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UN Geneva Press Briefing - 12 December 2025

1:29:26

MP4

7.4 GB

12-12-2025

Press Conferences | WFP , UNHCR , WHO , IOM , UNFPA

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 12 December 2025

ENG FRA

Shotlist Story

TOPICS:

WFP - Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response - Latest developments in Sudan; urgent needs, increasing risk of further displacement, WFP operations and continuing challenges
UNHCR - Matthew Saltmarsh with Ewan Watson, UNHCR Head of Global Communication Service & Martin Azia Sodea, UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award winner (Global Laureate) - The global Nansen Refugee Award winner
WHO - Christian Lindmeier with Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory - Illnesses, infections and storms - Gazans facing another harsh winter

IOM - Kristin Parco, IOM Chief of Mission in Sri Lanka - Update on IOM’s Cyclone response in Sri Lanka.

UNFPA - Eugene Kongnyuy, Deputy Director of UNFPA’s Humanitarian Response Division - Launch of UNFPA's 2026 global humanitarian appeal to safeguard the health and rights of women and girls in crisis settings

UN INFORMATION SERVICE GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

12 December

UNHCR 2025 Nansen Refugee Award Winner

Ewan Watson, Head of the Global Communication Service at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said that more than 117 million people remained forcibly displaced globally, having fled their homes to escape war, persecution or violence. The promise of the 1951 Refugee Convention was under threat, in a context where xenophobia was on the rise, displacement was now more complex and long-lasting, peace was harder to reach, and funding gaps were decimating essential programs: humanitarian funding for UNHCR had been slashed by 35 percent this year, leaving millions without access to safety, food, shelter and vital protection services.

However, beyond the noise, communities everywhere were still standing by refugees, with volunteers greeting families at airports, teachers finding space in classrooms, neighbors opening their doors, companies offering jobs, universities providing scholarships. The power of local people who helped those who found themselves, through no fault of their own, reliant on others, demonstrated that solutions did exist. Ordinary people were doing extraordinary things, proving that “humanity wins over hate”.

In this regard, Mr. Watson introduced Martin Azia Sodea, 2025 UNHCR global Nansen Refugee Award laureate, and current chief of Gado-Badzéré, a village in East Cameroon. Mr. Azia Sodea said he was proud of being part of a tribe whose custom was to avoid conflict and save human lives, as well as receive strangers in distress and share with them whatever they needed. As such, the population of his village – 12,000 inhabitants – had received, over the years, some 36,000 refugees fleeing death and violence in Central African Republic. These refugees had received food, clothes and even land, and their children had shared the same schools as the locals. The village had also provided UNHCR with 60 hectares to build a camp. Today, it was impossible to distinguish between the camp and the village. Traditional governments, traditional chieftains, international organizations and donors in the world, all must open their doors to refugees in distress and save their lives before asking questions.

Answering questions from the media, Mr. Azia Sodea stressed that it was necessary first to provide refugees with food and health, and second to empower them to support themselves, especially in agriculture. Their children must be sent to schools.

In response to a question on the next High Commissioner for Refugees, Alessandra Vellucci, for the UN Information Service, explained that the proper process of choosing the new High Commissioner for Refugees – to succeed Filippo Grandi – included consultations with the Executive Committee of UNHCR before a decision by the General Assembly in New York.

World Food Programme: Update on Sudan

Ross Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the World Food Programme (WFP), speaking from Rome, said that after more than a year and a half under siege, the essentials for survival have been obliterated in El Fasher: markets had been destroyed, healthcare facilities decimated, and basic services wiped out. Satellite images and survivor accounts described El Fasher as a “crime scene”, with mass killings and burned bodies. Leaving the city was extremely dangerous: there were risks of robbery, looting and violence against women and girls, and the city and its surrounding roads were littered with mines and unexploded ordnance.

WFP was helping the displaced persons whenever possible, but as people were on the move, reaching them remained a big logistical and operational challenge. WFP was calling for unimpeded access into El Fasher to respond to the needs of those who remained trapped in the city; it had an agreement in principle with the Rapid Support Forces for a set of minimum conditions for the UN to enter the city.

Furthermore, over 650,000 people had sought safety in Tawila, a small town in North Darfur. First came families fleeing from Zamzam IDP camp in April 2025. Now more people were arriving from El Fasher: these were families who had endured famine and mass atrocities and were now living in overcrowded conditions, cholera being widespread. WFP was providing food, but there was no healthcare, no sanitation, and very limited humanitarian support.

WFP was also deeply concerned about escalating violence in the Kordofan region, particularly in Kadugli. Preventing the devastation seen in El Fasher from repeating in Kadugli must be a priority. With frontlines now concentrated in Kordofan, each clash forced more families to flee, compounding humanitarian needs at a time when resources were already stretched thin.

Operational gains made by WFP over the past year were at risk. The Programme warned of drastic ration cuts starting in 2026. To maintain current levels of assistance, beginning in January, rations would be reduced to 70 percent for communities in famine areas and 50 percent for those at risk of famine: this was the absolute minimum for survival. Even with these measures, WFP only had resources to sustain current support for four months. Some USD 695 million were urgently required over the next six months to keep the hunger crisis from spiraling out of control.

Answering questions, Mr. Smith said that funding was the primary challenge; logistics and getting approvals also took a long time. Rations would be cut starting in January to stretch the resources until April, when funding would “fall off a cliff”, he warned.

Illnesses, Infections and Storms: Gazans Facing Another Harsh Winter

Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory for the World Health Programme (WHO), speaking from Gaza, explained that 18 out of 36 hospitals and 43 percent of primary health-care centers in Gaza were partially functioning – for instance, despite immense challenges, Shifa Hospital in Gaza City was working again as a partially functional tertiary care hospital, with many services now functional.

On the other hand, there was no MRI available in Gaza and only two CT scanners to cover a population of over two million. There was also a severe shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies needed for, among other things, heart disease treatment, kidney transplantation and hemodialysis, and intensive care surgery. Although approval rates for supplies had improved, the process of getting medicines and medical equipment into Gaza remained unnecessarily slow and complex.

WHO also faced challenges in bringing laboratory reagents and critical lab machine components into Gaza, as many items were denied entry because of being classified as “dual use”. Medical supplies must be given a blanket approval to enter Gaza and be expedited so urgent needs could be addressed.

It was in this context that Storm Byron had struck Gaza, deepening the suffering of already displaced families. Thousands of them were sheltering in coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers. Along the Khan Younis shoreline alone, more than 4,000 people were living in high-risk zones. At least ten people had reportedly died in the past 24 hours due to heavy rains; there also had been reports of two babies or children under five having died from hypothermia this week.

Winter conditions, combined with poor water and sanitation, were expected to drive a surge in acute respiratory infections, hepatitis and diarrheal diseases. Children, older people, and those with chronic illnesses remained at greatest risk. This winter, WHO was working to help keep newborns, children, and mothers warm and safe in hospitals. WHO was also supplying breastfeeding support items and materials for skin-to-skin care to protect pre-term and low-birth-weight infants during the harsh winter months.

According to Ministry of Health records, 1,092 patients had died while awaiting medical evacuation between July 2024 and 28 November 2025. This figure was likely underreported and not fully representative, as it was based solely on reported deaths. More than 18,500 patients (including 4,096 children) in Gaza still needed medical evacuation. WHO called on more countries to welcome patients from Gaza, and for medical evacuation to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be restored.

Answering questions, Dr Peeperkorn expressed concern that, in the winter and with poor shelter conditions, children under five would be particularly exposed to acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases. Dr. Peeperkorn pointed to shortages in medicines, surgery equipment, and medical imaging. He also stressed that more than a quarter of the 70,000 Gazans who had been injured would need lifelong assistive technology. According to UNICEF, 82 children had been killed since 10 October, he noted.

Dr. Peeperkorn said he had been working for WHO in the region since March 2021. During the crisis, the health system and services had, somehow, remained at least partially functional — a credit to the health workers, the Ministry of Health, and WHO. This resilience had come at an enormous material and human cost, including for WHO. Dr. Peeperkorn emphasized both the quality of the health staff on the ground and their ingenuity in overcoming shortages.

Measles Outbreak in South Carolina

Christian Lindmeier, for the World Health Organization, answered a question regarding the measles outbreak in South Carolina (USA). Mr. Lindmeier explained that measles was a very contagious, vaccine-preventable disease, and that WHO stood ready for any support Member States might request.

IOM’s Cyclone Response in Sri Lanka.

Kristin Parco, Chief of Mission in Sri Lanka for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), speaking from Colombo, said the people of Sri Lanka had not seen, in years, such widespread destruction as sowed by Cyclone Ditwah. The scale of the emergency was overwhelming: over 280,000 people were now internally displaced, with their homes destroyed.

IOM had begun its response by distributing urgent relief supplies to families in the Northern, Eastern, Western, and Central provinces. Communities remained in desperate need of shelter, clean water, and access to basic health care and psychosocial support. IOM had deployed its Displacement Tracking Matrix across 25 districts, to collect accurate, real-time data on displacement and returns. It was expanding operations to reach the most affected communities in the Uva, Central and Western Provinces.

IOM was launching its appeal for the cyclone response and required USD 7.3 million to sustain and scale up life-saving interventions in the coming months. Without immediate support, there was a risk of losing the window to prevent further suffering and loss. More information was to be found on the IOM’s donor website.

UNFPA's 2026 Global Humanitarian Appeal to Safeguard the Health and Rights of Women and Girls in Crisis Settings

Eugene Kongnyuy, Deputy Director of the Humanitarian Response Division at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said the Fund had launched, on 11 December, its 2026 Humanitarian Appeal with a stark message: women and girls in crisis settings were entering 2026 facing greater danger and a shrinking humanitarian lifeline. In this context UNFPA priorities were to ensure that no woman should die giving birth, no pregnancy should be unwanted, that every girl and woman should be free of violence, and that if there was violence, a survivor should have the services they needed.

UNFPA estimated that, in 2026, 7.7 million pregnant women would need humanitarian assistance, and 80 million women and girls would require services for gender-based violence. Meeting these needs had become increasingly difficult. Last year UNFPA had launched an appeal of USD 1.2 billion: only 39 percent of it had been funded. At least 10 to 12 million women and girls stood to lose essential services in 2025-2026 if the current gap were to persist, including 6.3 million in Afghanistan, two million in Yemen, 1,6 million in Myanmar and hundreds of thousands more on Central African Republic, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Libya.

As the humanitarian system was shifting, in 2026 UNFPA would appeal for nearly USD 1 billion to deliver life-saving sexual and reproductive health services, gender-based violence services across 42 crisis affected countries. The appeal was smaller and more focused than in previous years: this reflected a different prioritization in the system, not a decline in needs.

Announcements (noted following the briefing)

The Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva, Tatiana Valovaya, would brief the press at 10 am on 16 December, ahead of the regular press briefing.

There will be no human rights treaty body meeting until 12 January, when the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) should open its 100^th session.

The last UNOG press briefing of 2025 will be held on 19 December, with briefings then resuming on 6 January 2026.

***

Teleprompter

[Other language spoken]

Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva.

[Other language spoken]

We have a long briefing with a lot of important and interesting guests.

I just wanted to tell you that there is a last minute change we also are going to have in the briefing the representative from WFP, from Rome to tell us about the latest development in Sudan.

We will listen from her later on, but I'd like now to start immediately with the UN Refugee Agency.

I've got the pleasure to have with me today Ivan Watson.

And I need to introduce Ivan to you, Head of Global Communication Service.

But above all, and I'll say it in French, Martin Azia Soudeir, Alessandro Merci, thank you very much.

I want to start by saying this.

Refugees, you are not alone.

That's our message to you today and every day.

Right now, more than 117 million people remain forcibly displaced globally, having been forced to flee their homes.

And every minute someone escapes war or persecution or violence just to survive.

The right to seek asylum are collective.

Pledge to offer safety to people with a well founded fear of persecution for those fleeing war or violence was signed in ink by states in 1951.

Yet that promise that the world made 75 years ago to protect people forced to flee their homes is under threat more now than in living memory.

The challenges are immense.

Displacement is now more complex.

[Other language spoken]

Peace is hard to reach and funding gaps are decimating essential programmes.

At times it can feel like fear and division are drowning out compassion and asylum spaces are shrinking.

Xenophobia is on the rise and we are.

We hear the voices undermining the Refugee Convention that states signed, which was born from the horrors of World War 2, to ensure that those fleeing for their life would be able to find safety.

Humanitarian funding has been slashed for UNHCR, the refugee Agency, by some 35% this year alone, leaving millions without access to safety, food, shelter and vital protection services, let alone the means to restart their lives independently.

Our reply is simple.

The principle of asylum is life saving and it is indispensable and it must be upheld.

On Sunday, the 14th of December, it will be 75 years to the day since the adoption of the 1950 Statute of the Office of UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

During those intervening decades, the Convention has saved millions of lives, and our mandate to protect those forced to flee and help them rebuild their lives in dignity remains as crucial as ever.

And beyond the noise, another story is alive, a story of hope.

Communities everywhere are still standing with refugees.

Volunteers greeting families at airports, teachers finding space in classrooms, neighbours opening their doors, companies offering jobs, universities providing scholarships.

Ordinary people are still doing extraordinary things, proving that humanity wins over hate.

And This is why it is such a pleasure to sit here beside Chief Sodea, the global winner of this year's Nansen Refugee Award.

He will describe to you much better than I ever can, the power of local people who help those who find themselves, through no fault of their own, reliant on others.

His story demonstrates that solutions do exist, and we must pull together to find even more of them for refugees.

Next week here in Geneva at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review are partners will gather.

We will look at ways to strengthen asylum systems for swift fair decisions.

Expect expand safe pathways such as resettlement, labour mobility, family reunification, invest in local partnerships and refugee LED organisations, harness innovation including digital tools for registration, financial support, education and work with partners from sports, faith, academia and business and others to design effective responses for refugees.

So together, from the ground up, we can overcome fear and division, and we can keep hope alive.

UNHCR was born from the world's determination to rebuild after war, and from a shared belief that protecting refugees is a universal responsibility.

That spirit of solidarity is needed now more than ever.

The promise of asylum must be kept alive, and refugees must not be consigned to the margins.

So today we send a clear message to every person forced to flee.

You are not alone.

Thank you very much.

I want thanks for this powerful appeal.

[Other language spoken]

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[Other language spoken]

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[Other language spoken]

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[Other language spoken]

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[Other language spoken]

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For support for NSP, the the the support, the support.

Thank you very much.

I think you will send out afterwards the notes in English.

[Other language spoken]

So let me open the floor to question to UNHCR in the room.

I don't see any hand up, but let me see on the platform Olivia, Olivia reported on Reuters.

Good morning both and this, this would be a question please both to UNHCR itself, but also Mr Sodea.

I would be keen as well for his reaction, but I would really like a comment and please from both of you on the appointment of Barham Salih, the former President, as a new UNHCR Commissioner taking over from Philippa Grandy.

I I would like to ask UNHCR for comment on that, but also would be very keen for reaction as as well in terms of from Mr Sodia on what are the kind of key priorities does he think for, for refugee populations going forward that UNHCR can and needs to respond to and, and how he thinks that the new High Commissioner can help with that?

Olivia, pardon Olivia should be.

I'm going to answer you on the issue of the High Commissioner.

We are aware that there are reports circulating and published about the question of the choice of the next High Commissioner for Refugees by the Secretary General.

The naming of the new High Commissioners, succeeding Filippo Grandi has to go through a proper process and this includes consultations with the Executive Committee of UNHCR and then a decision is taken by the General Assembly.

So for the moment, I would just like to say that the process is ongoing and once it's finished, there will be an official announcement made by the United Nations.

Chef Sudhir Large journalist with the Mandy.

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Thank you very much for coming and for this appeal.

Good luck with the meeting next week.

[Other language spoken]

Pardon, Alex, about the new High Commissioner nomination, you you said it will be announced, but you don't have an idea on when Hope soon you'll be the first, the second to know and it and it's going to be announced in New York.

It will be announced officially.

[Other language spoken]

But wait, could you just say, you said just to be clear, that there's a process that needs to be followed, this is out there.

I mean, are you denying that this is correct?

[Other language spoken]

I've said this is a process, It's happening.

We are not or we are, we are just asking you to wait for the end of the process for an official nomination.

I mean, in other words, maybe, maybe I could rephrase it.

I know that there's a formal process and it needs to go through the General Assembly and all that, but is there any way to know whether or not that name, the name of of the former Iraqi prime president, has been presented as an option?

Can you think I stick to what I've said, Jamie.

OK, Thank you very, very much, Mr Bukuchev, for that.

Veneuvoir, thank you very much.

Even in your agenda you didn't have, I think Ross Smith, as I said at the beginning, we are also having the pleasure to welcome him at the at the briefing.

Normally we should have gone to Rick Peppercorn and I know that Rick is waiting from Gaza, but Ross is very hard.

[Other language spoken]

So I'll give him the floor now.

Ross Smith is the WFP director of emergency Preparedness and Response.

He's calling in from Rome to tell us about the latest development in Sudan.

Ross, you've got the floor.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Alessandra, and thanks for the opportunity to brief.

Brief the the colleagues today.

I indeed I want to draw your attention to the situation in and around Alfasher and Alfors and the quarterfans.

There is the little that's known at the moment, but the current conditions in Alfasher is indeed beyond horrific.

We know that there's anywhere between 70 and 100,000 people potentially remaining trapped inside the city itself.

Network blackouts mean that communication is largely cut off and extremely limited what is coming out of the city.

We see satellite images and survivor accounts and they describe the city as a crime scene with with the mass killings, with burn bodies, with abandoned markets.

And there are no indications that trade routes have opened up again and supplies going into the city.

We have no WFP partners left on the ground and we have no verified reports as of yesterday that any of the community kitchens are operating or have been able to restart.

[Other language spoken]

Al Fasher has been extremely dangerous with the risks of robbery, looting and gender based violence for women and girls.

The city and its surrounding roads are littered with mines, unexploded ordnance and they make population improvement quite perilous.

And of course, the movement for humanitarian actors as well.

Our staff that have met with people who did manage to escape to other parts of Darfur report that people have had to pay these extolarated amounts for transport out of old Fasher.

In addition to facing major protection risks and extortion where people are arriving, assistance is still extremely limited and stretched.

And I'm talking about in Tuila and the surrounding areas and it's far north as Al Baba.

People are staying in the open sky without medicine and shelter, limited supplies of other humanitarian commodities goods.

We are providing WFP is providing assistance to the newly displaced whenever possible, but as people are in the move, meeting with them where they are is it remains a big logistical and operational challenge we are calling for and we've continued to call for unimpeded access into our fascia to urgently respond to those that remain trapped in the city.

I understand from discussions yesterday that we have agreement in principle with the Rapid Support Support forces for a set of minimum conditions to enter the city.

So we are, we anticipate to be able to do that very soon to do some initial assessments and reconnaissance.

After more than a year and a half under siege, the essentials for survival have been completely obliterated.

Markets are destroyed, healthcare facilities decimated, basic services are non existent.

We are ready to move as soon as as I indicated, as soon as we can do these initial assessments of the routes and where people are and we have food and trucks ready and in place to immediately reach the entire civilian population, the numbers I I mentioned once that safe passage is secured.

And so we are in both in our fascia and and other places, we can react fast once we have this this access.

[Other language spoken]

We have more than 650,000 people have sought, sought safety in and around to Wheeler.

This is formerly a very small, potentially desert town that has become this very sprawling massive displacement settlement with the population that you know for the for, for comparison, the size of, of the city of Boston or, or the size of the entire population of, of Luxembourg.

For example, majority of families have fled from Zam Zam IDB camp in April of this year.

And more people have arrived, of course, from Al Fasher since the Rapid Support Forces took over the city in late October of this year.

These are families that have endured famine for many months on end and mass atrocities and are now living in overcrowded conditions with very limited support.

There's not enough shelter for people.

Many are staying in very makeshift structures, grass, straw structures, etcetera.

Cholera and disease outbreak is is widespread.

We are providing food to the population in to Wheela.

We are able to to move our logistics with our logistics footprint our our convoys to to Wheela.

But there's very limited healthcare, sanitation, clean water and other humanitarian support.

So we're very worried about, of course, the food sector, but other than non food humanitarian sectors, conditions are extremely difficult there and the needs are immense.

The town itself, of course does not have the capacity to absorb, you know, 650,000 people and the humanitarian response is not keeping pace with the needs at this moment.

We have assisted half a million in November of this year, half a million people in and around Tuila and across Darfur.

We're reaching consistently 2 million people per month, half of those in North Darfur.

And in the areas surrounding Al Fashion across all of Sudan, we are reaching over 4 million people per month with emergency food, cash and nutrition support.

And as I said, we have convoys on route to, to Tuila now enough for 700,000 people for the next month.

[Other language spoken]

Let me just highlight the, the, the, the continued extreme danger for all humanitarian actors in, in, in Sudan, in the Darfur's.

Just last week, one of our trucks was hit with a convoy.

The driver was seriously injured, but he has been released from the hospital now.

And this just underscores the continued risk that we face and all humanitarian actors are facing on a daily basis.

I mean, let me highlight there's some concerns as we move forward here.

We see the territorial, the front lines shifting.

And as the as the territorial control shifts, it's placing new communities at at grave risk.

In addition to the assaults on Zam Zam IDP camp in April of fascia in October, we are starting to see a shift into the court of fans particularly concerned about Kadugli venting.

The devastation that we've seen in our fascia from repeating in Kadugli must be a top priority for all of us.

The front lines are now concentrated in Kordofan, in Kordofan's, I mean, each clash is forcing more families to feed and compounding humanitarian needs at a time when the resources for all of us are stretched very thin.

We've managed to get a convoy into Kadugli in October and we have two more ready to move once the permissions are secured.

At the moment, I would say that, you know, the, the gains that the BFP and other partners have been made over the past year have been, I think, you know, comment, you know, a, it's been a major lift for the entire humanitarian community to get where we are from, where we were two years ago or even one year ago.

But we can require, you know, continued support to do that.

Pipeline breaks are right in front of us.

We will have drastic cuts to our rations and our coverage in 2026 starting in approximately April.

To maintain the current levels of assistance, we will be having to reduce from from January to 70% rations for communities that are facing famine and 50% for those that are at risk of famine.

So these are sort of the minimum levels for survival.

And even as I said, even with these levels, we only have support for the next four months.

What we're particularly concerned about is these recent and new displacements.

So we have to respond to these displacements in and around Tuila from Al Fasher or indeed if they come from Kadugli and other areas, we're having to take from other areas that that need support.

So I will, I will Alessandra, I will stop here just to say that you know, our pipeline break over the next six months, we're requiring almost 700 million to maintain the level of support that we that we need to keep this momentum going and to respond to the the real concerning crisis that we have in the dark wars in the quarter funds at the moment.

I'll stop here.

Happy to answer any questions.

[Other language spoken]

Scott, I've been told you had to leave at 11.

I have one question for you.

[Other language spoken]

And then we will go to Rick, who's been patiently waiting.

Olivia Leopard Rogers, thank you so much for for that.

[Other language spoken]

Are you able to give some detail as to why the humanitarian response isn't able to keep pace with the needs?

Is that because of access restrictions, supply chain challenges, funding?

[Other language spoken]

Some details on that would be really helpful.

And just to clarify also why you're having to make cuts to rations starting from January to to communities facing famine and then even more drastic cuts from April.

And if you have any kind of funding numbers that could put that into context as well, that'd be great.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's a, it's a combination.

So to your first question is a combination of factors that affect our ability to respond to all needs.

So, so funding is the primary challenge at the moment.

As I said, we require almost $700 million to maintain our assistance over the next six months.

It's a, it's a really huge operation, very, very long distance and high cost to operate in different parts of Sudan.

And so that is that is the primary, the primary driving factor logistics and that footprint is always a factor there.

The long, the, the getting approvals and negotiating access and moving from one location to another, these, all of these things take a long time.

So this is always a factor for humanitarian response in Sudan.

And the cuts to rations as I said, you know we are looking at making those starting in January to stretch the resources we have between now and April.

We are, we definitely require as of April, we will fall off a Cliff when it comes to funding and we require additional support because of the lead times to move food and or cash frankly into different parts of Sudan.

We have to make those decisions now just to be able to maintain assistance anticipating new funding coming even in April.

Thank you very, very much.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

I've been told that Ross has to go.

So maybe you can continue this conversation to get on out of the briefing.

I see there are more questions, but Ross is validly helped by as far Dean.

So as, as far as our sorry, as far as the e-mail, asfar.dean@wfp.org, please address her the questions for for Ross.

Ross, thank you very much for for coming to the briefing and sorry that you have to go now.

[Other language spoken]

So again, just send the questions to WFP and they will be happy to answer, I'm sure.

And now I have the pleasure to go to our old friends, Rick Paper Corn.

Rick, thank you so much to be at the briefing this morning.

I will let Christian make an announcement about you before the floor.

Yeah, thank you very much.

It's a it's a great pleasure for me to have you here today and a great honour because it after nearly five years in this post, this will be Rick's last briefing from the OPT and from Gaza.

So thanks for that Rick.

And again, an honour and a pleasure to have you over to you.

Thank you very much, Alessandro.

Thank you Christian.

Let me first say it's a weird it's indeed my my last mission in this position to Gaza.

We we've been here a week and and I'll get back to that.

We visited a lot with Neha Newness.

Of course, not a member of complex in Gas City Shiva Hospital or on TC paediatric hospitals next to the destroyed mental health hospital Al actually we also went to bed Lahiya.

I mean to to to see a site for the primary healthcare and close to Kamala.

We'll get back to that.

Some general facts.

We talk about the number of death and injuries.

You all know that currently stands to more than 70,369 fatalities at over 171,000 injuries reported and and since the ceasefire, 379 Palestinians have been killed, 992 injured as 627 boys retrieved from under the rubble.

We talk about healthcare availability, we talk about a little improvement.

50% of the hospitals, 18 out of 3643 of the primary healthcare centres, 84195 partly functional in North Gaza.

We have a serious problem and, and, and we noticed that when we went to Badlahiya, close to 40,000 people present but no functional hospitals or actually health centres in North Gaza.

So people have to go all the way to Shifa or, or to Al Ahli in Gaza City, Indonesian or other hospitals, your body hospitals are currently beyond the ceasefire.

And Kamala 1 is also it's within or just outside the so-called yellow line.

We were very close to that.

And and WHO and, and, and, and partners.

We plan to set up a primary healthcare centre in Kamala 1 and fortunately we have been consequently denied there to to be able to start that work.

So now as an alternative, we have identified the site to set up a primary healthcare centre close to this at the close to Kmal at one in Badla.

[Other language spoken]

Work will be starting soon to hopefully operationalise the services this you change and specifically when of course we talk about the One Gaza approach etcetera.

We want to be able to make use of Kamal at One Hospital Gaza City despite the immense challenges.

Chief Hospital is I think working again as partly functional territory hospital.

Many services now can be coming functional.

10 operation theatres and outpatient departments are all functional.

The hospital currently has 300 beds.

They want to move back, they want to expand that to to 6700.

WHO is working hard to expand the bath capacity with another 120 beds through the installation of Field Hospital with WHO.

We also support the renovation of the Desalina Tion plan of the hospital and that's why now hemodialysis services are back on full capacity rehabilitation, rehabilitation we focused when we were in at Ron TC Paediatric hospital and and we are working closely with hospital to rehabilitate a neonatal intensive care unit in a paediatric in cancer of your intensive care unit and to restore these services with with specialised equipment and of course training of the staff.

What I could see from all those hospitals where now I've been, and that was I think for me a positive note.

You see a lot of rehabilitation work going on, renovates, rehabilitation, but it's all creative because there's no building materials coming in.

So they use the building material.

They use materials from all over Gaza, from this massively devastated buildings, from other buildings.

And they literally bring in the blocks from other buildings and, and, and, and renovate this hospitals in an incredibly creative way.

Report purposing the materials from damage building as we did as WHO that we took out medical supplies and equipment from other hospitals which were damaged or non functional and then bring them to the hospitals which are partly functional in Rafa.

I want to mention Rafa that as WHO we facilitated A referral and transfer of the first patient to the Emirati Fields Hospital in Rafa last week, which had been until recently inaccessible followed the The 2424 Rapha Incursion Hospital is only functioning medical facilities serving the Rapha area and much of which lies outside the so-called Yellow line ceasefire line who will continue supporting the referral of additional patients to the Emirati Fields Hospital ensure they can access their specialised care including orthopaedic and plastic surgery.

The Southern Gaza and especially high units, majority of hospitals continue to be overwhelmed over 100% that capacity and the lack of supplies which I come back on, on.

Let me actually go to that topic and this is what we hear in in, in our hospitals.

All the hospitals we have discussions when and with the health workers, with the directors and brought around supplies and equipment.

There's a severe, still a severe shortness of essential medicine and medical supplies in all key areas.

You talk about heart disease or kidney or orthopaedic surgery etcetera, even chemotherapy etcetera.

The bottom line is that approximately 50% of the essential medicines of the drugs on the essential medicines list.

So in Palestine there's a list with approximately 650 essential medicines and approximately 50% of that are 0 stock or close to 0 stock medical equipment.

I mean the Shiva director was almost crying.

I mean, they, they have an, an, an X-ray department, which is partly functional and the same for a NASA medical complex.

Those are two Level 3 hospital, third level in hospital.

They operate without CT, without MRI, without proper X-ray, without proper ultrasound equipment, no mobile X-rays, lab equipment which is lacking even simple reagents, etcetera.

And, and and all those kind of supplies you will find in the even the smaller general hospitals all over the world.

The same applies for spare parts.

They, they, all those, the, the few medical imaging equipment which are still functional, they need to be repaired, they need to be maintained etcetera, spare parts also we don't get in all supplies for generators.

So we need to act and think completely different regarding dual use.

We brought it up at all levels and all authorities and it needs support and and we can talk about that's approved.

Rick, you are frozen.

Let me see if it's only in the room.

Does it work on the web?

[Other language spoken]

I'm just checking with them, but if it's rolls, it's rolls.

What can we do?

Maybe what we can do maybe is that he can go out and in again so as to let me see if we can get him back.

Because I see his name and I see his mic is open and his camera is open, but we can't see him.

Rick, I don't know if you can hear us.

Just the best would be that you go out and come in again.

[Other language spoken]

Coming back the same.

[Other language spoken]

Your mic, your mic.

Maybe I should do that just before he's he's back.

We have a fire drill ongoing right now At WHO?

Or actually it's already over because I understand some people have been calling W Joe seeing what the what the problem is.

So just to flag this was nothing but a regular fire drill, which is thank you.

Thanks for reassuring us.

So I don't see Rick coming back yet.

[Other language spoken]

And otherwise I see there were questions for him.

So I'm I really regret if we've lost him for good.

[Other language spoken]

According to them, they're back.

[Other language spoken]

Sorry.

Yes, we are happy to see you and hear you.

[Other language spoken]

Rick, you want to finish your introductory remarks, There are questions for you.

So, OK, this part of Gaza, I think I hope you heard me about medical supplies and equipment.

Yeah, just want to say something then as last two point about the diseases and winter.

Of course we when we were here, this storm bar and struck Gaza, which force it's it's the deplorable conditions, especially shelter conditions is remains.

I mean, shocking as it is and and and deepening the suffering of already displaced families.

Cold, rainy winter definitely set in and and more people vulnerable with diseases.

Cells of family are sheltering in these low lying and and debris filled coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers, something that heaps of garbage everywhere along the roads.

More than 4000 people are living in these so-called high risk homes on the on the coast.

And and of these around 1000 people directly are exposed even to this wave impact etcetera.

And what we heard at the last 24 hours, 10 people reportedly dies, heavy rains, cold, etcetera.

And, and, and we've seen of course winter conditions combined with poor water and sanitation, surge in acute respiratory infections including influenza and, and what you've seen in the past as well hepatitis, diarrheal diseases, etcetera.

Soviet show we established this so-called early warning and alert response system in, in January 24 and, and it's currently reporting 16 reportable diseases under conditions.

It was piloted in 23 in 10 Unruh facilities and scaled up to 276 facilities.

Now across 39 HealthPartners.

And since the establishment to date, we've reported of 1.47 million cases of acute respiratory infections and over 670,000 cases of acute diarrheal diseases.

Diagnostics and testing Gaza remained severely limited due what I also mentioned the lab reagents which have been denied entry.

So one of the key ask as well working, we are working at WHL with Bart has helped to keep newborn children and more warm and safe in hospitals.

Thousands of blankets, newborn hairs, etcetera being prepared for this for distribution.

[Other language spoken]

This week we manufactured 25 patients and and 92 companions.

This time the medevac went to Europe, Italy, Norway, Belgium or Romania.

The total patients evacuated since October 23 is over 10,645 and including 5632 children is over 53%.

According to the to the records, 1092 patients died while awaiting medical evacuation between July 24 and November 28, 2025.

And this figure is likely to be underreported and not fully representatives based solely on reported death.

We currently still have more than 18,500 patients including 4096 children in Gaza which need medical evacuation.

We need of course to restore get Gaza health services from minimal to partial to fully functional, but even then thousands of patients will need medical evacuation.

So we call consequently and continuously on more countries to welcome patients from Gaza for medical and of course to open that routes And I think it's we've gone really impatient that repeating that to open the route for medical evacuation to the West Bank, including E Jerusalem.

[Other language spoken]

There's no reason, while this traditional referral pathway, which is the most effective and efficient referral pathway to the East Jerusalem hospitals and the West Bank cannot be reopened.

So there should be way more pressure on that.

Who is ready to speed up the medevacs and to continue doing this on a daily basis where it is needed and then feasible and the route to the West Bank and E Jerusalem needs to be reopened now.

Thank you very much, Rick.

Thank you very much.

Yeah, this Medevacs question has been coming up to et cetera briefings, so I'm sure that's of interest to everybody.

Let me open the floor to question first in the room, Mohammed, another ones.

Thank you so much, Rick.

My question about Byron Storm, it's after the Greece and Cyprus.

This storm has reached the Gaza as well.

There is a heavy rain as you mentioned.

Therefore approximately 1,000,000 displacement displaced Palestinian are at risk for flood.

What would you like said about its effect in terms of health, this storm effect?

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, I think thank you very much.

And I think I tried to address that.

I think first of all, I mean the, the, I don't want to say that, but the, the, the ingenuity of people, I mean like and, and trying and, and that's what everybody tells me everywhere.

By the way, one thing everybody wants is of course to the ceasefire needs to be maintained.

It should, it should go over in, in a proper peace and, and, and, and proper peace agreement.

And they are doing a lot themselves.

I mean like they are with all the, the, with the leftover materials, as I said, from devastated buildings, etcetera.

People everywhere they trying to, to, to do something where that they want to go back to their homes, they want to, they're looking forward to A1 Gaza and going back to the north and the South, etcetera and starting work on that.

But you're completely right is this endless ad hoc, especially ad hoc tent camps and many of them no proper tents.

It definitely has an impact.

And and also I would say the enormous amount of garbage and debris everywhere.

It's an environmental health disaster, the the water sanitation and I think I want to yeah, UNICEF and all the parts really try to to improve that and and working really hard to to do so.

But of course much more is needed on that area and it's compromising everything.

And and think about and especially in the in winter time with especially under 5 under this, this poor shelter conditions, respiratory infections is the the biggest one.

And then acute respiratory infections can quickly go over in pneumonia and, and especially with under fives and elderly diarrheal diseases we have seen.

And of course the the the whole area of hepatitis A as well.

[Other language spoken]

And then in the meantime also that people ask me often what about, you know, cholera, etcetera.

Now preparations or an assessments are constantly done as good as possible.

But yeah, all of that has a huge in huge impact.

So that is the whole I think request we there.

There's a huge need to get much more shelter and proper shelter material into, into Gaza water, sanitation, food.

What I what, what we notice is it has, has has improved and you see much more food and fortunately also now a little bit more diverse food.

Now I raised already all the issues medical supplies, specifically medical, medical equipment, lab, etcetera where we have to rethink completely different.

We are now in a stage where we talk about early recovery and rehabilitation.

So the the the 2.2 million people cannot wait before we renegotiate again everything on dual use this debt, etcetera, those materials needs to get in now.

Over to you.

Thank you very much.

And Mohammed, just also calling your attention on a press release that IOM put out this morning about the displacement of Palestinian water, flood risk after the storm, just for your information.

[Other language spoken]

Any other question in the room?

Otherwise I go to the platform.

[Other language spoken]

So John, John Zaracostas, Francois Cato.

[Other language spoken]

Could you give us a few more details on the 650 essential drugs of which you've got 50% at 0, close to 0, How many of these are life threatening for people if they don't get them in the next week or so?

And secondly, on your appeal, I was looking at some figures and roughly only about less than 40% of the appeal for the whole of the LPT has been funded.

And for health, it's even lower than that.

Why is that?

Yeah, I think on the on the, on the 0 stock items, I think it's when we talk all the figures we have, we talk about 320 one items out of 622.

Normally do we call also fear stocks that when it would be out completely out of stock within, within 3 within three months.

And it is I think in, in, in all kind of areas.

For example, when it was in NASA, unfortunately, I know that for WHO we get a lot of search goals as they now over this weekend, but it was everywhere.

That was the first one of the first thing.

We don't even have proper surgical causes.

I mean, like that was one of the first things which was raised, but it's also more specialised drugs.

And specifically when you think of course on on on.

I think we should also really think of non chronic diseases, chemotherapy, heart disease treatments and, and, and related to kidney and kidney transplantation and hemodialysis.

But also the yesterday after he had a discussion with a with, with, with a fantastic orthopaedic surgeon there resigning and, and he said he had to constantly reuse, reuse, you know, the, the, the drains he was using for his surgery, his, his surgeries.

And then they have to, of course, sterilise it again before they can start over again.

So it's it's everything related to that the yeah, and and and sometimes I don't want to say and and you know that as well.

It's it's not always that people will straight away.

I mean, like when there's a lack of this like that, Australia will Australia will die.

But specifically when you talk about non comical diseases, your conditions of course deteriorates quite massively.

On the other point and, and by the way, even on mental health and, and, and, and some blood disorders etcetera, there is shortages in all kinds of things.

I really want to stress the points on medical imaging because the hospitals should start functioning now more better and more.

You want to, you want to go back from minimal to partially functional and, and, and hopefully fully functional in some areas.

And as, as we know, you need in every in hospital, you need proper medical imaging and proper lab equipment.

That's, that's a start that you, you can be compared with your diagnosis, et cetera, et cetera.

You focus your, your treatment in, in, in a better way.

Now we are in, in, in, in all those areas.

There is an, an, an huge lag.

So our plea is to relook completely differently on, on, on this whole dual use discussions and and we go into recovery.

We are ready.

We are ready with what kind of medical equipment is needed for hospitals, tertiary hospitals, general hospitals, Primary Health care centres and another area which was constantly erased that they want to get in spare parts, spare parts for everything I mentioned, including for for generators.

Your last point about funding, I think I still want to be positive.

And are we still online?

Yeah, I still want to be a bit positive on, on, on that.

As WHO we are working on our 26 operational response plan, which will of course focus initially on the, the same 3 humanitarian health pillars, essential health services, including all supplies and equipment, medevac, EMTs, then public health intelligence, which will be the surveillance strength of surveillance health information systems and, and, and think about polio campaign we did as well.

The third one is coordination, 80 plus partners, yeah, and, and some strong national parks, international partners.

And the fourth pillar, which should be by far become far the largest pillar is of course early recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Linked to that, we're working on, on, on specific kind of concept notes in areas of hospitals.

Let's say that three tertiary hospitals, we've planned to support 3 tertiary hospitals over Gaza, but also a Primary Health care network, which is incredibly important.

And that's specific topics I forgot actually the top of for example, rehabilitation, rehabilitation, mental health, moderate child health, RMNCH and, and all these areas.

And if I may, I want to say something about rehabilitation because I forgot.

We also went to the visit that the, the, the rehabilitation hospital from the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

It's the only inpatient hospital for rehabilitation at the moment.

And as we know from a 170,000 Gazet injured, more than 1/4 will need lifelong assistive technology and, and over 45,000 people and from them over 10,000 children.

I met many of those children.

There's 100 bed hospital.

They want to expand that WHO supporting that hospital with supplies and equipment.

We want to extend those services.

But there will be there will be a need of many of this kind of places and units in hospitals, not a medical complex had an fantastic limp reconstruction unit, which was always supported by the OHO.

Yes, we are have plans to support it again.

[Other language spoken]

I think, yeah, health plans are there and I'm sure we will be able to convince member States and donors Over to you.

Thank you very much.

Two last questions before we go to the next speakers who has been waiting patiently.

So we have Reuters.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

I have a question for a couple questions for you please.

And also I see UNICEF is there and given it scars related questions.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you Doctor Peppercorn.

Just in terms of the referral and transfer of the first patient to the Emirati Fields Hospital in Rafa last week, that's the first patient since when, just if you could give a timeline for comparison that would be helpful.

And also just a question just to clarify, the hospital is on the other side of the yellow line in Israeli health area, right?

So I'm just wanting to understand if there are assurances that patients transferred there will be able to then get back into the area where they had been transferred from on the other side of the yellow line in Gaza.

That's my questions for you.

And sorry, also just to check the 10 deaths that you mentioned due to the cold and rain, is that based on Ministry of Health figures?

And then just my question, question please for Ricardo, if you're able to give some detail about how children are being impacted by this new wave of flooding and rain and if you've faced any restrictions as an agency getting one shelter materials but also be flood prevention supplies such as sandbags into the Enclave?

And secondly, do you have a latest figure on the number of children who have been killed since the ceasefire, please?

Thank you very much, Rick.

OK, yes, I will be trying to be quick.

So last question, I know there are the number of children killed.

I don't have a figure on that on on on on the the the people reported which died over last.

The last 24 hours, those are Ministry of Health figures on Rafa the, and I think I, I informed that Emirati hospital, it's like since the Rafa incursion, yeah, that left the, the area actually inaccessible.

So that was since June 2024.

And and, and that's field hospital was the only function in medical facilities, but it was not accessible.

Now I think that's, it's all it's difficult.

It's not like an easy route to go there.

So there are a new SWHL whenever there's a this wasn't an an an I don't hope it's a one off, but it wasn't at least a successful negotiation to bring patients there.

And yeah, we, we have done to, you know, to negotiate everything outside the other line with CLA and coldness.

[Other language spoken]

Over to you.

Thanks, Alessandra.

Thanks, Olivia, for the question.

Yeah, So the situation for children is, is extremely dire, as has been said.

And as the UN has reported, over 800,000 Gazans are at risk from flooding as powerful winter storms swept through the strip over the last couple of days, many of them children.

That's nearly half of the entire population in Gaza and children who have already been pushed beyond human limits.

We have seen reports of two babies or under fives who died from hypothermia this week, this week alone.

We know that last year that was also the case.

So clearly we haven't learned our lessons in terms of how to get aid in quicker and prevent deaths from children due to winter.

Our teams are on the ground to provide as much support as we can to families, but again, we're collectively failing the most vulnerable children in Gaza who continue to die from preventable causes this winter.

In the past weeks we managed to get with partners more than 250,000 warm clothes kits for children, more than 260,000 tarpaulins or plastic sheets to help with sheltering, more than six 7500 tents and 630,000 blankets, in addition to 440 thousand mattresses.

So it it is a huge effort.

But of course this is not sufficient to protect 1,000,000 children, most of them who have lost everything after two years of war, relentless war, much more and central winter supplies are outside Gaza waiting for approval.

But we don't have enough humanitarian crossings open, and our supplies continue to be awaiting the processes while children, as I said, are dying on the ground.

Many of our services, of course, rely on the constant flow of aid.

Some supplies remain unapproved for entry by the Israeli authorities, including spare parts for water trucks, generators for our vehicles, material materials and equipment to repair and purify water systems, which will become even more urgent now given the the the reports of of the the weather, storms and and floods that are continuing to affect nearly every person in Gaza.

High power generator generators are also being denied and solar cold chain equipments for vaccines remain stuck outside Gaza.

So of course, we call for all these supplies to be urgently permitted inside the strip.

And finally, on your question about children killed since the ceasefire, UNICEF knows that reportedly now 82 children have been killed in Gaza since the 10th of October, which is again is a staggering pattern and it needs to stop.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you, Ricardo.

Last question from the Spanish News Agency.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

I would like to ask Rita, after witnessing and experiencing for all these years the situation in OPD and Israel and after two years of conflicts, more than two years, how do you summarise?

Could you summarise in a few words the state of Gaza's healthcare system and what do you think about when it's physical reconstruction could begin and from also from the perspective of the healthcare personnel that is very scarce now?

And this is my questions and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your efforts in very difficult circumstances, for all along this conflict to keep us informed of what was happening on the ground.

Thank you, Rick, Thank you, Sabel and Rick, I think this is a common feeling.

We're really, we're really grateful for your work.

I see lots of journalists in the room nodding.

You want to say this?

[Other language spoken]

I just thank you for Isabel for saying that, Doctor Peter Corn.

I'd also like to Jamie AP Thank you for that.

And and I hope that WHO in the future will be as eager to put your successor in front of us as much as they have with you.

Yeah, we really appreciated that.

I let you answer this last question and then we will close.

OK, Thank you very much for this kind warts.

And yeah, let me say something.

[Other language spoken]

So first of all, having been here almost five years, but of course the the and and we went through many crisis.

I mean, I remember that when I just arrived in February, March 21, we went through the so-called what we now call the May escalation.

Since then, it never has been quiet.

And then, of course, this, this, the crisis exploded, as we all know, from October 23.

[Other language spoken]

First of all, there's been an incredibly humbling, humbling, intense and extremely sad, but also inspirational and, and rewarding experience.

And and if you ask me what, what what has been now the the former health perspective, the major feat that I think somehow the health services, the system in in this whole horror crisis remains partly to minimum functional.

And and hospitals became non functional.

They became minimum functional again, they became partially functional again.

And that also applies for Primary Health care centres, etcetera, health workers.

And this is, I think, amazing and it's against all odds and, and, and I want to credit first and foremost the the, the Gaza health workers.

[Other language spoken]

And then the, a small technical group of the Ministry of Health, but specifically also WHO and, and key some of the key partners there, but specifically also WHO the, the teams here in Jerusalem.

I mean, I think together we massively save lives and I think this is what it is and reduce morbidity and, and, and that's great.

I think it's, and that is despite all odds and against enormous cost.

I mean like also for WHO and we lost staff, we got staff detained, we were shot at, we were, we had missions which were were denied blocked.

We went through everything and, and, and I've experienced a lot of death myself with with my staff and but still and six of our warehouses got destroyed, 2 guest houses, etcetera.

And and we are just part of that.

I mean like that's happening all the time.

I think the future, yes, I really hope and and and I would expect that there will be a one guys and A1 Palestine approach.

And as when it comes to health, the focus should be of course on very strong Primary Health care network and and community health services with with starting.

And I think it's very much, I must say, when I read, when you read the, the, the plan and, and the recovery plan and the reconstruction plan from Palestinian authorities, it's very much aligned with that.

I mean, focus first on three Level 3 hospitals in Gaza, a group of, of general hospitals that focus on a really strong Primary Health care network.

A slight bit of good news, but people don't realise the system was never so, so bad as how many people think it was actually pretty good health system with proper India, proper good health indicators.

The quality of the staff, the health workers in Gaza or the West Bank, etcetera is much higher than a lot of people probably would think.

And there's a lot of Palestinian ingenuity and, and, and, and, and the creativity and leadership.

And that's maybe the last point.

Of course, for any solution, any long term solution, you need Palestinian leadership on the table and Palestinians etcetera to decide and to and to chart out their own future.

[Other language spoken]

Oops, you I thought you were blocked again.

Rick, thank you so very much.

Really I think I express everybody's feeling here.

Not only you've been a fantastic speaker to our briefings, but also fantastic head of The Who operation in this so difficult region in such a difficult time.

[Other language spoken]

All the very, very, very, very best for the, for your retirement.

And maybe it will give you a little bit of time to come in, in person and see us in, in Geneva.

[Other language spoken]

And Alessandro, I also want to send you and of course all the members of the press and, and what I can just say, I mean, keep doing your work and, and be as factual as possible.

I think if anything, we try XWHO when we did communications and we did massive communications over this crisis, we've always tried to be as factual as possible and let the facts speak.

And that's something.

So I want to also compliment all the the journalists you guys there, etcetera.

[Other language spoken]

And, and, and, and people are watching and people are listening.

So thanks for that.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Rick.

And I'd like to thank also Christian and Ricardo and go to our next speaker was being patiently waiting.

She's coming in from Colombo, Christine Parko, who is the IOM Chief of Mission in Sri Lanka to give us an update on the cyclone response.

You've got the floor, man.

Thank you very much for this opportunity.

[Other language spoken]

I speak to you from Colombo, not just as a representative of IOM, but as someone who has witnessed first hand the heartbreak and resilience of Sri Lanka's people in the cyclone.

In the wake of Cyclone Dipois, the people of Sri Lanka have not seen such a widespread distraction in years.

Within hours of the impact of the cyclone, our team were on the ground, reaching devastated communities and listening to families who have lost everything.

Behind every number reported is a person, a family, a future now uncertain.

Just a few days ago, when I visited a safety centre that is crowded, I met a mother of three who returned from years of work overseas just to only see that the years of her work overseas, her life saving, washed away in a single night.

Her three children now face an uncertain future without any basic provisions for daily life.

A father once able to provide for his family now wonders how he will provide shelter and food for his children tomorrow.

An elderly man whose feet were swollen from standing in the flood water, evacuated with nothing but the clothes on his back and has no home to return to and no idea of what the future holds.

These moments reveal the true human cause of this disaster, and there are just a few of the 2.2 millions of stories of loss and resilience.

The scale of emergency is overwhelming.

Over 280,000 people are now internally displaced with their homes destroyed.

IOM began its response by distributing urgent relief supplies to families in the Northern, Eastern, Central and Western provinces, but the communities still remain in desperate need of shelter, clean water and access to basic healthcare and psychosocial support.

IOM has deployed it's Displacement Tracking Matrix across all 25 districts to collect accurate real time data on displacement and returns.

Our teams are now expanding operations to reach the most affected communities in OVA, Central and Western Provinces.

Our humanitarian response is closely aligned with the Government of Sri Lanka and partners across NGOs, civil society, private sectors.

Together we are working very closely to deliver life saving support with urgency.

Every hour without assistance puts more lives at risk.

The needs remain immense and time is critical.

IOM is planning to launch an appeal for the cyclone response and we require 7.3 U.S.

[Other language spoken]

dollar to sustain and scale up life saving interventions in the coming months.

Without immediate support, we risk losing the window to prevent suffering and loss.

You can find more information how to help on our donors page.

Behind each number is a story of loss, but also of a story of hope and resilience.

Now is the moment for the world to stand for Sri Lanka.

Your support can make the difference in the lives of the affected population.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Thanks for this update and and for the information about the appeal.

Let me see if there are questions to you.

Let's see hands up in the room or online.

So thank you very much.

And I'm sure that Horske will make sure that we have your notes with the with the figures and the appeal.

Thanks for for for being at the briefing with us today.

And our last but not least speaker on my right comes from UNFPA.

I have the pleasure to welcome Eugene Connew you.

I'm sorry I had I had practise, but it doesn't come.

Kong New the Deputy Director of UNFPA Humanitarian Response Division and you also would like to launch an appeal, humanitarian appeal at the floor.

Thank you very much, Sir.

[Other language spoken]

Good morning everyone, and thank you for taking your time to be with us here today.

Yesterday UNFPA launch the 2026 humanitarian appeal and the message is stark.

Women and girls in crisis setting are entering 2026 facing greater danger, deeper instability and shrinking humanitarian lifeline.

Conflict, persecution, climate shocks continue to of root millions at this time.

We are seeing clinics, safe spaces, frontline services that women and girls rely on that are being attacked, destroyed, starve of resources and pushed to collapse.

This means that pregnant women, a pregnant woman may not find a safe place to give birth, a survival violence may not have anyone to turn to, and an adolescent girl may be pushed into early or forced pregnancy because pregnancy or marriage because the family sees no way out.

So as systems are shrinking and services are disappearing, UNFPA priorities remain unwavering.

That is to ensure that no woman should die giving birth, no pregnancy should be unwanted, and that every girl, every woman should be free of violence.

And that if there is violence, a survivor should have the services that they need.

Even as systems fail, UNFPA works to keep lives saving.

Support within the reach of those who need it must.

So globally, 61 million women and girls of reproductive age continue to require humanitarian assistance in the coming year.

And UNFPA estimate that in 2026, in 4042 countries there will be 7.7 million pregnant women, women who need humanitarian assistance and 80 million people, both women and girls who will require services for the prevention and response to gender based violence.

But meeting these needs has become increasingly very difficult, very difficult as we can see.

Last year UNFP launched an appeal of one point 1.2 billion U.S.

dollars and only 39% of this appeal was funded.

And the consequences are immediate.

With limited resources, more than 2/3 of the available funding flew to only just six countries, leaving the rest of the world emergencies to share the rest of the the money.

So between January this year and September, what we have had is UNFPA has reached 6.2 million people with sexual and reproductive health services, 2.1 million people with services for the prevention and response to gender based violence across 50 crises of affected countries.

But these figures are lower than previous years.

We have reached there's a decline of 38% in.

Access to sexual and reproductive health services a decline of 20% in gender based violence.

But this drop doesn't mean that the needs are declining or they are falling, but in fact the needs are actually increasing.

It only reflect the impact of severe underfunding which has forced UNFPA to close over 1000 herd facilities and 250 women and girls sell spaces in some of the world most vulnerable settings.

Our country reports show that at least 10 to 12 million women and girls stand to lose essential services in 20252026 if the current gaps pacist, including 6.3 million in Afghanistan, nearly 2 million in Yemen, more than 1.6 million in Myanmar and hundreds of thousands more across Central African Republic, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Libya.

The consequences are immediate, life threatening and more often irreversible.

Looking ahead to 2026, our commitment is clear.

UNFPA will work to keep sexual and reproductive health and gender based violence at the core of humanitarian action.

We will continue to champion the rights, safety and dignity of women and girls in every crisis.

We will continue to deepen our support to local organisations, especially women LED, youth LED and other local organisations in by September this year, more than 30% of UNFPA humanitarian funding went to local organisation, including 11% to women LED organisations.

These organisations are the first to respond, they are the last to leave and they're most trusted by their communities.

We also ensure that accountability to affected population continue to guide the work that we do because communities know what they need, where barriers persist and how services can better meet their realities.

Their voices must shape humanitarian action.

Finally, we urge the international community to ensure that sexual reproductive health and gender based violence prevention and response remain non negotiable pillars of humanitarian response, particularly as the humanitarian system continues to shift.

In 2026, UNFPA is appealing for nearly 1 billion U.S.

dollars to deliver life saving sexual and reproductive health services, gender based violence services to over 34 million women and girls and young people across 42 crisis affected countries.

The appeal is smaller and more focus than in previous years, reflecting the system wide prioritisation, not decline in Nets.

Nets remain at record high and many will go and meet unless additional resources are mobilised.

Nearly half of the appeal is directed to five most severe crisis, that is Sudan, Palestine, Afghanistan, Yemen and Democratic Republic of Congo.

UNFPA will continue to stand with women and girls in every crisis, in every community, ensuring that their rights, their health and their safety remain at the centre of humanitarian response.

We're confident that the international community will answer this call and stand with us and with women and girls.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Phil.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for coming and making it from the press briefing.

[Other language spoken]

I don't see any.

[Other language spoken]

Coming, Bruce, New York Times.

[Other language spoken]

The figures you mentioned of the women and girls who stand not to receive assistance without support in Afghanistan were very much higher than in any other places.

And I'm just wondering is that as a result of the funding squeeze or because you can't actually get to them, you can't deliver the services on the current circumstances?

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, thank you for that question.

Very important is mainly due to the lack of funding because Afghanistan is one of the countries that the needs for sexual and reproductive health services and services to respond and prevent gender based violence are very high.

And if we continue to face the trend that we are seeing this year with the decline in resources, we will not be able to meet the needs.

So the needs we are, we mentioned here is the gap between what we should have and what we are expecting that if trends continue that gap, we there will be a gap in funding and then it will lead to that 1.61.96.3 million Afghanistan women and girls not having the services.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Alessandra, I actually I, I have a question, but it's it's not linked to to UNFPAI don't know if it's the right moment.

Can I let me see if there are more question for our colleagues, which I don't see?

No, the only end up is your Stefan.

So let me thank very much Mr Connie for this appeal.

And the colleagues from UNFPAI think you've already distributed, they've seen the notes.

So that is that is gone out with all the figures that you were mentioning.

Thank you very much for being with us.

[Other language spoken]

I have a question for WHOI don't know if Christian is still around.

He is actually you come to the podium, Christian.

[Other language spoken]

There's a, there's a, there's about 260 people placed in quarantine in South Carolina because of a measles outbreak.

And I was wondering how WHO sees this outbreak and how dangerous it is in terms of spreading out across the country.

Thank you, Christian.

[Other language spoken]

It's not exactly.

[Other language spoken]

Let me take this more generally because I don't have anything in specific here on that with me.

But importantly to note, measles are an vaccine preventable disease.

Measles are highly contagious.

Measles can impact for life and again they're vaccine preventable.

So that's the position of W Jo and of course, we stand ready for any support the member State may ask us to provide.

[Other language spoken]