitches, anaesthetic is negatively impacting the care that they can provide, especially for surgeries, and so injured children often languish in pain.
Medevacs are really difficult to guess, let's to difficult to get.
Less than half of the patients who submitted requests for medical evacuation have been approved, according to WHO, and only about 3500 people, most of them children, have been medically evacuated abroad.
That's less than 20 a day.
Urgent medical cases in Gaza must be able to safely access critical health services or be allowed to leave.
Sick and injured children who are evacuated must be accompanied by their family members.
With at least 70 children injured every single day.
We need the number of medical evacuations to increase so children can access the care that they urgently need.
And with one child killed or injured every 10 minutes, above anything else, we need a ceasefire.
It is the only way to stop the killing and maiming of children.
Their shattered bodies and fractured lives are a testament to the brutality that is being forced upon them.
From his hospital bed in Kanyunis, Yusuf asked me to relay this.
He said stop the war, it's enough.
Tess Ingram, UNICEF, speaking to us from Cairo.
I'm going to wait a minute to let that information sink in.
And I see you have a question online from John Zaracostas.
John, the floor is yours.
Thank you for that update.
I was wondering if you could bring us up to speed on the number of children that have had their limbs amputated.
And secondly, of the 9000 people that who told us needed to be sent abroad for medical treatment because of their conditions, how many are children either from injuries or suffering from serious health situations like cancer, where they need treatment abroad urgently?
On the number of children with amputations, it's a really difficult piece of data for us to ascertain.
We haven't been able to get an update on that since the beginning of December.
So we're something we're still working on, but I don't have a new number for you, I'm afraid.
I'll leave the second part to WHO.
I think we've got Tarek on the line for WHO if I don't know if you're you're ready to come in on this, if not or we'll give you a moment, you can raise your hand.
We'll go to Emma Farge from Reuters.
Thanks, John for the question.
I know you have been asking about this and as, as, as Tess said, unfortunately we don't have figures on, on amputations.
We will certainly be looking into into getting data on that as well.
I also don't have an exact figure on how many children among, among those who need to be ever created.
But again, there have been only a couple of thousands of people ever created.
While there is a need for more, but beyond, beyond the evocations, what we've been repeatedly saying is that we need to rebuild as much as we can the health system in, in Gaza so people can get health services there.
There have been more than 76,000 people injured and as as Tess was saying, the many of them children who are not even in a hospital receiving care.
Our teams went yesterday to, to Al Shifa again and to Indonesian hospital.
And as you know, Al Shifa being the biggest hospital is, is, is basically being being destroyed.
Now what our teams have seen that that the management of the hospital is trying to to get the emergency department room cleaned and trying to get some of the emergency medical teams to move in there.
But, but, but, but the worker work is, is just just enormous to get to get just the cleaning part and let alone to get to get supplies.
And again, we are calling really for for these the confliction mechanism to be effective, to be transparent and to be workable.
More than half of WHO missions since October until end of March.
So those missions that we plan in the morning, day after day to go to help hospitals that are still functional.
So more than 1/2 of those missions have been either denied, delayed or or been facing other other obstacles.
So they had to be postponed.
So we really need that access.
But John, I will try to get the exact answer to your question.
How many children are among those who who would need to be evacuated?
I know that many of those who need to be evacuated are not patients with trauma injuries, but people also with chronic diseases simply because they cannot get the care they need inside, inside Gaza right now.
Thank you, Tess for the briefing and for your, your courage in going to Gaza and reporting back to us either for tests or for Tarek.
2 small questions on the evacuations.
I'm also very interested in more information, but can you tell us a little bit more about what determines who gets evacuated or not?
I understand that it's very expensive to get out of Gaza now.
And if you could give us any insights into that process?
Secondly, there are various reports of children being injured by aid air drops.
I'm wondering how many cases of this you may have seen?
Is this becoming a growing issue or are they really very isolated stories?
On the first one, Tarik, do you have information on that?
Yeah, sorry it takes a little bit longer.
I think Emma really would be good really on these details on how practically these evacuations are organised.
That would be good really.
Next time we had our, our our Rep doctor people cornered at the palace.
So he can really explain in details the process when it comes who has to go out.
I mean, this is the medical question.
It's the people who are whose life is really in danger until they unless they get a care that is not available in Gaza right now in those eleven hospitals that are still functional.
So how it is practically organised, let's say, let's get with the WR, but the, the the patients have been in, in, in, in some instances.
So I've been through these six months have been referred to to hospitals in Egypt.
But on details, I will, I will, I will really try to get from from our office down there how, how practically these, these allocations are being negotiated.
Emma, just to add on that from based on conversations I had with doctors in the hospitals, one of the things they also mentioned is as Tarek said, often, some of the times, the medical evacuations of patients with with chronic problems, some of the trauma cases are just too severe and and life threatening that the patients aren't stable enough or don't make it in time for a medical evacuation.
On the point of air drops, I didn't see it myself while I was there, but I did speak to a neurosurgeon at European Hospital who told me about a case that he had of a child who was very badly injured by an air drop.
So, you know, there are reported incidents of this happening.
I'm just don't have any data for you, I'm afraid.
We've got a question from Maya Plants, the UN brief.
It's regarding the information war and disinformation war that's happening in this areas of conflict.
Do you have any comments in terms of because you how the UN agencies are being affected by that the work of the UN agencies, Tarek or perhaps somebody else as well, I don't know.
Go ahead and Tarek, if you want to say something.
Well, look, my our job is not to engage in any, any sort of information war.
Our job is to do our best on a daily basis to help preserve what little is left of the health system and the report back to the world on what our teams are seeing.
And we are doing that on a on a daily basis.
You will see that, that our country office is, is putting out information on, on what missions have been conducted and what, what, what is the assessment and what are the needs and what we are trying to do.
Really, again, it's not to comment on whoever is saying anything, but just to say like this is the reality that we see.
This is what we are trying to do.
And I think it's really important that that that we are there and that we do this work beyond the actual humanitarian work, this work of, of bearing witness to, to to the of the situation and of of this horrible suffering that that people of Gaza are going through.
Just to add, it is important and and it's unfortunate that the United Nations keeps being dragged in at least operational agencies into this.
But facts do very much matter.
And of course, this very much points to why from the early stages, the secretary general and everyone else has spoken about getting journalists on the ground that would enable us to do our work in an easier manner and not be consistently counting trucks.
But since we do as everybody knows, it was 500 trucks, commercial and humanitarian before 7th of October.
In March it was around a average of 120 with there is talk of course errors crossing now has finally opened in the north and that was on the back of lobbying from the United Nations.
Again, let's be very clear, that opens in the north and much promised threatened offence in Rafa would shut the number one crossing in the South.
And that would be catastrophic both for those people sheltering in Rafa and of course for for those people so dependent upon aid coming through Rafa.
Imminent famine is another fact.
The IP CS numbers are very, very clear.
That's the most respected body on the planet.
And then in all the debate, and you're right to ask a question around what is happening and what isn't happening.
We must not get distracted from the fact that nearly 14,000 children have been reportedly killed and as Tess has been mentioning, a similar number injured, probably an undercount.
So in terms of disproportionality, the facts are very, very clear.
Anybody else for UN Women, for UNICEF, for OHCHR, for WHO?
If not, thank you very much.
I will go now to Adam Yao, the deputy representative of FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, who's coming in from Port Sudan.
And as you, as you know, Secretary General Antonio Guterres yesterday, only yesterday, said that the world is forgetting about the people of Sudan.
Well, you know, Sudan remains very much on the agenda of the UN and of the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
Thank you very much for your patience, Adam.
Sorry, I don't think we can hear you.
I don't know whether it's you on your end.
Perhaps you need to mute.
One year since the conflict broke out in Sudan, the food insecurity situation has reached absolutely terrifying depths, especially especially in the half rich area such as Kapu, the Darfu and the Kodofan region.
As of February 24, the hurrying reality reveal nearly 18 million people face acute level of food insecurity on the IPC scale, on which 4.9 millionaire at major risk of falling into catastrophic level if the conflict continue and humanitarian assistance is not provided.
The ongoing hostilities are brutally undermining agricultural production, putting people livelihood in due public.
With up to 60 to 80% of the entire population depending on engaging agriculture for the income and livelihood, the repercussion are nothing short of devastating.
According to the finding of the file and your Crop and Food Supply Assessment Report for Sudan, the cereal production in 2023 witnessed 46% decline from the previous year and about 40% below the average of the last five years in West Darfur state and security during the planting season has led to complete crop failure as the main planting season is approaching in June this year.
Providing critical support for the emergency production of key local staple foods such as Sargo, Mellet system and other is not just necessary but it is imperative.
Failure to do so will result in reaching new level of hunger that beyond our capacity to mitigate fire.
Urgently seek is seeking 104 million to bolster food production, protect livestock and help the agricultural sector to recover before conflict destroy again so by generations.
The resounding success of foul 2023 emergency seed distribution campaign which 1,000,000 farmers who produce cereals enough to support between 9:13 to 19 million people stand has a testament to the indispensable role of agricultural sector to support in time of crisis.
But like the one we are witnessing in Sudan, now more than ever, the Sudanese people cannot afford to be failed.
The support they need is urgent and not non negotiable.
Power is calling for ceasefire and humanitarian access in order to reduce unprecedented food insecurity and human suffering.
Thank you, Adam Yao, just a reminder that this is, you know, we mark yesterday the one year, the grim one year anniversary of, of, of the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapids Support Forces in in Sudan that the humanitarian consequences have been terrible.
And just to resume what Mr Yao was saying, 104 million being sought by FAO to protect livestock and livelihoods there.
I'm looking if there are any questions here or online, just give it one minute.
But thank you very much for your intervention, Adam Meow.
And just a quick reminder that you all have, you all have another appointment here shortly in about 40 minutes for the ultra briefing in advance of the **** level pledging event for the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia.
Ambassador Tekla Mariam, the Commissioner of the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission will will be here, as well as the Right Honourable Andrew Mitchell, Deputy Foreign Secretary and Minister for Development in Africa of the UK.
Also United Nations Assistant Secretary General Ramiz Al Akhbarov, who is the resident and humanitarian coordinator in Ethiopia.
That's 12 noon in this room.
Also, Tarek is still online, so you may want to add something on this, but on Thursday at 930 AM, WHO has a an embargoed, strictly embargoed presser until April 18th at 12 noon.
So it's at 9:30 in the morning, embargoed until noon on the same day.
The subject is the new agreed terminology for pathogens that transmit through the air.
The speakers are Doctor Jeremy Farrar, Chief Scientist of the World Health Organisation, and Dr Liza ASCII, Scientist method lead, and of the Methods and Standards team of the Science Division of WHOI think that covers it for today, for this morning at least.
Thank you very much for being here and I wish you a good rest of the day.
