Welcome to the press briefing of the UN in Geneva.
Today is Tuesday, 13th of May.
I'm happy to to see you all and for this, for this briefing, which is quite dense.
So I start immediately by giving the floor to Zaina, who has a quick announcement which she has to leave.
So Zaina, your announcement on the conference?
I just have a couple of quick announcements to share with you.
The first one is as you probably know, the International Labour Conference will take place this year between the 2nd and the 13th of June at the Paledinacion.
And this is when we have government workers and employers.
Delegates from 187 Member States are coming together to discuss some of the most important issues for the ILO this year and for the world of work this year.
The agenda includes a second discussion on a proposed convention on the protection against bio biological hazards at work, a first discussion on the decent work in the platform economy and a general discussion on innovative approaches to tackle informality and promoting formal work.
We're also going to have a discussion on the Ilos contribution to the upcoming Second World Summit for Social Development which is taking place in Qatar later on this year.
And we'll also be having a special tripartite committee discussion on changes to the Maritime Labour Convention.
Beyond that, the discussions will also cover reports of the Chairperson of the governing body and the Director General, including the situation, the occupied Arab territories and a draught programme for the budget for 2026 and 2027.
The Global Coalition for Social Justice will hold its second annual forum and that's going to be taking place on the 12th of June 2025.
It will be attended by coalition partners and tripartite delegations at the conference.
Full details are available on our website, ILO website, including more details on the work of the different committees.
And as always, pally accredited journalists are are it's open to them and they're welcome to join.
I'm also pleased to share with you that our Director General, Gilbert Refungo will be holding ADG breakfast for Pele accredited journalists on the 28th of May ahead of the ILC and in order to launch the upcoming ILO World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2025.
The the spring issue we will be, the breakfast will be taking place from 10:50 AM.
We will of course be sending full information to you via e-mail as we always do.
And we will obviously respect respectfully request that you make sure you're in the building by 93945.
And last but not least, I wanted to share this with you today so when you get an e-mail about it, you're not a little bit confused by all the different emails from the ILO.
We have a new report coming out in which we introduce an AI index, which is a the most detailed global assessment to date on how generative AI is reshaping the world of work and and jobs in particular.
The index is a snapshot of how AI could transform occupation and employments across countries.
And this will be coming out on the 20th of May.
Thank you very much, Sena, is there any question to.
That sounds really interesting.
That report, will it be available under embargo, please?
But we'll give more information on that.
I see that Musa has a question for you.
Catherine pardon we bonjour Alessandra La Conference International who exact.
Like keep the communication security.
Switch to English Sofia, you have a an important announcement on the impact of foreign aid cuts on the situation of women and girls.
Thank you, Thank you, Alessandra Bonchvatus, and thank you very much for joining us here today where we as UN Women is launching there's important report titled At the breaking Point, the impact of foreign Aid cuts on Women's Organisation in humanitarian crisis worldwide.
And it will now be also posted in the link of this press conference.
So this report, it is more than a compilation of survey data.
It is a wake up call and it is an invitation to act.
In every crisis, women lead and women's rights organisations step up.
They deliver life saving assistance, they defend rights and so they support their communities, often under immense pressure and with scarce resources.
They are they reach the unreachable, they shape local solutions and they ensure women's voices are heard.
Without women organisation, humanitarian responses are less inclusive and less effective.
But as this report highlights, many women's organisations are now being stretched to the brink.
They are being asked to do more, with less, and in some cases with almost nothing at all.
In this survey, 90% of the 411 women's organisations that we have talked to have been financially impacted, with nearly half expecting to shut down within six months.
72% have already had to lay off stuff and 51% has already suspended or terminated programmes.
The impacts for women and girls in crises are already being catastrophic.
Essential services from gender based violence response to cash assistance and livelihood support to reproductive healthcare services, they are all being scaled back.
For example, in Afghanistan, more than half of women's organisation say that programmes for women are directly affected.
This includes the closure of health facilities, forcing women and girls, many of them pregnant, to walk for hours just to access basic health services.
Safe spaces and women's centre that once provided essential GBV support have also been sheltered, leaving survivors with nowhere to turn.
And in Ukraine, over 70% of women's organisation report major disruptions and many have already suspended shelters, legal aid and trauma support for survivors of the conflict.
This represent the challenge to our collective commitment to gender equality, protection and accountability.
And all of this comes as humanitarian needs, as we know, continue to rise.
Today, 308 million people across 73 countries need human turn assistance, according to the latest service by OCHA.
And in 2023 alone, 612 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometres of a conflict zone that is 50% higher than a decade ago.
The effect of war, climate disasters, food insecurity and displacement are converging with devastating consequences for the lives of women and girls.
And yet even in this context, less than 1% of bilateral aid to conflict effective settings goes to women organisations.
So at UN Women we think we must ask ourselves how can we meaningfully support locally LED responses without financially backing the organisations best position to lead them?
And how can we advance gender equality in crisis response without resourcing the women's organisation that are driving that work every day within their communities.
Still, this report that we launched today is not just about loss, it is also about resilience.
Women's organisation are adapting, they are mobilising, advocating and innovating to sustain their work.
But they should not have to do this alone.
Our report is clear about what women's organisations are asking for.
They want a seat at the table where funding decisions are made, especially when cuts are on the line.
And they want stronger advocacy from the international community to protect gender equality financing to be able to do their work, their life saving work for women and girls worldwide.
They also want to want support in building coalitions, strength and organisational capacity and sustaining their work in increasingly challenging environments.
These aren't unrealistic demands.
They are demands that are essential for a more inclusive, effective and accountable humanitarian system.
That is why we are here not just to share findings, but to issue a clear call.
So UN Women, we call donors to urgently identify flexible direct funding for women's organisations working in crisis, to ensure that these organisations are crucial for women and the crucial work for women and girls is protected.
And the report that we are releasing here today gives us the evidence.
Now we need to take it seriously and act with the urgency and solidarity that this stark moment demands.
And I'm happy to take any questions.
Sophia, is there any question in the room?
And yes, Emma, Reuters, Hi, good morning.
Sorry, it's just a clarification point.
Have you already sent out the report?
Michelle Langhorne, Geneva Solutions online.
I had a question regarding just US funding to UN Women and also UNFPA, which last week issued a statement condemning the fact that the US would deny any future funding to the organisation.
I'm just wondering how, I don't know what the situation, first of all, is with UN Women in terms of US funding.
But other than that, how concerned are you with the impact of, you know, of course foreign cuts in general, but specifically the US which is a major funder of gender related programmes and activities of the UN.
How concerned are you by this these cuts and how that would have will affect UN work on on this issue?
So in this report we do not mention any specific donors.
We really focus on the impact of women LED organisations that, as mentioned, are very much bearing the brunt of this funding crisis.
And, and what we see is of course, that their ability to do their work out in their local communities, uh, is severely affected by, uh, by, by the funding cuts overall.
But then of course, any funding cuts to you and women affects our ability to, to reach women and girls in need.
And of course also from our end, we see how how a wide range of critical programmes and services for women and girls have been affected.
That includes shelter, healthcare, peace building, income generating activities, safe spaces, et cetera.
And specifically then on, on, on the US suspension of foreign assistance for us, it currently effects around 40 million of, of, of our project funding.
Of course, this is an impact that will unfold over time.
It includes multi year funding agreements and so forth.
So it's difficult to, to to say anything more precise.
But of course, all funding cuts that we see are having a devastating effect, especially on local women LED organisations and their ability to to assist women in need in, in conflict situations from Afghanistan to Ukraine to to Sudan.
Thank you very much, Sophie, I don't see other questions for you.
Thank you very much for presenting us this report.
Liz, let's stay with the US.
You have a point briefing on that.
Yes, good morning, everybody.
As you may have seen, we have just issued a press release on the US and I will highlight some of the points made in it.
The deportation over recent months of large numbers of non nationals from the United States of America, especially to countries other than those of their origin, raises a number of human rights concerns.
According to official U.S.
data, between the 20th of January and the 29th of April, 142,000 individuals were deported from the US.
In particular, the fate and whereabouts of at least 245 Venezuelans and some 30 Salvadorans removed to El Salvador remain unclear.
Many of them were deported under the Alien Enemies Act as alleged members of specific criminal groups.
They have reportedly been detained in the Maximum Security Centre for Terrorism Confinement, or Sekot, in El Salvador, a facility where detainees are treated particularly harshly without access to legal counsel or their relatives or other contact with the outside world.
The UN Human Rights office has information from family members and lawyers regarding more than 100 Venezuelans believed to be held in Sekot.
These reports indicate that many of the detainees were not informed of the US government's intention to deport them to be held in a third country, that many did not have access to a lawyer, and that they were effectively unable to challenge the lawfulness of their removal before being flown out of the US.
This situation raises serious concerns regarding a wide array of rights that are fundamental to both US and international law rights to due process, to be protected from arbitrary detention, to equality before the law, to be protected from exposure to torture or other irreparable harm in other states, and to an effective remedy.
To date, no official list of the detainees have been published by the US or Salvadoran authorities, and their legal status in El Salvador remains unclear.
Many family members interviewed by the UN Human rights office voiced deep distress at not knowing where and in what circumstances their loved ones are detained.
Some only became aware when they recognised their relatives from videos on social media of them either in or being taken to Secot.
According to information received, those removed to El Salvador have been unable so far effectively to challenge their detention there.
Families we've spoken to have expressed a sense of complete powerlessness in the face of what has happened and their pain, seeing their relatives labelled and handled as violent criminals, even terrorists, without any court judgement as to validity of what is claimed against them.
The manner in which some of them some of the individuals were detained and deported, including the use of shackles on them, as well as the demeaning rhetoric used against migrants, has also been profoundly disturbing.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for Kotok welcomes the essential role that the US judiciary, legal community and civil society are playing to ensure the protection of human rights.
In this context, he has called on the US government to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with due process, to give prompt and full effect to the determination of the courts, to safeguard the rights of children, and to stop the removal of any individual to any country where there is a real risk of torture or other irreparable harm.
Thank you very much, Liz.
Thanks for this briefing.
I guess there will be questions.
I was wondering, given the fact that the whereabouts aren't known for a number of these people, if your office is is talking about enforced disappearances.
I also had a question about C Cut and the if you have any confirmation that there is torture happening there, what kind of contact you've had with El Salvadoran authorities about that and also to clarify the legal status of of these people.
And I had a a separate question on but on the US, which is on the arrival of a white South African refugees to the US.
What your thoughts are on distinguishing between people it would seem on racial grounds, granting those people refugee status and not everyone else?
Lost lots of questions and I'll do my best to answer them all in the order that you've asked them.
I mean, as, as I said, the the families we've spoken to are, are deeply distressed.
Many of them don't know where the loved ones are detained or or really on just what, what basis.
There's no access to them by by lawyers or their families.
And their legal status in El Salvador remains highly unclear as as we stressed to date, as we also said, no official list of the detainees or their legal status have been published by the US or Salvadoran authorities.
So taken together, that's a real context of of uncertainty.
And we know from experience elsewhere in the world that when there is such a situation, there is a higher risk of human rights violations being committed.
So, so that is why precisely we are so, so concerned on why we have come out with something today with regard to SECOT in El Salvador.
We have colleagues working on El Salvador primarily from from Panama.
We have seen the reports about the conditions in Sekot.
We've engaged with the Salvadoran authorities and and our call would be that we are given access to Sekot so that we can establish the conditions in which people are being detained.
That is terribly important with regard to to white S Africans.
I do have some some information.
There are many questions, some some do you want to answer now?
OK, I can, I can put the South Africans to one side.
Nina, if you don't mind, because there are many questions on this subject.
So maybe for coherence, let's finish with those.
So are you talking about the risk of enforced disappearances?
I think we're deeply concerned precisely given the, the, the context, the uncertainty of we don't know what is happening to people.
And that would raise concerns indeed that that that families do not know where their loved ones are, lawyers do not know where they are.
In fact, no one knows where they are for certain.
And we don't know the legal basis.
So that is raising huge, huge human rights concerns indeed.
Any other question in the room?
Yeah, I mean, following up Nina's question, I'm not quite sure why you aren't already calling it enforced disappearances.
And you know, enforced disappearance is an international humanitarian law crime.
And where it's systematic, as would seem to be the case here and widespread, that would be a crime against humanity.
So why, why are you not sort of calling it out for at this level?
And a second question, what are your concerns in relation to reports we hear that the administration is proposing to suspend rights of habeas corpus.
Well, to, to, to, to, to pick up on, on, on what you have asked Nick and also what, what Nina was, was asking about.
I mean, it's really to to_the context this, this complete uncertainty, this, you know, just not knowing what is happening to these people.
And of course, then concerns about violations.
So indeed, given the the circumstances, given the the the risk of the fear of human rights violations being committed, there may may well be concerns of enforced disappearance.
And of course that quite right.
It is a really serious issue under under international human rights law.
Nick, this would have to be looked into with regard to habeas corpus.
I mean that is is a a really important fundamental sort of legal points.
Of course we would be concerned at these reports.
Thank you Liz for this briefing.
Just to clarify, can you remind us how many people are in Salvador gaols?
I mean, how, how many do you estimate the nationalities are, is Venezuelan, but there are other nationalities.
And who has the responsibility of these people?
Is the, is the US government El Salvador or or both?
And did you have any message from Mr Bookele or any communication with the government with the Bookele?
We saw Bookele with Trump in the White House.
They were together in a, in a, in the White House.
So they are good friends.
So maybe they are, I mean, both are, you know, in agreement, they made an agreement of these people.
Or do you know something about that?
I, I'm not entirely sure about your question whether you're talking about the overall penitentiary system in El Salvador, the overall total of people being detained that I would need to check with regard to SECOT, which of course is the focus of, of, of attention here.
We, we don't have any, any official figures.
We, it is estimated being the 10s of thousands.
I think it is a facility that has been built to to house some 40,000.
But as I said, we, we don't have access to Secot.
So we, we don't have any sense to really give a precise figure on that the responsibility for these people.
Well, I mean, that actually is, is one of the key points, isn't it?
Precisely given the uncertainty, given the circumstances in which we believe these people to have been taken to El Salvador, who is responsible for them ultimately, who is responsible for their well-being?
This clearly is involving the US administration that sent them to El Salvador and now they are being held in El Salvador in a, a prison run by El Salvador.
So of course the Salvadoran authorities would have responsibility for their well-being as well.
I have a question for for at least in another subject.
OK, let's wait for the other subjects.
Please let let's finish with the with this Olivia, last question.
You were saying there, Liz, that you have seen reports about conditions at the high security facility.
Are you just able to describe in some detail what those reports seem to be saying in terms of the conditions there?
And just secondly, you said that you are engaging with the El Salvadorian authorities.
Just want to confirm that you've also been engaging with the US and have you had, are you satisfied with the level of engagement that you've had, if any, with them?
With regard to the specific conditions of Secot, precisely as I keep saying, we've not had access to it.
So, so from our own point of view, we're not able to ascertain the conditions, but of course it's been widely reported.
I think what is really of importance for us in highlighting this is the fact that, that our colleagues have spoken to family members, to, to mothers, sisters, brothers, relatives of, of some of the people who we believe to be held there.
We've, we've obtained information from, from more than 100 cases, you know, and, and mostly through interviews with family members and, and what we've been told, the testimonies that we have got from family members shows, shows that the individuals concerned were in many cases told hours before they, they were flown out that they were, that were, they were being deported.
They were being sent to Venezuela, not El Salvador.
And in some cases the, the, the, the families were contacted by, by their loved one and, and, and asked please, please come, please come to Caracas.
Please come to, to see me there.
And of course, when, when the plane arrived, no one was disembarked.
So this added to the uncertainty, to the desperation, to the, to the fear of the, the families.
We've spoken about them telling us they feel completely powerless.
They don't know where their loved ones are.
They don't know what they're accused of.
They don't know how they're being treated and they don't know how they can, they can ever get to see them again.
So I think that's really important to to really give the human context of of this.
We are concerned, of course about the conditions that would be they're being held in, but we're all we're really concerned about the fact that they're being held at all.
We have information about about, you know, a number of things concerning the individuals that we believe to be held there.
So given all that, given the work that we are doing via our colleagues who who work on, on Venezuela, given the information we're getting about the individuals concerned, we are obviously engaging.
We've engaged with, with the Salvadoran authorities and we are engaging with the US authorities.
We've been in contact with US authorities in DC and also here.
So on a working level, there is constant engagement because this is a really crucial, important issue that we are raising concerns over the fate of of of individuals, of people and within that context, the lack of due process in what has happened to them.
I think that that's it on this matter, Liz.
So you have these two additional questions if you want to touch upon the Africans and then Afrikaners, sorry.
And then we'll go to Gabriella with another.
But maybe you want to answer these two questions, then we go to Gabriella for other questions.
So I have, I have the question that you asked Nina on, on sort of South Africans going going to the USI mean, we, we don't have specific information on that.
We're not, we're not involved in in that process.
But in this case we we would_that.
And this is a general point, of course, that it is really important to ensure equitable access to safe and legal pathways grounded on human rights and refugee, refugee obligations and humanitarian considerations.
It's really important that that such protection measures are applied consistently and without discrimination so that all individuals in need can access can be, can be, can be safe and and can, can live in dignity.
Gabriella, if it's of Venezuela, maybe you go ahead with Venezuela.
Then I give the floor to Gabriella because maybe her question is on that.
This is indeed on on Venezuela.
The detention and enforced disappearance of critics of the Venezuelan government is continuing, fuelling a climate of fear.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights folk could talk calls on the authorities to release immediately all those arbitrarily detained and to ensure due process and fair trial standards are met.
Since last year's election, human rights defenders, journalists and others perceived as dissident voices have been subjected to intimidation and persecution, limiting the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
Among the most recent cases of concern is that of Eduardo Torres, a lawyer with the Venezuelan Education Action Programme on Human Rights, who, according to credible information, was arrested on his way home in Caracas on the 9th of May.
His relatives report being unable to contact him and remain unaware of his whereabouts.
Our office continues to be concerned by conditions of detention, in particular lack of access to adequate food and healthcare.
Our office has verified the deaths of at least three government critics held in custody since July 2024.
These cases must be fully and independently investigated.
The High Commissioner urges authorities to provide promptly details on the fate and whereabouts of the missing and detained to their loved ones and to ensure they are granted access to lawyers of their own choosing.
Amid the widening restrictions on civic space.
We recall that the law on the control, regulation, performance and financing of non governmental and related organisations is vague and undermines the rights to freedom of expression and association.
This law must be repealed.
Don't see a question in Venezuela in the room.
Yes, thank you, Alessandra.
Yes, I would like to know on Venezuela if Mundo Gonzalez son-in-law that he was detained, if he is still in gaol or do you have any news on on, on him?
He's a son-in-law of the President, the the President candidate for the presidency of Venezuela, if you know something about that.
And then I have a question on another issue that is Afghanistan.
Ask your question because you are the last one, then we'll go to reek on Gaza.
So just ask a question, the other question.
I don't have very good memory if you already talk about this, but this is about children.
And the name of these dancing boys is Basha Bashi.
It's a boys play, playoff boys or something like that.
They are dressed, are gay like girls.
They dance in front of a very wealthy man.
And then they are abused, sexually abused.
And when their adolescence is over, I mean, their lives are totally destroyed.
So I don't know if High Commissioner or someone in your office talk about this issue is extremely serious issue because it's a lot of teenagers, boys that are in this basha bashi play.
Maybe if you don't have the answer right now, maybe you can answer, you know, another briefing.
But it's, it's very important.
Thank you for those two questions, Gabriella.
With regard to your first one on the son-in-law of Edmundo Gonzalez, according to the information available, we, we believe he remains detained and, and obviously this, this was a high profile case, but we, we are following, you know, this and and other cases closely on Afghanistan.
I jotted it down, but I do have a little bit of information.
But but you're, you're right.
I mean, it did clearly, you know, seems incredibly serious.
We are aware of the, of the practise.
We have addressed it extensively.
So I'm being told by colleagues back at back at the office, we'll send you more information and, and this is something apparently that some of the treaty bodies have looked into.
So we'll send you some information on that.
But thank you, thank you for raising it.
I think we, we still have one question for me.
If you could let us know what is the state of of relations with your office in Venezuela?
I know you were having discussions about opening an office there.
What information I do have is that we currently have one international colleague actually in Venezuela and then we have about 15 other colleagues that are working from Panama covering Venezuela.
This situation is, is what we currently have and This is why we wait for, for an agreement to deploy more colleagues.
But if I may just just_the the importance of of, you, know of, our office or of our colleagues who have been in Venezuela Going back to to, the to, the families of of, the people that we believe are being being held in in El Salvador That.
The families did did, approach us you, know did, want to come in and talk to us seeking help and.
So our colleagues are noting down information on each individual case that comes to to to their attention you, know talking, about you, know the, the, the, the, the, name of the person the, age of the person what, they did all, manner of details because we think this is really important so.
So, yeah, I, MEAN the, the, the, the, sort of the talks are ongoing but, currently one in Venezuela And and 15 others working from Panama Thank.
You, Liz, thank you very much for all this information.
We will have more on human rights with Tamin later on, but I would like now to go to Gaza and to Rick.
Bieberkorn was being patiently waiting with the Margaret on my left.
And then we will hear from Tamin on Egypt.
Yeah, and go to the Middle East.
You want to start straight to Rick.
Thanks for for waiting and thanks for being here to give us an update on the situation in Gaza.
Just wanted to call your attention to what we said yesterday about the Secretary General's alarm by the findings that were released yesterday that one in every five people in Gaza is facing starvation while the entire population is facing high level of acute food insecurity and the risk of famine.
And that was what was found in the latest snapshot produced by the IPC.
And Rick, you have more on the situation of health.
So I'll give you the floor now.
Thank you very much and good morning to everyone.
Yes, I would like to focus definitely a bit on the food security, the general situation.
And I want to say also something about the mission.
I was on WHO mission to the North for the whole day officially for hospitals.
I will come back to that later.
So on food security, I mean, we all watched the launch of the IPC and the risk of famine in Gaza is increasing with deliberate withholding of humanitarian aid, including foods in the ongoing blockade.
And the latest food security analysis by the Integrated Food Security Face Classification Partnership shows that indeed the entire 2.1 million population gas is facing prolonged food shortages with nearly half a million of people.
If the situation persists in a catastrophic situation, hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death the other.
A million is will be severely affected and another whole half a million moderately affected if the situation persists.
So this is one of the world worst hunger crisis and, and and and falls to us in real time.
Since the 8 blockade began on 2 March 2025, we get reports from the Ministry of Health that's 55 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition.
And if the situation persists, again, this dire situation persists.
Nearly 71,000 children under the age of five are expected to be acutely malnourished over the next 11 months.
So what we actually see in Gaza, people are trapped in this whole cycle where a lack food, lack of diversified food, malnutrition and disease fuel each other, healthcare increasingly out of reach, vaccine coverage, loventing access to clean water and sanitation severely limited.
90% of the Gazans lack access to save water and increased child protection concerns is always of course, the most vulnerable get hit first.
So the risk of severe illness and deaths grows especially for children suffering from severe acute malnutrition will urgently need treatment to survive.
Also pregnant and breastfeding modest are also at high risk of malnutrition.
Situation persists with nearly then we expect nearly 70,000 expected to require treatment for acute malnutrition over the next 11 months.
We all know that the long term damage from malnutrition can lost a lifetime form of stunted growth, impaired cognitive development, poor health, etcetera.
So without enough initial nutritious food, clean water, access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently effective.
And I want to make this point.
Before this crisis, acute malnutrition rates among under five were minimal.
There was no malnutrition of pregnant and lactating women in Gaza.
What's for micronutrient division, iron division among smaller group of pregnant women.
So the 8 blockade and the shrinking humanitarian access continue to undermine WHO ability support.
We support together by the way, with our partners.
Units have 16 outpatient and three inpatient malnutrition treatment centre with life saving supplies and to sustain the broader health system.
The remaining supplies in The Who stocks inside Gaza are only enough to treat another 500 children with acute malnutrition, a fraction of the urgent needs.
So we call WHO calls for the protection of healthcare for immediate end to the a blockade which is starving people shrugging their right whales and robbing them of dignity and hope and and hope.
WHONSS repeatedly stated that calls also for the release of all hostages for a ceasefire which leads to a lasting peace.
I want to say something more personal on that the mission I went on on on yesterday.
So from the South, we brought in three trucks of medical supplies from our warehouses here in the in the South to the north, essential medicine, medical supplies and some equipment for surveillance.
We also deployed to an emerging medical team.
And then we made assessments of four hospitals.
I went to Kamala, one in the north in Jabalia to patient friendly Al Ahli and Shiva.
There's a few posters but too many negatives.
Kamala one in the north there is an what we call nutrition screening centre, an outpatient part nutritious screening centre supported by us just the same as patient friendly hospital, including a little inpatient wart and nutritious stabilisation centre supported by WHR.
Currently they see more than 300 kids per day for screening and in, in, in you saw in front of your eyes in the, in the in the Carmel at 1:00, they have approximately 11% of the kids they screen.
They have what we call generalised acute malnutrition and a few of them are more severe or taken inside in patients friendly.
They even showed us the rates that they they clock rates of over 20% of the kids they screen.
They generalised acute malnutrition.
We went to a few warts as well.
The other thing what we of course heard from everyone from from all the directors, the, the in the hospitals, the health workers, etcetera, the lack of all kind of essential supplies.
And we've raised this for for months now like our stocks are dwindling in, in in our warehouses and we are the main provider for essential medicine and medical supplies.
So the key, the key items which are lacking are of course everything related to trauma, turn of fixators, trauma, blood products, everything related to trauma, but also antibiotics also very simple, I would say essential medicines as insulin for diabetes, the more complex one for cancer and oncology and what they raise constantly with this because they see so many again, trauma cases, disinfectants, cleaning material as we see a high rate of completely unnecessary infection rates because there's a lack of infection prevention and control at those facilities.
Now also what I want to raise is that when talking to the people in the, in the north and, and specifically to the people in the market, it was crowded.
It was people walk around, they try to, to, to they try to make some, some life.
And even the few staff we have from ourselves, there are still and everywhere I asked, you know, like, what are you going to do?
And people are, and maybe it's realistic.
I don't hope it's realistic.
They're very, they're hopeful.
They're hopeful there will be a ceasefire.
But they definitely told me that they have no plans to leave.
They feel that there's nowhere safe to go.
They have been, most of them, They they have left and they have been forced to leave many, many times.
They don't want to leave again.
And and of course, you can only hope that's that the world is is is not letting them down again.
Rick, thank you very much.
This is an important update.
So let me open the floor to questions now.
Yeah, I'll start with Reuters.
We're hearing initial reports of an air strike on Nasser Hospital.
I'm wondering if you have any confirmation on your side and if so, can you say how bad the situation is?
And the second question on supplies, is there any contingency planning on getting supplies inside Gaza and and can you give us any details?
Yeah, let me go to the National Complex.
Of course, we also Curtis this morning and and, and let me go because I want to be very clear.
So what we get, it's reported to us as such because I was supposed to actually go there today, but I had other meetings so I couldn't attend.
So on the attacks of National Complex, so that the the burn unit of National Complex is reportedly hit on 30 May, resulting in two fatalities and 12 injuries that's reported to US.
One of the injured individuals is in critical condition, is currently undergoing multiple surgical operation.
So the impact on the hospital infrastructure, 18 hospital beds are lost in the surgical department, 8 ICU beds and you know how critical they are and 10 inpatient beds.
For us, of course, Healthcare is not a target and, and, and WHO calls for protection of healthcare on the contingency planning.
So what we are trying to do and, and not just double The Who we try to see with partners here in Gaza, what, what is left for essential medicine, medical supplies and equipment.
And, and, and also I can tell you that WHO we have, we have managed to retrieve a lot of equipment, for example, from hospitals which were were damaged or destroyed.
I mean, we talked to Turkish hospital, we got, we removed the oxygen plant which is now a Shifa and, and, and a lot of other ICU beds, etcetera from one place to the other.
So we've done that constantly.
We're looking now at, at, at essential medicines, medical supplies still available, including in our own stocks.
And we have to be as careful as possible and prioritise with, with partners.
We have seen of course, a lot of restriction in our movements.
I want to make that point as well.
We, we have seen a lot of restrictions there on the contention, But we have raised this, we are raising this every week in our discussions with Colgate and Israeli authorities and specifically on health and the health products which are most needed.
And for your information, I mean like in there's 31 WHL tracks ready in our reefs.
The supplies cannot be moved.
We also have supplies in the West Bank, block products, etcetera to which could which could be there in, in, in any day when this is allowed overall, Yeah.
So we make our plans for whenever the blockade is lifted and we constantly raise with everyone around the world, including the Israeli authorities the need to get the supplies in.
Biza is our correspondent of.
I want to return to the IPC report, as Alessandra mentioned, which said the whole population as at critical risk of famine does WHO fears that the starvation becoming the main cause of that in Gaza if the borders are keep being closed?
And the secondly, how reversible the situation is as no aid being allowed for a long time now, how much time there is not to reach an irreversible point in the region?
Yeah, I, I think that's complex questions in in my first, I want to make the point that the IPC report is very clear.
So if this situation persists, half million people are at risk of of starvation.
I mean like that 1,000,000 people will be severely affected, yeah, over the coming 4-5 months and another half a million will be moderately, moderately affected.
Now there is of course also it's not just the, the, the lack of general foods and diversified foods have raised already the lack of access to save water, which is the case.
That's a real issue, lack the lack of access to safe water.
The, I would say completely inadequate shelter conditions.
And that of course, we've seen the whole food system collapsing.
There's there's no fisheries, there's no poultry anymore, there's no agriculture.
I think this is, I would say this isn't combined and, and also what I saw yesterday again in hospitals, there was a lot of, but a lot of pits at that hospitals in hospital wards with and that's not surprising pneumonia and gastroenteritis.
But those is are of course also very when you also then have a lack of of, of a lack of proper food or food supplies etcetera.
Pneumonia can hit much harder and can become certainly and incredibly serious to see and you can die from that.
So you normally don't die from starvation, you die from the diseases associated to that.
I think you can ask about reversal and, and reversed.
I mean, this blockade should stop and and and diverse, diverse food supplies should get in and and there's a system in place to bring that around Gaza.
So that should happen at first place.
Bakeries should work again, the the the Desalina tion plant should work if we get copper water supplies back, etcetera, etcetera.
And then of course for specifically more focused directly on WHO essential medicines, medical supplies and and equipment over to you.
Nina Larson, AFP Yes, Hi, Rick, Thank you for this briefing.
I was wondering if you could say a little bit more about the 55 children that you mentioned who have reportedly died due to malnutrition causes.
If you have any more details on on that, if you've seen such deaths yourself or if these are just just reports.
No, this is our report to us.
What I can say what, what, what we see in our staff seat, we see an increasing because we try to to monitor as good as possible and, and and of course health information is is complex, but we this is monitored and, and, and not just by middle of the upper arm circumferences, but also weight for height, etcetera, etcetera.
And what we see is an increasing trends in in generalised acute malnutrition and we see also an increasing number of severely acute malaria kids.
Yeah, and I've seen them as well at once.
I mean, that child of five years old and, and I saw she was 2 1/2 or something like that, you know, like that's that kind of thing.
Yeah, we have seen, I've not seen myself, let's say the the, the death related to that.
So now I cannot confirm that this is reported to us.
If there are no other questions, I go to the platform.
Following up on on Nina's question, do you have some estimates for us?
You mentioned 71,000 children suffering from acute malnourishment.
Do we have any estimates on how many are suffering from severe acute malnutrition and also how many children at present are being treated for severe acute malnutrition in some of the facilities that you're supporting?
I think the the number of something, I mean the IPC report, it clearly says if the situation persists, yeah, then it's expected that 71,000 children under the age of five are expected to become acutely malnourished over the next 11 months.
That's what the IPC report said.
I want to make it very clear or acutely malnourished now, please.
We will try to get some, some some data about how many children are treated.
What we have are the data for currently in those 16 outpatient departments, malnutrition screening centres, how many kids are screened, how many one of them are classified as generalised acute malnutrition and then we'd like the smallest number of them, which is indeed like more severely moderate or more severely acute malnourished.
Yeah, there are data for that.
Let me I will try to get it and if you get up on time, we will include it in the in the brief as well.
I want to say it's not easy.
That's another thing we try to do health information system, we try to focus together with the partners on a more limited set of data and try to do that well.
And of course modern child health is extremely important component of that.
That's more data that and that's.
Try to make sure that that data are as reliable as possible over to you.
Thank you for the briefing.
Just in relation to the 55 children who died in what line is that?
Since when has that happened?
I think that was since the a blockade began on the 2nd of March.
This year this has been reported to us that 57 children have reportedly died from the effects of malnutrition according to the Ministry of Health.
Again, I want to stress, you know that as well.
They often die of the underlying that the associated diseases.
Pneumonia or or pneumonia is a very big one, of course, or other diseases Over to you.
I don't see any other hand up.
Just before we close with Gaza, just a reminder that this afternoon at 3:00 PM New York Times, so if I'm not wrong, it's 10 O clock here.
The Security Council will hold a briefing on the humanitarian situation and protection of aid workers in Gaza.
And Under Secretary General for Human for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher is expected to brief, so he would probably have more on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Rick, thank you so much for for this update.
Stay safe and and come back in and update us as soon as possible again on this extremely dire situation.
Margaret, do you have anything to add?
Just the notes have been sent out.
So they show all the notes that that Rick was referring to have been sent out.
So you should have those in your inbox.
And and Rick on my right, Tamim.
You have a briefing point on Egypt.
We have closely followed the passage of Egypt's new Code of Criminal Procedure, which was recently approved by the House of Representatives and is now pending presidential approval.
We have raised concerns over provisions of the law that will grant public prosecutors broad discretionary powers related to pretrial detention, interception of communications and travel bans.
The law would also provide for other measures adversely impacting the right.
To effective legal representation and on accountability for the conduct of public officials, including law enforcement personnel.
Last minute amendments were reportedly made to the draught law before it was sent to the President for his approval.
However, these changes have not been made public, raising concerns about lack of legislative transparency.
We call on the on the President, we call on the President of Egypt to consider carefully the proposed criminal procedure Code in light of these concerns prior to granting any assent in order to ensure that it fully complies with Egypt's international human rights obligations.
Thank you very much, Tammy, for this.
Is there any question, I don't see any here on the platform.
I mean, for this, for this point, if there are that, that concludes our list of speakers unless Margaret has 11.
Last point, it's about the press conference, right?
Sorry for quite the last minute information, but kindly the Palace agreed to do the our press briefing at the launch of the World Health Statistics that normally we would do from WHO headquarters, but because of the preparations for the WHA, kindly the Palace agreed to host it.
So it'll be Doctor Samir Asmah, the Assistant Director General for Data Analytics and Delivery for Impact, and two of our senior statisticians.
And there's some really interesting material in this particular companion really looking at what went off track during the pandemic.
And I know we've said that before in our World Health Statistics, but this is really the strongest analysis of what went off track and where we're now coming back in terms of life expectancy and other illnesses, disease states that affect the human population.
So an interesting one that's going to be at 2:00.
Thank you very much, Margaret.
I don't know if there's any question, last minute question to Margaret, don't see any.
So just a couple of and thank you, Margaret.
A couple of announcements.
We have the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is concluding this morning, the review of the report of Norway.
Then we will have Indonesia, Iraq, Romania, Qatar and Brazil.
And I also wanted to remind you that the Secretary General has travelled yesterday to Europe.
Let me take my notes, sorry to Germany to be more precise, to attend the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial that is kicking off now actually while we are speaking, he will be joined in Berlin by the he's joined by has joined by the Under Secretary General for peace operation, Jean Pierre Lacroix, Under Secretary General for operational support that will carry and Under Secretary General for management Strategy, policy and compliance, Catherine Pollard.
This meeting and especially this morning at at at at lunchtime, in fact at 1:00, the high level opening of the ceremony, the Secretary General is expected to give a keynote remarks.
They will focus on the future of peacekeeping with century remark under embargo and he will_the importance of the work of our blue helmets and the sacrifices they make.
He will also touch upon contributions to peacekeeping during these tough times for the financing of our work across the board.
And just to remind you that the the meeting provides a platform for delegations to announce pledges.
That's what we hope in support to our peacekeeping operations.
This is going to be all webcast.
The Secretary General remarks should start at 1:00 PM, although I have seen that the connection has already started on UN Web TV.
So please don't hesitate to go and and listen to him at 1:00 PM.
Of course, the the embargoed remarks are to be checked against delivery.
Just the last point on the fact that the SG is also scheduled to meet the hosts, the German officials that are hosting the meeting, and this include the Chancellor of Germany, Frederick Merz, as well as other leaders and officials attending the global event.
Tomorrow, the press, there will be a press conference by Chancellor Merz and the Secretary General.
We will inform you about the time.
It should be also on UN web TV so you will be able to follow it.
And then the Secretary General will be travelling to Iraq to attend the League of Arab State Summits which is taking place in Badaq on the 17th of May.
I think I have told you all I had.
Yes, Alessandra, I don't know if Margaret's still there.
If we are getting the material on embargo ahead of the press conference, the statistical, the statistics publication, if we're getting it on embargo, otherwise it's very hard to ask questions if we haven't seen the material.
Yeah, especially with a statistical.
I'm really pressing to get that for you.
And as soon as I know that I've got copies, I think we'll put out something separate saying the materials are available.
We actually want to do the press conference on Monday, so, but as soon as I know, I'll let you know.
We do have a press release which I know is not nearly as good as having the actual materials, but I'll do my very best to get them available as early as possible because I quite agree, this is a really meaty subject and you need to eat the meat in order to be able to digest and come up with some good questions.
So you keep the informed, Margaret, and we will keep you informed about the press conference of the Secretary General.
We can Chancellor Merce tomorrow, if it happens on web TV, we'll send you the link.
So I think that concludes our briefing.
I don't see other hands up.
So thank you very much and I'll see you on Friday.
