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UN Geneva Press Briefing - 22 May 2026

1:36:10

MP4

6 GB

22-05-2026

Press Conferences | UNOG , WHO , UNRWA , UNHCR , OHCHR , UN WOMEN , IFRC , WMO

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 22 May 2026

ENG FRA

UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
22 May 2026
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations
Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing. In attendance were
spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the World Health Organization, the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, UN Women, and the World Meteorological Organization, as well as the
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Situation in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territory
Dr Akihiro Seita, Director of Health at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), presented key aspects from UNRWA’s
healthcare delivery work during 2025, ahead of the Health Annual Report to be published
in the coming weeks by UNRWA.
It was important to note that UNRWA was still operating in Gaza and the West Bank,
Lebanon and Syria. Last year, UNRWA had taken care of 4.5 million medical consultation
in Gaza, or 40 percent of all consultations in Gaza. UNRWA had also taken care of
43,000 pregnant women, and 220,000 people with diabetes and hypertension. The
vaccination coverage had reached 97 percent, a tremendous contribution to the stability
of the region. It indicated that UNRWA was a very good public health platform for the
country to support the Palestinian refugees and the host countries as well.
UNRWA continued to operate under tremendous pressure. UNRWA lost 391 staff in the
world, including 20 health staff. The financial crisis was also serious. In February 2026,
UNRWA had cut staff salary and work time by 20 percent. Many UNRWA staff in Gaza
still lived in tents. UNRWA was not able to bring medicines inside Gaza and the West
Bank.
There was a tremendous pressure on the population UNRWA served, and UNRWA really
appreciated it for the international community to continue to support it to go back to 100
percent.
Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative for the
occupied Palestinian territory, said nobody could replace what UNRWA was doing. The
World Health Assembly, she noted, had had a standing, mandated agenda item on the
health of the people in the occupied Palestinian territories, East Jerusalem and occupied
Golan for decades.
Despite the ceasefire, the violence continued in Gaza: at least 880 people had been
killed and more than 2,600 injured since October 2025. The invisible “yellow line”
–marking the limit beyond which active combat continued – had moved again: this
meant that today, more than two million people lived on less than half of what the Gaza
Strip was before the war. Also, in 2026 up to this date, WHO had reported 22 attacks on
healthcare in Gaza, in which five people had died.
Health facilities in Gaza were not functioning due to critical shortages of medical
supplies. Laboratory equipment and reagents were missing. Without these essential
items, it was impossible to diagnose diseases and detect potential disease outbreaks,
such as hantavirus and Ebola. There should be no bureaucratic processes nor access
restrictions on essential medicines and essential supplies, Dr Van De Weerdt insisted.
A journalist asked whether Hamas was diverting the delivery of medical equipment. Dr
Van de Weerdt explained that WHO brought in supplies also on behalf of UNRWA. These

supplies went to WHO warehouses. On a request from Israel, there were now trackers on
generators and medical supplies.
WHO could not bring in spare parts for armored vehicles, oxygen generators and
laboratory equipment. Some 5,000 people with amputations could not get prosthetic
limbs, some of which were considered “dual use items” and retained by Israel. Dr Seita
noted that UNRWA ran a major physiotherapy hospital, which had been destroyed.
The key Rafah crossing point, through which patients could leave to and from Gaza into
Egypt, was open again since February; another point of passage was Kerem Shalom,
from where patients could go, through a very long and complicated way, to Jordan.
Thousands of patients were still waiting for a medical evacuation from Gaza and did not
have access to the specialized care they needed, Dr Van De Weerdt noted.
Dr Seita warned against not only the shortage of food in Gaza, but also against the risk
of collapse due to a shortage of water, clean housing and medical supplies and
equipment.
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations
Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said the UN had long been advocating for a
lasting ceasefire, for peace and for the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-
governance.
UNHCR appalled by attacks on aid operations and rising civilian toll in Ukraine
Bernadette Castel-Hollingworth, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) Representative in Kyiv, briefed journalists on intensifying Russian attacks on
Ukraine that were killing and injuring more and more civilians, and forcing more people
to leave. There was also a worrying trend of attacks on humanitarians and humanitarian
operations in the country.
Two days ago, a warehouse leased by UNHCR in Dnipro had been hit by a missile during
a Russian strike on the city. The attack had claimed two lives, had injured many others,
and resulted in significant damages. The Refugee Agency had lost emergency shelter kits
to be distributed after air attacks, sleeping mats, hygiene kits, blankets, and essential
and emergency items. The lost value of the aid that was ready to be distributed to
people who need it was over one million dollars.
This strike had come amid many others, including deadly strikes this week on the Sumy
and Chernihiv regions in northern Ukraine; and a missile and drone attack on Kyiv less
than a week ago, where 25 people had died. In 2026, according to human rights officers
from the monitoring mission in Ukraine, already 815 civilians had been killed and more
than 4,000 injured: this was 21 percent higher than in 2025, a year that had been the
deadliest one for civilians in Ukraine since 2022.
Last week there were also three direct attacks on humanitarian convoys, including two
on very clearly marked UN convoys. Attacks against humanitarians on duty were clear
violations of international humanitarian law: civilians must be protected, and
humanitarian must never be targeted either. (Press release here).
Involuntary returns of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan
Shabia Mantoo, for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR), said the Office was warning against involuntary returns of Afghan refugees
and asylum seekers from host countries to Afghanistan, in violation of international
human rights and refugee law. Since the beginning of the year, almost 270,000 Afghans
had been deported to Afghanistan, mainly from Iran and Pakistan. Fewer numbers have

also been reported from Turkey and Tajikistan. These numbers were in addition to the
more than 1.2 million Afghans who had been deported from Iran and 150,000 from
Pakistan last year.
A report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Human Rights Office
last year found that many Afghans who had been involuntarily returned to Afghanistan
had experienced a range of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest,
detention, torture and ill treatment at the hands of the de facto authorities. Women and
girls, individuals affiliated with the former government and its security forces, media
workers, civil society, and members of the LGBTIQ plus community were among those
who remained at grave risk of reprisals and human rights violations and abuses.
OHCHR urged States to abide by their international legal obligations and protect Afghans
by not taking any action that exposed them to irreparable harm upon return. The Office
was also alarmed at mounting reports that some countries in Europe were considering or
resuming deportations, despite the very severe human rights situation in Afghanistan.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, strongly cautioned against all
involuntary returns to Afghanistan in the absence of individualized risk assessments, as
required by international human rights and refugee law. (Press release here.)
Answering a question on the effect of the conflict between Iran and the United States,
Ms Mantoo said deportations could surge during periods of heightened security
pressures, as had happened after the 2025 escalation. Were tensions to escalate, the
experience or patterns suggested that deportations could increase. Returnees and
deportees arriving from Iran to Afghanistan were citing economic hardship,
unemployment, high living costs, lack of documentation as reasons for leaving. Many
had reported experiencing arrests and extortion, abuse and poor detention conditions.
Ebola outbreak
Sofia Calltorp, for UN Women, underlined the disproportionate impact of Ebola on
women. Women were more likely than men to die during an Ebola outbreak, not because
the disease was more deadly for women once they were infected, but because women
were more likely to be infected in the first place. This had been evident during the 2018-
2019 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where women and girls had
accounted for around two thirds of reported cases.
Ebola was more deadly to women than to men because Ebola transmission followed
social realities: the virus spread along the lines of caregiving, domestic labour, frontline
health work and burial practices. Women were caregivers, nurses, cleaners in hospital
wards, birth attendants helping women deliver their babies; they were also the ones who
cared for loved ones in death, preparing their bodies for a funeral.
At a time when humanitarian funding cuts were weakening frontline health and
protection systems, UN Women called for sustained funding for women-led organizations
so that they could continue their life-saving work in protecting communities, countering
misinformation and supporting safe care practices. UN Women also called for increased
financial support to primary health care programs that met the needs of women and
girls, so that they had access to, among others, training in community-based Ebola
awareness and prevention activities, which were critical investments in early detection,
safe care, and community resilience. (Press release here.)
Gabriela Arenas, Regional Operations Coordinator for the International Federation of the
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in the Africa Region, said Red Cross
volunteers in Mongbwalu (Democratic Republic of Congo), a town which was considered
to be the epicentre of the outbreak, were moving from door to door, speaking with
families, answering questions, and helping communities understand how to protect

themselves and when to seek care. Many people in these communities had lived through
previous outbreaks before, and they remembered fear, rumours spreading to villages,
neighbours disappearing into treatment centres and families being unable to bury loved
ones. These memories were now returning.
History had shown that Ebola outbreaks could not be contained by a medical response
only: they could be contained when communities trusted the response, when people had
reliable information, and when local action was supported quickly and consistently. This
week, the IFRC had launched an emergency appeal seeking 29 million Swiss francs to
scale-up of community engagement, surveillance, safe and dignified burials, infection
prevention, as well as cross-border coordination and readiness activities for neighbouring
countries.
Answering a question from a journalist, Ms Arenas explained it was critical to get burials
under control because the viral load was the highest on the dead bodies. Touching the
bodies was extremely risky. Consequently, IFRC applied protocols to perform specialized
burials, and had teams trained for it.
Hurricane season outlook
Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said the US National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had issued its Hurricane Outlook for the
forthcoming 2026 season, which would begin on 1 June. NOAA was expecting a below-
average hurricane season, with eight to 14 named storms. Of those, three to six were
expected to become hurricanes and one to three major hurricanes. This was below
average. One of the reasons was El Niño, which tended to suppress hurricane activity.
However, there was a competing factor: increasing ocean temperatures favoured
hurricane activity. Unfortunately, as we saw last year with the case of Hurricane Melissa,
it only took one land falling storm to cause a huge amount of damage.
WMO would issue its next update on El Niño on 2 June.
Announcements
Sigrid Kranawetter, Director of Governing Bodies at the World Health Organization, gave
an update on the proceedings of the 79 th World Health Assembly (WHA).
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, would speak to the media on
hantavirus and Ebola during a press conference today at 2 p.m. Later today, the
Assembly would examine, in plenary, the reports of Committees A and B, as well as draft
resolutions on Ukraine; on the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem
and the occupied Syrian Golan; and on a continuing reporting requirement on the health
situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. Also this
afternoon would be the election of the officers of the WHO Executive Board.
Committee B had started its work on a process that had been designed to look at
reforming the current global health architecture in a very consultative and inclusive way,
including not only Member States and global health institutions, but also civil society and
non-state actors, as needed. There was overwhelming support from Member States for
this new process.
Answering questions, Ms Kranawetter added that the Assembly would discuss today a
draft resolution concerning a request made by Argentina to “denounce the Constitution”
of the World Health Organization. WHO preferred not to use the term “withdrawal”: it
was not legally correct. The decision to stop engagement and work with WHO was the
prerogative of any sovereign State, Ms Kranawetter noted. Another resolution would be

going in the direction of a continued cooperation with the country in the future, she
added.
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations
Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, noted that Monday and Tuesday, 25 and 26 May
were UN holiday in Geneva and said the next press briefing would take place on Friday,
29 May, at 10:30 a.m.

Teleprompter

Very good morning to you all, and thank you for joining us here at the UN office at Geneva today, Friday 22 May, for this briefing.

We have another very big and important agenda, which I would say is testament to the importance of this platform and also to the reporting you do from here.

So we'd like to start off right away with our colleague Sigrid from the World Health Assembly.

[Other language spoken]

Just to mention, we also have on the agenda the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

We have the situation in Ukraine and Afghanistan and in the DRC on Ebola, as well as an announcement from WMO on the hurricane outlook.

So lots on the agenda.

Without further ado, over to you, Sigrid.

[Other language spoken]

Good morning, everyone and it's nice to see you again.

We are progressing nicely throughout our World Health Assembly.

We, those of you who were here on Tuesday, we had just gotten started.

We are making good progress, but as said before, we have an extremely complex agenda this year with a number of items that require quite a lot of time.

We are on track so there is hope that we might finish early to morning and not meet the full day or even evening session if we have to go beyond.

[Other language spoken]

We have made a number of decisions.

There is a number of draft of resolutions and decisions that are going to get adopted later today when the plenary meets in its sixth meeting and is going to adopt A number of the reports that have come out of the committees, Committee A and Committee B of the World Health Assembly.

I'm not going to list them all.

You can find that in our journal, which we post everyday, but obviously I'm open to to questions that you might have.

Some of the more important points that we have looked at this year and that are pertinent to today's overall theme is we have had a resolution on Ukraine.

We've had a resolution on the occupied Palestinian territories, including E Jerusalem and the occupied Syrian Golan, and another one which is a continuing reporting requirement on the health situation in the occupied Palestinian territories in including E Jerusalem.

We had to vote each time, but each time the resolution passed today.

What's on the programme currently going on is Global Health Architecture.

The item was started yesterday in Committee B Discussions are still ongoing but so far it is looking very positive.

Overwhelming support from Member States for a new process that has been designed to look at reform for the current global health architecture in a very consultative and very broad and inclusive way, including not only Member States and other global health institutions, but also much broader, including civil society, non state actors as needed so that really every voice is heard.

So this very ambitious process hopefully will get adopted today and we will then immediately move into implementation phase.

There's a very ambitious timeline for reporting back to the next World Health Assembly in May 2027 on the progress made and on the implementation, full implementation of the process.

[Other language spoken]

Another item that is coming up today is in plenary later this afternoon.

[Other language spoken]

It is the election of the officers of the Executive Board.

And on this, our procedures provide that the General Committee, which is a smaller committee consisting of 2728 members counting the chair, they have met, yes, on Wednesday and they have drawn a list of 10 members for 10 vacant seats.

So we expect this to go smoothly as well tonight in plenary because we have an equal number of members and vacant seats.

So this is the update.

And then if everything goes according to plan tomorrow, it will be just the final adoption of all the reports and the closing of the Whiteheads Assembly.

If we have some items leftover, they are likely to be technical items from Committee A.

If Committee A does not manage to finish, then there's a likelihood that one or two items might still be taken tomorrow morning because when we meet in plenary tonight for the election of the EB members, the committees cannot meet at the same time.

So that is it from my update, and I'm open to your questions.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Sigrid.

OK, we'll start with any questions in the room now.

We have one online from Anias AFP.

Anias, yes, hi and good morning.

[Other language spoken]

I would like to to know when the withdrawal of Argentina will be discussed, at what time exactly?

And then as you were beginning to to speak, there was Doctor Taylor's beginning his statement at the exactly the same moment.

So I couldn't be able to follow it on the reform.

So I would really appreciate if you could share with us these statements.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, for the statement that there shouldn't be a problem.

[Other language spoken]

In any case, all these statements are usually posted right.

So I missed it as well, I'm sorry to say, but I'm sure it would have been an inspiring statement in support of this very important initiative, not just for W2 but for the whole world.

Your question on there is indeed a draft resolution on the table concerning a request made by Argentina to denounce the constitution.

I know some people refer to it as withdrawal, but it's really not what it is.

So it's to denounce the constitution.

It is scheduled for today.

Normally it could come up anytime this afternoon before 5:00 PM because at 5:00 PM we have the hard stop for the plenary.

I don't expect any delays.

So it should come up, I would expect between 2:30 and 5:00 PMI cannot give you any more than that because it really depends on how the next agenda item goes.

Normally the next agenda item is item 15 and that has several sub items.

So it will depend on progress.

There are two amendments proposed to the draft resolution that is on the table.

1 is very much reiteration of the draft resolution that is already there.

And the other one is different is is has some deviations that are being proposed.

All of them are posted already and have been posted for, for a while, at least a week, I think.

And the, the World Health Assembly will look at them and then deliberate whether they want to decide on any of them or whether they don't want to decide on any of them or whether they don't want or want they, they're free to say they want to do something else entirely different.

[Other language spoken]

It will be an exciting meeting.

We've been looking forward to it for a long time.

So hopefully everything will go well this afternoon.

And I hope that it raises your question, Christian, could you, just for those who haven't studied all those documents that have been online, could you just remind us of what the amendment, so the draft resolution that was proposed to the executive board in January and that the Executive Board submitted to the World Health Assembly is actually saying that for the WHAI don't have it in front of me.

So I'm trying to get the correct wording for the WHA to agree to the denunciation and to accept the denunciation of the Constitution, which the effectively is what is meant by withdrawal.

I should say in this context that it's, I don't like to use the word withdrawal because it's legally not correct.

Who is not a club, It's not a social club.

You don't withdraw your membership, you don't stop your membership.

It's a, an organisation, same as the United Nations, created with a constitution for the United Nations.

We have to charter with the principle of universality in mind.

It can only work if it has a universal mandate.

And a universal mandate means that all countries in this world should be part of it to the extent possible, obviously.

And therefore there is no need for anyone who accepts The Who Constitution to withdraw from it because you do not give up any part of your sovereignty when you accept The Who Constitution.

You just accept it and then that remains.

And if you stop engaging, if you stop working, that is the prerogative of a sovereign state.

You can do that anytime and therefore there is no real need for the World Health Assembly to pronounce itself on the request that has been received.

It can, but it does not have to because there is.

It's a unilateral act that can be done anytime by a sovereign state to stop engagement.

And there's no one that can stop them.

So that is already the case.

If, if they do decide on something, there is another resolution that will be going in the direction of emphasising the wish for continued cooperation in the near future for resuming a good relationship and and fruitful collaboration for the health for all goal that all the countries have.

There is also some proposals that might go further, but they have not been put in writing, which actually also talk about continued cooperation, regardless of whether the member state is wishing to engage.

So if ever they need help, we've just seen an example with Hantavirus that it can hit anywhere, anytime and if any support is required, W2 is there to support and W2 has been working with Argentina on Hantavirus very closely.

So that is the situation.

So it's not completely opposite resolutions.

As I said, it's just an amendment that is being proposed.

The other amendment is just insisting, I think on the same points already made, that it's the sovereign right of a state to denounce the the Constitution.

And I'm not disputing that.

I'm just saying there's absolutely no need to do anything like that and even less need for the World Health Assembly to say anything about it.

Because if a country decides so it's decided so they don't need anyone's authorization.

That's my point.

I think, I hope that may address the question.

And I do hope that in the spirit of collaboration for a very, very important goal, member states will maybe come to an agreement and be able to say, and we will continue collaborating when the time is right.

[Other language spoken]

I have a question on the withdrawal of the membership of the United States.

When will this issue will be discussed and which committee will discuss the United States withdrawal?

[Other language spoken]

There is actually no agenda item specifically foreseen to have such a discussion, because nobody has requested it, no Member State has requested it and the United States have not made any request in that sense either.

So normally I do not expect any discussion on that issue.

Obviously in the related agenda item 20.2, where the resolution, the draft resolution concerning Argentina is on the table and Member State could raise it, but honestly, I do not expect it.

There is nothing to be said.

[Other language spoken]

Do we have further questions for a Sigrid?

[Other language spoken]

Nice to see you, John.

[Other language spoken]

I'm just wondering, as somebody who overseas the planning and execution of the organisations in various capacities, you know, this whole general theme of government stepping back from multilateral institutions, health institutions, while still depending on the surveillance and coordination and emergency response systems that the institutions provide.

Would you consider that to be sort of an overriding major theme or is that percolating in the background?

You know, to what extent do you think that's affecting the overall assembly this year?

[Other language spoken]

It's definitely something that has to be thought about and Member States are considering.

Multilateralism can only work when it's multilateral and if some Member States choose to just have some benefits but no longer cooperate in any other way, other Member states might see this as a problematic situation and in particular if it persists.

If anything, I think some of these decisions are bringing Member States together when sometimes we have difficult discussions in the room.

I think Member States are drawing together on very important overall principles and I think this is a good development.

I have heard a lot this week from Member States, from all corners, cross regional, about universality of the mandate, about standing together and about being mindful that this world has assembly like any other world has Assembly is uppermost about health and not about some political issues that are out there.

And that it's very important to bring all the work of the organisation, and that includes the work in the executive board or in the administrative committee back to health issues and really concentrate and prioritise health issues and not be sidetracked by the overall geopolitical context.

I think the initiative on the global health architecture is a right step in that direction because it's going to take us there.

It's going to take us at looking at what does it take to stop fragmentation, what does it take to work together in one combined effort, bringing everyone to the table.

And I think if we can achieve that, then I think multilateralism is going to have come a long step further.

And I think that's what this is all about.

[Other language spoken]

I think that does it for questions on the World Health Assembly.

Good luck for the rest of the day, for the for the rest of the agenda.

And thank you again for being here.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Other language spoken]

I think same to you.

[Other language spoken]

You want to add something here?

Just to add that we have today, for those of you who are interested, a press briefing at 2:00 on Hantavirus and Ebola.

Very much for that, that housekeeping.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much again, Sigrid Christian.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, very quick one to Tariq.

There's a strategic meeting today on Ebola.

Is that correct?

Can you tell us something about that?

You know, it's been going around that there's an important meeting today and I wonder what it is I haven't been able to find out and when and whether that's an outcome that will be discussed at 2:00.

I'm sure it will, but it's not, it's, it's, it's not a strategic meeting.

It is a member state information session because member state have been requesting information primary like a few weeks ago on Hantavirus and then Ebola came.

So now also on Ebola and the outcome of the emergency committee, the recommendations that are coming out of that, all of which will be touched at the member state briefing.

And then subsequently you're going to have the press conference where those results or the discussions will be reported.

[Other language spoken]

So and as as you know, the Ebola is on the agenda later on for this briefing.

But thank you very much for that update again.

OK, I'll call our next guest to the podium.

And we have also with us, thank you for joining us here, 2 distinguished speakers who you might know.

On my right, of course, is Doctor van der Reek, who you've connected with.

We've connected with you online, and it's nice to see you in person and Doctor Akihiro Saita of UNRWA.

So thank you both for being here.

We're going to maybe start off with a Doctor, Saito Saita, and then he's going to talk about the health annual report in the area of UNRWA.

And then I'll offer to you, Renee, for Renee, for the health situation in Gaza.

So we'll do it, Question the presentation together and then questions for both afterwards.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

I'm a Director of Health of UNRWA.

And then I'd like to share key findings from the UNRWA annual report, which will be issued later of the week on to next week.

The it's, I really thank you for organising this because the situation in Palestine as well as neighbouring countries getting worse.

[Other language spoken]

And I think the world should realise that the how the situation getting worse in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and to some extent Jordan.

But I really want to start with a simple fact Under still there, under still operates in Gaza and the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria.

Last year under took care of the 4.5 million medical consultation in Gaza, which is a 40% of the entire consultation in Gaza.

That's tremendous because the whole that under lost the 391 staff in the world including twenty health staff which I know some of them.

So under such a tremendous pressure under continue to operate that shows the basic fundamental strengths of UNDRA, which will be explained in the annual report.

I just want to share some numbers, but going to the points.

So for example, total medical consultation in UNDRA, last year's 9 million issue, it's like 1 country and they took care of that 43,000 pregnant women, 220,000 people with diabetes, hypertension and the vaccination coverage is 97%.

So it's a tremendous support to the and also important to say that the tremendous contribution to the stability of the region.

And it also indicate that only is a very good public health platform for the country to use to support the Palestine refugees and the host countries as well.

And the in Gaza nutrition survey with the work 160,000.

So it's number is huge and the contribution is huge.

And this a reflection of the commitment of our staff in order fields in health.

We have a 3000 staff All in all 25,000 staff supporting this under operations in all the five fields.

And with the innovations in under that, we started telemedicine because of a limited access particularly in Gaza and then other places.

So lastly, out of 9 million, almost one millionaire done telemedicine by using WhatsApp social network and doctors outside place communicating with this one.

But the overall is it getting better?

I just want to be honest every year it's not the overall situation is extraordinary horrible.

And then the Gaza, there's still that after the so-called ceasefire, people killed and the goods are not going in, Thanks to the partners that we have around the 760 to 70% of the medicines available, but still it's not the full.

And then because of the Knesset bills against UNDA, we are not able to bring the medicines inside Gaza and the West Bank.

And also that we lost to health centre in the East Jerusalem early this year, Jerusalem Health centre and the sohat, which covers around 11,000 patients every year.

So we're trying to follow up where they are and at the same time on the financial crisis is serious for from the beginning of the February this year, we cut the staff, sorry, by 20%, by working 20%, working hours by 20%.

And so for example, in the West Bank, we work five days, used to work five days, now it's only four days.

And then in Gaza they work continue to work six days, but less working hours.

It's a tremendous pressure for the the population we serve, but and we really appreciate it for the international community continue to support under to go back to the 100%.

And then of course, in Gaza, goods are not going in life is remain horrible and there are many of our staff still live in tents and the one of the staff told me which I never forget that to say that I feel like I become a whole fan of the world.

No one's taking care of us.

They forgot us that we should prevent this.

And so that my last part is appeal to the international community.

UNDRA is in Gaza, say, for example, covering 40% of medical consultation, which is a tremendous public health platform.

And we're ready to remain and all the partners are ready to use our services to Recon, hopefully going to reconstruction recovery of the health services.

Same for the West Bank, because of incursion, we lost some of the camps, but we still maintain our services.

And the UNDRA is extraordinary good asset to the international community to contribute to the health game, but also importantly regional stability.

And I really appreciate your continuous support.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

And I just as we've said here repeatedly, owner is indeed a backbone and it provides absolutely vital services.

So thank you very much for sharing this update.

Renee, over to you.

[Other language spoken]

So indeed, I'm Renee van der Wylde, I'm the new W2 representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

It's just your avid avid VU or CC on person.

Just before I start to say that UNRWA was created for a specific purpose to address specific needs and unfortunately these needs are still there.

Nobody can replace what what UNRWA is doing.

So I am here in person this week because I'm attending the World House Assembly in in person.

The World House Assembly, it's interesting, it has a dedicated standing mandated agenda item on the health of the people in the occupied Palestinian territories, E Jerusalem and and occupied Golan.

So that's why we hear that dedicated specific agenda item has been there for decades.

So it's not something that has been, that has been new, but you can imagine with the recent conflict and the devastating images that you've all seen and that you all show that the attention around these specific discussions really attract a lot of attention.

Said that you didn't mention it earlier this week.

We also had an amazing, if that's the right word, side event, a side event that is an annual event organised by The Lancet, Richard Horton in person, UNAWA, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and very interestingly, the International Federation of the Medical Students Association.

Something myself, I had underestimated how many students have passed away during this conflict.

It's very heartening to hear medical students that were killed, those that wanted to become doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, to be the future of Palestine, to look after their own communities.

The numbers are just staggering.

And it was a very emotional, it was a very emotional event.

That event is always very, very well attended, despite the many competing side events at the margins of the World House Assembly.

And so we we really welcome this attention, support and solidarity to the health of the Palestinian people.

It's very encouraging.

But we also know, especially in these days that attention is an increasingly scarce resource.

There is so many crises just looking at what you will be addressing today that the news from Palestine, how devastating it might be that it's just competing with average shrinking attention span.

So I really wanted to thank you all of you here in the room and and online.

This press course really, really plays a very meaningful role in ensuring Palestine does not fade from public conscienceness.

Consistent, credible, evidence based reporting on what is happening in the occupied Palestinian territory matters.

And for that reason we ask you to keep the attention up.

And I really want to thank you on behalf of my organisation and on behalf of the Palestinian people and on behalf of all the humanitarian workers in Gaza.

Never forget that our national colleagues cannot leave Gaza.

So the fact that I'm here talking on their behalf and that they will hear and see through your outlets what we are reporting is very, very important.

But unfortunately, as you said, said as well, week after week, we we hear the same thing or the situation in Gaza, West Bank and E Jerusalem.

It's bad and it is.

I was in Gaza earlier this month, only my second, my second time.

And it's just, there are no words.

I've been doing this for 30 years, started with Mezzan Frontier in Groznya, in the first war.

I was based in Somalia, Mogadishu before coming here.

You think you are prepared, but nothing prepares you for Gaza.

And I thought going in the second time would make things easier, but it just doesn't.

[Other language spoken]

And as you rightly say, despite the ceasefire of last October, there is perhaps last fire, but the violence continues.

[Other language spoken]

There is gunfire every day.

And we'll make sure that you get the reports from the UN Department of Safety and Security that you can see the trends.

[Other language spoken]

The yellow line has moved again.

That means today more than 2 million people live on last than half of what the Gaza Strip was before this war.

And that yellow line is dangerous.

When I left Gaza the first time, they showed that a taxi driver that was transporting 2 of my colleagues, that taxi driver was killed.

My 2 colleagues, young medical doctors that were on their way to Rafa to support medical evacuations, they are not OK and their numbers don't appear so despite the ceasefire, at least 880 people have been killed.

That's October last year.

More than 2600 people have been injured.

And as you all very well know, WHAWHO we have a World Assembly resolution #65.2 where we are asked on behalf of our Member States to document attacks on health.

And only this year we have reported 22 attacks on healthcare in Gaza.

5 people died and 18 people are injured.

Only 53% of the hospitals in Gaza we reported that last time.

Actually, not one of them is fully is fully functional.

And one of the key reasons these facilities are not functioning is because they are struggling with critical shortages of medical supplies.

And that is perhaps something I wanted to focus on on on today because the amazing health workers in Gaza, they are the most amazing people who ever meet in your life.

They deserve to have access to the medicines and the medical supplies that they need to do their job.

Their job is to save life, look after the injured, look after the people that are sick, and just let me be specific with some of the examples of what is currently not entering Gaza.

In Jordan, there is a prefabricated hospital waiting for months to enter Gaza.

Laboratory equipment, reagents, oxygen concentrators, orthopaedic items, not luxury items.

These are essential items.

These are essential items that are needed to make health facilities and the health system work.

And without laboratory equipment and reagents, we cannot diagnose diseases and detect potential disease outbreaks.

[Other language spoken]

This is not luxury.

This is equipment that we need to save lives, to detect diseases, to alert the world about potential outbreaks and make sure that people don't die.

And you can only imagine with the horrific living conditions, overcrowding, rodents, lack of water and sanitation that this is urgently, urgently needed.

Because without the delay, with these delays in diagnostic, we don't know the threats coming without oxygen concentrators, Let's just be honest.

That is critically I'll patients that die.

And without orthopaedic supplies, surgeons cannot properly treat injuries.

Some of these supplies that are not entered, you might have heard about it.

Israel calls them dual use.

Israel has a specific legislation that talks about dual, dual use.

This is not dual use.

[Other language spoken]

Who has internationally recognised lists of essential medicines?

That is what we are talking about.

So we really want you to help change that narrative about dual use essential medicines.

[Other language spoken]

There should be no restrictions.

There should be no bureaucratic processes and access restrictions on that.

And by doing so, let's just all make sure that health is protected and that humanitarian access in Gaza is unrestricted.

And thank you again for making and thank you again for really keeping the Palestinians health on the respective agendas.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Renee for that very moving and very immensely important brief.

And to you, Saito San.

So let's start off with questions starting with you, Christian from German News Agency.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much for being here.

It's wonderful to see you in person.

I was going to ask you a question exactly about these essential medicines.

We had a briefing two or three days ago from the Israeli government who said exactly that they cannot provide generators or oxygen machines because the pipes will be misused by hammers and turned into rocket launchers.

Do you see that in your work in in the Gaza Strip?

Do you see that Hamas is interfering in deliveries that you are trying to bring in?

Is there a grain of understanding?

Is there is there concern that there might be some diversion of stuff that is coming in that might be used?

I'm not talking about obviously the, the, the essential medicines, but generators, for example, or machines that you want to use, of course to treat patients.

Is there, is there a concern that Hamas is somehow controlling or interfering in the process of delivery?

[Other language spoken]

So we bring in WTO and we want to thank a lot of the Member states that support us.

We bring in supplies on behalf of also now UNRWA with all the restrictions on, on UNRWA.

So we bring in medical supplies, not just for WTO, for the Ministry of Health, for UNRWA and a lot of health cluster partners, they go to WTO warehouses for the generators, for example.

Now, because Israel has asked us to track and to monitor, there are trackers, ungenerators and medical supplies.

Sometimes you wonder what you can do.

I think when you look at it and everything can be used for other purposes.

We have been talking about stents for all of you that know what stanza.

So we have the stent machines and the cardiological surgeons in Gaza, but the stents, which is like the stapler.

The you have the stapler, but not the the stapler.

You have the stapling machine, but not the staple can't go in.

We have made promises to the Israeli authorities that we will make sure that items will be installed, especially big items.

There were drones over Gaza.

At night you don't sleep, OK, because you have drones over Gaza.

So the big items we've made all the promises and the commitment that we will be trackers on there.

We don't get in armoured vehicles even following that critical deadly incident, the armoured vehicles that who needs to do her job on not coming in.

The spare parts for armoured vehicles are not coming in, the spare parts for generators are not coming in, oxygen generators are not coming in and laboratory equipment is not coming in.

We had discussions about centrifuge, explaining where the centrifuge was and why you need her to do very basic medical analysis.

So we want you to help change that narrative.

Are we not talking on behalf of the other UN agency, cement?

I often say when I go to Gaza, I should not have studied maths and I should have studied civil engineering.

You know more about spare parts and cement.

All these things can't go in.

So how can we even start thinking about rebuilding health and health facilities in Gaza when we can't bring in laboratory equipment?

[Other language spoken]

Firstly, until last January, we could bring our medicine by ourselves and the other medical equipment and likely WH we have a good logistics system recording where they are went when and so that we know exactly where it was delivered and they used and so that we can prove that we can show where the goods are.

And so that's simple WH at present.

And the secondly, the this laboratory, we are, as I said, we are treating a diabetes hypertension patient without laboratory test.

And so it's very difficult to see if diabetes controlled or not.

And then new cases of diabetes, we have to do laboratory.

So the incoming of the new patient is very limited because we simply come to diagnose.

And so that that is a, you know, diabetes, once you do that test, it's a life saving.

We have a medicines, we have a treatment, but if we cannot do this, we are something treating patient without knowing exactly what's going on.

Thank you both very much.

[Other language spoken]

Thanks very much to both of you for your briefings.

Just just to check out, sorry, just one of the just a quick question on the unrar report, just to take your comments, are they under embargo or can we use them already given that the report is coming out?

And then I have a second question for for The Who, sorry, it is not the issue yet.

And so that once it is the issue that the UN will send to everybody.

So it's a bit delayed, but they and with this new report it has all the statistics.

[Other language spoken]

And the second question you mentioned there for example about just the difficulty with lab testing, diagnostics, how and then how you would then control diseases.

We did reporting recently on concerns about rats biting people etcetera.

I was just wondering if there are any other issues currently really high on your kind of agenda of concern.

I mean, I mean, I know there are multiple, but perhaps a recent in a, in a, in a disease or virus that is causing a concern given obviously the ongoing very poor sanitary conditions in the enclave.

[Other language spoken]

So we see both Spectra, we see communicable diseases.

So we have indeed seen a significant increase in what we call ectoparasitic diseases, which is things just from very poor living conditions, lack of lack of access to water.

We've seen an increase in respiratory infections and we of course very, very concerned about water borne diseases.

There are increases in acute watery diarrhoea, but again to make sure that that acute watery diarrhoea is not something that we would be extremely concerned about, we need testing.

A success story has been on polio as many of you might have known.

So we've been successful to vaccinate together with UNICEF, only one many partners, loads of children against polio.

So we do hope that that will be under control.

But then on the other side, you have the non communicable diseases and you just have so many people suffering from trauma.

One of the important issues that we're trying to address is a lot of people that have had amputations.

And in the last report you saw, which is 5000 people with amputations, for them to get their prosthetic limbs, which is also, by the way, a Jewel use item considered by Israel.

But for someone who has had an amputation, they need corrective surgery to make sure that that limp can be fitted appropriately and and that surgery for the moment can't take place in Gaza.

So these unfortunate people need them to be on a waiting list to leave.

And then one thing I didn't want to touch about today, but that we definitely look forward to briefing about is mental health.

It's more than 1,000,000 people with severe mental health issues.

And when I look at myself and everybody that has been in Gaza.

You can only imagine the burden and this is for generating for generations to come.

So we really need to keep an eye on both the risks of communicabilities that are spreading, giving these living conditions and then just making sure that the non communicable diseases, the diabetes, the hypertension, the trauma and the mental health is addressed with a very, very, very constrained health system.

Do you I think something and then maybe back to you for a follow up.

Sorry.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, this is exactly what Randy said that when I saw saw the rodents increase, I feel this is a collapse of a society.

It's not the collapse of the building cross for the world.

It's entire society is collapsing because otherwise the rodents want to increase the the lack of reconstruction, lack of cleaning, lack of many wash activities and it resulted in the increasable rodents and then skin infection.

And a little remind me that the last summer in the in summer that IPC announced the farming in the Gaza City.

And this is not the simply shortage of food, it's a society collapse because it's not farming, that scale will not happen to be simply shortage of food.

It's the lack of the water, lack of a good creating housing and also the lack of a medical supplies and equipment because that if the kids got infected, then that become less immunity and they become more prone to that malnutrition.

And so that the same thing is happening.

So I felt very sad when I saw the rodent increase that the Gaza reconstruction is actually not happening, but again that we saw the consequence of a colossal with the society very important point.

Thank you so much, Olivia, please back to you and sorry, thinking about my follow up was I've also forgot to ask something that really struck me from what you said is, you know, this question about reconstruction, where is The Who at us exactly now in terms of, I mean, also UNWA, bearing in mind that you're still facing just, you know, as you said, surge of, of of of spread of disease, trauma patients who need to have, you know, masses of corrective surgery, etcetera.

I mean, the list is extremely long in a, in a, in a setting whereby Healthcare is still on on its knees.

I just wondering is The Who or and why are you looking to, to launch anything soon in terms of trying to get kind of a new projects off the ground to try and start rebuilding be it hospitals or healthcare clinics or is that still too far away?

And how does that work?

Also with the Board of Peace, which I'm still a bit confused about what is happening, what the coordination is there?

[Other language spoken]

Yes, thanks.

Last time we mentioned, if you haven't seen it, the rapid damages needs assessment, which was done as part WTO together with the UN, the World Bank and the European Union.

And that calls out the level of, of destruction.

It's estimated at 1.4 billion and the needs over several years.

It gives you the scope of what needs to happen if we can't get in a sack of cement today.

I think we also not be naive and, and, and fool ourselves.

But your point is very important.

You need governance to start talking about reconstruction and recovery and under the ceasefire and the Board of Peace, there is indeed the ANKAC, the National Committee to administer Gaza, but they unfortunately still in Egypt.

So for us to have really impactful discussions on what does recovery and rehabilitation, reconstruction look like, the government needs to be in place.

As WHO we have supported the technical part.

So we have developed together with experts, the blueprint of what the new health system for Gaza should look like.

[Other language spoken]

So the blueprint is ready, the people are ready, the governance need to be put in place.

And I'm sure other people can come here one day and tell you about the Board of Peace and Ankac and how we as the UN interact with them.

But that is where we also kind of in an impasse because the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah is waiting, the health authorities in Gaza are waiting for this new administration to come in and start moving things forward.

So it, it is a, and I can only imagine them being a Palestinian living in Gaza that that must be frustrating because that's now six months ago that that ceasefire was announced.

[Other language spoken]

Undra is a part of the health system see on going inside Gaza and so working closely with WHO and the health cluster that remain ready whenever reconstruction starts because we have the largest public health platform.

So we work with the partners to contribute to this both again.

[Other language spoken]

My question for WHO, Madam, thank you for being been in Geneva and for this press briefing.

I would like to ask you the situation in Gaza in terms of medical education, how many patient have been evacuating since the beginning of the ceasefire and which borders you are able to use for these operations?

[Other language spoken]

Yes, So medical evacuations, they remain an important part, very complex and extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous.

So, so far, we've been able to support the Ministry of Health in evacuating approximately 12,000 patients and more than 30 countries, many European countries, countries from all over the world have been able to accept these patients.

The rougher crossing is open again since February and that is a key crossing through which patients can leave then from Gaza going in into Egypt.

And the other crossing that we use now, again up to once a week, is through Karem Shalom, from where patients can then go through a very long and complicated pathway to to Jordan.

We just need to make sure that when we talk about medical evacuations that we also make sure that we understand how difficult it is for these patients and their families.

Often only one or two family members can leave and conditions for return are not always there.

So that's why of course, as WHO we keep advocating for medical evacuations for very specialised cases, but we also want to make sure that an increasing number of the thousands and thousands of people that need specialised care in Gaza today that they can be treated in Gaza.

The example I gave earlier about someone who has his limp amputated, who needs reconstructive surgery so that he or she can get half a prostatic, that should be able to be done in Gaza, especially with emergency medical teams.

We have specialised emergency medical teams that can come in and fortunately they often face the same constraint of not having the medical supplies.

And that is extremely frustrating for them because they do enter a very active, dangerous place to then be faced with situations for which, again, the supply side of them not being able to do complicated orthopaedic or corrective surgery is happening.

So yes, medical evacuations need to continue.

We thank all the countries supported, but we really want to start making sure that the people that can be treated should be treated in Gaza.

And the final point on which we do hope to make progress is the referral pathway of Gaza to hospitals in the West Bank and E Jerusalem.

Before this conflict.

This is how this would go.

Patients from Gaza would then be able to go to East Jerusalem and the West Bank, which is much easier for them.

Also socially, often they could go back and forth, especially patients suffering from cancer, They could go in for their treatment and hospitals in the West Bank, go back to Gaza, recuperate with their family and then go back to from a dignity point of view, from a patient care point of view.

That is really what we want to stress with with all those involved.

[Other language spoken]

We'll have a few questions online still starting off with Musa Almaydin.

I have a question for Anurag, please, concerning the situation of Palestinian refugee camps in South of Lebanon.

If you can still give us some details about the situation and this camps.

And in question WHO Priscos have visited Gaza was a Parle Tutaler de la Lini, John the Gaza.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for the question because Lebanon is also important for us to focus on this one.

And therefore the in Lebanon that Palestine refugees camps are affected not only the South but also South of Lebanon, but also South of Beirut city, which is close to the hot area.

And then some of the camps are closed and then that we're trying to open to these camps inside the Beirut as well as the South of the South of Lebanon city.

It's not it doesn't go smooth as we wish to.

But one reason is that because of the damage of the bombardment, but also the people have no place to go back.

And so that in the particular South of Lebanon that we are still struggling to open the camps and the health centres, that what I can tell.

[Other language spoken]

Maxibo Cooper like his chancellor Suito Gaza on the party there who activity military unu only accept, for example, Puhalia Rafa Karam Shalom on pas de Joan de de Duver O Joan Rouge.

Functional activity.

[Other language spoken]

Zone negotiation, The coordination.

We still have a couple of questions, so we'll go to Nick, New York Times.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for the briefing.

Couple of questions, you mentioned the prefab hospital waiting in Jordan.

What's the the current situation of beds?

Is there still a significant deficit in the number of beds available for the trauma patients that need treatment?

[Other language spoken]

Is the nutritional situation now kind of stabilised?

Is it sufficient food coming in to maintain current health or is, is is that deteriorating?

And and the third final point, you mentioned prosthetics, Have there been no prosthetics allowed in since the ceasefire?

And if people are talking about dual use, what's, what's the dual use of a prosthetic leg exactly?

That's a security concern here.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

As I've, I think we can, there are people that can write APHD on, on, on dual on, on, on dual use.

Some prosthetics have come in.

But what is quite difficult is that we can't anticipate what will get in and what is blocked.

So it's also very difficult for us to engage donor taxpayers funding to buy something that might be stuck for months, for years at the border.

So sometimes the numbers don't tell the truth because X-ray machines have been very, very difficult.

So what do you do then?

You no longer buy X-ray machines because you know, it just sits at the border and, and doesn't help people, people's care.

So on the prosthetics, I, I hope next time we can just give you a dedicated session on that.

Prosthetics needs to be able to go in organisations like ICRC that have still a facility that can make prosthetics in Gaza, sometimes they struggle to get the components in.

Again, they have this because it needs to be cooked.

Similarly on the prefab hospital that is sitting in Jordan, sometimes it's one element of a complex that falls under dual use.

We've seen that for example, for certain complicated medicines where it comes with the needle, but then the needle is considered dual use, so the needle can't go in.

So we have a full Time Team, teams of people just trying to understand what you will use this.

And on nutrition, I think Doctor Zeta will talk more, but indeed, we have still recorded 2000 malnutrition associated conditions in the hospitals since January of last year.

Yeah, Thank you very much.

Just to add, the physiotherapy prosthetics wound actually operates one of the largest physiotherapy in inside Gaza, but you need to know that we are primary healthcare centre.

So which means that the major physiotherapy hospital, I think it was destroyed.

And so there's a lack of physiotherapy and the lack of that prosthetic devices, the knees is tremendous.

When I went to Gaza last year, I saw the patients coming, which they should have gone to the specialist hospital, but there's no such service available.

They come to us and the knees is on the right.

So physiotherapy is extraordinary important empties as well for nutrition.

In our statistics, we are still, we are continuously monitoring the nutritions and it shows going down in, in comparison the hype of the last summer, but it is still far from over.

And then they, if you see, listen to the people from Gaza that there are still shortage of nutritions, many things are going in, but they have to pay and it's not always easy to find the money to pay.

And the humanitarian support are not going in as smooth as people says.

And so the nutrition is still mainly remain challenge.

And the other Renny mentioned, we still see the malnutrition which we should not have seen in Gaza.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you so very much.

OK, I think we need to wrap up.

I think Gabby, if you have just one last question because the next briefers have to leave soon.

So Gabriella this is has to be the last and maybe a brief question from you over to you.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Rolando.

I'm so happy that I'm back.

[Other language spoken]

So, OK, I just need clarification of the number of people that are in need to evacuate and which countries are going are are are saying that they offered to receive them.

That that's the first question, the second, the second question.

And then I remember that Mister Trump said that he wanted to do a resort in Gaza.

Extraordinary.

You know, did you get an offer of United States to invest or to donate or something like that?

And then my second question and that's it.

Madame Josepha con de l'enon Wert Jean beret Cebu PLA borre que la me Israelian que des activity E Marcinou medical or hospital Military consequence military.

The person static.

Shall I do English or French?

Maybe English, Yes, sorry.

So it's not static that there are thousands of people queued up in Gaza to, to be waiting for a bus to, to leave.

They are in different health facilities.

Their conditions change and new people come on board.

And the discussions between Gaza, the authority on the other side that is willing to then accept that patient then has to undergo security clearances because the Israel looks down at the security.

So this is a complex process, but we know that thousands of patients today don't have access to the specialised care that they deserve and that they need and that the good proportion of those can be treated abroad.

But again, as I said earlier, ideally it would be good if first we can open the referral to the West Bank and the East Jerusalem hospitals where?

By the way, before the war, 30% of patients in those hospitals were coming from Gaza.

Mercy, listen, Gabby, as you know, you know, we, we've always been advocating for the ceasefire to hold a lasting ceasefire for peace and, and for the, the Palestinian people to govern their own lands and, and in peace and lasting peace and humanitarian supplies.

As you heard, there are definitely lots of challenges as we heard from our, of our distinguished briefers.

So this is what we want.

We want life saving supplies to get to the bills who need it desperately and we want a lasting peace.

[Other language spoken]

On that note, I'd like to thank you very, very much, Renee and Saito San, it's really immensely important that you are here taking advantage of your presence here.

And I'm sure we'll be hearing from you soon.

Good luck and thank you for the immensely important work you're doing.

So thank you, all the best.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

I know that we have, we have four more items on the agenda.

As I mentioned, a very important day today, but we need now to throw to my colleague from the UNHCR in Ukraine who's been patiently waiting.

And then shabby if you want to join me on the podium as well, because I know you want to speak to the situation in Afghanistan.

But maybe, Matt, do you want to start off and introduce your colleague who's joining us from Poland, I believe, Indeed.

[Other language spoken]

Good morning, everyone.

It's a pleasure to introduce to you this morning Bernadette Castell Hollingworth.

Bernadette is our representative in Ukraine.

As mentioned, she's joining from Warsaw this morning.

She's going to give you guys an update on a number of recent attacks and strikes in the country and the impact on those, including of evacuation of civilians.

Bernadette, over to you.

[Other language spoken]

And recognising that it's very difficult to come in after our WHO and colleagues talking about Gaza, I'll be briefing on the intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine that are killing and injuring more and more civilians, forcing more people to live, and the trend that we see of attacks on humanitarians and humanitarian operations in the country that are worrying us.

2 days ago on Wednesday, we woke up to the news that one of our warehouses in NEPRO in eastern Ukraine, leased by by UNHCR, had been hit by a missile during a Russian strike on the city.

The attack claimed 2 lives, injured many others and resulted in significant damages.

I, on behalf of you and ETIA, would like to extend our condolences to the loved ones of the people who died then, but also other civilians who are being killed every day.

The the heat on our warehouse destroyed it completely.

We lost shelter materials, including emergency shelter kits that we distribute after air attacks.

We lost sleeping mats, hygiene kits, blankets and and essential items, emergency items.

In total, the the lost value of the eight that was ready to be distributed to people who need it was over $1,000,000.

It is significant for for us because it is the first time that a UNH facility is being targeted or attacked, if you will, since the start of the fiscal invasion in 2022.

And this strike actually comes amid many others.

There were some last night in Mikolaif this week alone.

There were other deadly strikes in Sumi and Shanif regions in northern Ukraine.

And I have to say that having been on the site of the the missile and drone attack on Kif less than a week ago.

And, and you know, witnessing first hand, seeing people injured and others waiting to to see the the rescuers trying to save their loved ones from the rubble was very heartbreaking and and very emotional.

Last week in Kiev, 25 people died in this missile attack.

And according to our human rights colleagues from the monitoring mission in Ukraine, this year already 815 civilians have been killed, more than 4000 have been injured.

This is in the first four months of the year, already 21% higher than last year in 2025.

And if you recall, 2025 was already the deadly deadliest year for civilians in Ukraine since the since 2022.

And while more people are being killed, civilians, they are injured, they are others who are being evacuated, forcibly displaced.

We have since the beginning of the year seen 47,000 newly evacuated, mostly older persons, persons with disabilities transiting through facilities we are supporting in frontline regions of Ukraine.

Each time I meet, you know, a, a person who's evacuated was taken a very difficult decision to leave their homes.

You know, I, I am again very emotional.

You know, people arrive very frailed.

They are, they have nothing most of the time with them.

Sometimes they really leave at the last minute and it's really heartbreaking to see all, mostly these older men and women living in in very desperate, desperate conditions and whose life has been simply disrupted.

When I talk about 47,000 people, these are only those who have come through the transit centres.

There are many others who self evacuate and so the 47,000 newly displaced and evacuated people is only the number of people who have sought assistance.

I of course now the priority for us is to continue providing emergency shelter assistance after strikes, to provide cash assistance, legal and psychosocial support.

We have already made effort to replenish our destroyed stocks of of items and we have identified where new warehousing facilities.

And the last thing I want to highlight for today is the trend of attacks on on humanitarian workers.

Last week there were three such attacks, direct attacks on humanitarian convoys, including two on UN, very clearly marked UN convoys.

Our colleagues in these two incidents really escaped at, I would say miraculously, NGO workers were were also injured and many others in indirect attacks have experienced collateral damages.

I want to pay tribute to all the colleagues in Ukraine, mostly Ukrainian staff who are working in the front lines.

And I just want to of course, reiterate that attacks against humanitarians on duty are clear violations of international humanitarian law.

Civilians must be protected and humanitans was must be never be targeted either.

Thank you very much, Matt, back to you.

[Other language spoken]

Indeed, these are desperate conditions and, and those messages and we, we add our voice to pay tribute to those who put their lives on the line.

So thank you so very much for that briefing.

Let's see if there are questions for you starting with colleagues in the room here.

Yes, we have a question from Reuters.

Sorry, this is actually just a very simple one.

Just to clarify, the warehouse leased by UNHCR.

So it was a we're fine to call it a UNHCR warehouse, isn't it?

[Other language spoken]

That's all for me.

[Other language spoken]

I think, yeah, I think it's pretty clear any further.

And as you know, Khalid, we've been very outspoken on the situation in Ukraine and we'll continue the spotlight at Bernadette.

Thank you so very much.

I don't think there are any questions here for the questions.

So thank you for your patience as well.

And and do join us anytime.

Thanks, Matt, for you as well.

[Other language spoken]

Of course.

[Other language spoken]

OK, we're shifted to my left.

Shabbier is with us from the human rights office with the situation to speak to the situation of Afghan refugees over to you.

Thank you, Rolando and colleagues.

And if I may, just to mention that the report that Bernadette mentioned in her briefing from the the UN Human Rights Office in Ukraine, that's available, it was published last week.

And that's about the rising civilian casualties that we're seeing.

And that's available if you need any more information on that and you can contact us.

[Other language spoken]

So we are indeed today talking about the issue of involuntary returns of Afghan refugees.

The UN Human Rights Office is warning against involuntary returns of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from host countries to Afghanistan in violation of international human rights and refugee law.

Afghan women, children and men continue to be pushed out of countries where they had sought safety, forcing them to return to Afghanistan against their will and exposing them to great risk.

Since the beginning of the year, almost 270,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan, mainly from Iran and Pakistan, and this is according to UNHCR data.

Fewer numbers have also been reported from Turkey and Tajikistan, and these numbers are in addition to the more than 1.2 million Afghans who have been deported from Iran and 150,000 from Pakistan last year.

A report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Human Rights Office last year found that a number of Afghans who were involuntarily returned to Afghanistan experienced a range of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and I'll treatment at the hands of the de facto authorities.

Women and girls, Individuals affiliated affiliated with the former government and its security forces, media workers, civil society and members of the L GB TIQ plus community are among those who remain at grave risk of reprisals and human rights violations and abuses.

Returning individuals who are at serious risk of human rights violations involuntarily to Afghanistan runs contrary to the core international law principle of reform law.

We urge states to abide by their international legal obligations and protect Afghans by not taking any action that exposes them to irreparable harm upon return.

As several EU Member States call for a more coordinated approach to the returns of Afghan nationals, we are also alarmed at mounting reports that some countries in Europe are now considering or resuming deportations despite the very severe human rights situation in Afghanistan.

Proposed a new EU rules on returns, which are currently under consideration, are also concerning.

These could weaken human rights safeguards and expose people to harm.

The UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Volkaturk, strongly cautions against all involuntary returns to Afghanistan in the absence of individualised risk assessments.

These are required by and must be carried out in accordance with international human rights and refugee law.

In addition to the very serious human rights situation, the country also faces a precarious humanitarian situation and cross-border insecurity.

And you can find more information on this in the press release that we have issued this morning.

[Other language spoken]

Thanks to you Shabia.

[Other language spoken]

Nice to see you again in your new role.

I wanted to just ask you about the deportations.

What impact have you seen, if any, of the conflict that erupted on 28th of February in terms of the numbers of deportations from Iran to Pakistan to Afghanistan?

Well, thanks, Jamie for that question.

Nice to see you as well on the press call.

Nice to be back.

So with regards to your question, I mean, generally speaking, deportations can search during periods of heightened security pressures and we I think have seen this also after the 2025 escalation as well.

It's not possible to conclusively link deportations directly to the strikes or the events that have happened.

But if tensions escalate, the, you know, past experience or patterns suggest that deportations could increase in such context.

And I think we've got some information, for instance, that returnees and deportees that are arriving from Iran to Afghanistan, they're citing economic hardship, unemployment, high living costs, lack of documentation as reasons for leaving.

And many ever reported experiencing arrests and extortion, abuse and poor detention conditions.

So there are a myriad of reasons and pressures that that can help people to leave, but there are concerns, yeah, that with more pressures on the region and a volatile security environment that we may see in exacerbation of returns, including forced returns.

Thank you very much.

Shabby in the room.

[Other language spoken]

OK, we'll have one last question.

We do have the situation in Ebola next.

And thank you, colleagues, for your patience.

But maybe last one, Gabby, thank you very much, Orlando.

[Other language spoken]

Nice to see you.

OK, my question is on Venezuela, even though there's another government, just one before.

Gabby, let me just make sure there are no other questions on the subject at hand here because we are speaking about Afghanistan.

Just want to make sure one last look around, OK?

[Other language spoken]

Then Venezuela, it is over to you back.

OK, So I just wanted to ask you if you are watching more people coming from Venezuela, even though there is another government and supposedly it's another situation because there are a lot of people coming from the South through Mexico going to the United States.

And I don't know what is the situation in the border because I don't I don't think that Mister Trump is allowing people to come or not.

If you can tell us about this situation, I would appreciate.

[Other language spoken]

Nice to to hear from you as well and great to be back.

I think this might be a question best directed to to my to colleagues at UNHRIOM.

But yeah, we we don't have any information on that.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, I think absolutely this is more of a question.

Maybe Gabby, if I can suggest you connect with our colleagues at HCR after this briefing to provide a response.

[Other language spoken]

Nice to have you here with us.

Thank you very much.

To highlight the situation of Afghan refugees.

Another very important issue we're highlighting here at this briefing and yet another one is the situation in Ebola, which you've heard extensively on.

[Other language spoken]

And thank you again for your patience.

It's been a long briefing and and certainly Ebola is another serious issue which we've which we have spotlighted here.

So maybe without further ado, I'm going to go to Sofia of UN Women.

And then Paolo Agravero of IFRC is a guest joining us from Nairobi, I believe.

But firstly, over to you.

Thank you very much, Rolando, and good morning, everybody.

History has repeatedly shown us that women are more likely than men to die during an Ebola break.

And this is not because the disease is more deadly for women once they are infected, it is because women are more likely to be infected in the first place.

This was evident during the 2018-2019 Ebola outbreak in the DRC, where women and girls accounted for around 2/3 of reported cases.

We saw it also in Liberia in 2014, where in some communities women accounted for up to 3/4 of Ebola death, and 50 years ago also in the DRC where women accounted for 56% of those who died.

And we will certainly see the same pattern emerge in the current outbreak in the DRC and in Uganda, which comes as the DRC is already dealing with a severe humanitarian crisis and immense pressure on health services.

So why is this?

Why is Ebola more deadly to women than to men?

It is because Ebola transmission follow social realities.

The virus spreads along the lines of caregiving, domestic labour, frontline health work and burial practises.

Because when people are sick, women are the ones who look after them.

Women are the mothers, the aunts and the sisters caring for the children.

They are the daughters caring for the elders.

And they are the nurses and cleaners in hospital wards and the birth attendants helping women deliver their babies.

Women are also the ones who care for loved ones in death, preparing their bodies for funeral.

These responsibilities exist in the division of labour, insights, homes and communities, and they put women in close physical contact during the infectious stages of the disease.

Pregnant women face additional risks because they are more they have more frequent contact with health services.

Historical reports suggest that when women contract Ebola during pregnancy, there is increased mortality and morbidity and a near 100% rate of adverse pregnant outcomes.

We also know from previous health emergencies that when communities go into quarantine, women and girls face greater risks of gender based violence at a time when humanitarian funding cuts.

Are weakening frontline health and protection systems.

UN Women calls for sustained and flexible funding for women LED organisations so that they can continue their life saving work in protecting communities, countering misinformation and supporting safe care practises.

We also call for increased financial support to Primary Health care programmes that meet the needs of women and girls.

This includes ensuring women have access to personal protective equipment and prevention supplies and training in community based able awareness and prevention activities.

These are critical investments in early detection, safe care and community resilience.

Women must have opportunities to meaningfully participate in decision making and implementation of the response.

Sex, age and disability disagree to get data are essential to better tailor these interventions.

As UN women, we are on the ground in Ebola affected countries working alongside governments, our fellow UN partners and in particular women LED organisations to support their work and to ensure that women are involved in decision making in prevention and recovery efforts of this outbreak.

Thank you very much.

Thanks to you, Sophia.

I'm going to go straight away to our colleague from the IFRC, Gabriella Arenas, who is the Regional Operations Coordinator for the IFRC for the Africa region is joining us from Nairobi.

And we also have of course, Paolo from IFRC here on the podium.

But Gabriella, over to you and thank you again for your patience.

Thank you very much and I hope you can hear me OK.

[Other language spoken]

Yes, perfect.

[Other language spoken]

The current Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC is a rapidly evolving public health emergency unfolding in communities already facing security, displacement and fragile health healthcare systems.

In Mungwalu, which is currently considered the epicentre of the outbreak, Red Cross volunteers are already moving from door to door, speaking with families, answering questions and helping communities understand how to protect themselves and when to seek care.

Many people in these communities have lived through previous outbreaks before and they remember the fear, they remember the rumours spreading to villages, they remember neighbours disappearing into treatment centres and families being unable to very loved ones in the way that they would not really do today.

[Other language spoken]

Our volunteers are on the ground and they're telling us that families are very worried.

[Other language spoken]

Community reactions remain mixed.

For some people, the outbreak is very real and they are seeking information on how to protect themselves and better protect their families.

For others, there's still suspicion and misinformation claiming that Ebola is fabricated.

Building trust and nurturing distrust is key in containing this outbreak.

It is one of the strongest allies we have.

It is a trust that communities will report symptoms early, the trust that families will seek care, but also the trust that reliable information will reach people before the rumours do.

And This is why the local Red Cross volunteers matter so much.

They're not outsiders, they are part of this community and people know them and trust that they have the community's best interests apart, they provide vital information and that they will also handle their dead with safe and dignified burials.

During an Ebola outbreak, trust and community acceptance can mean the difference between containment and the wire transmission.

In Bunia and in Ron Para, the DRC records volunteers have already reached 600 families on their first day.

They're proud to support their communities and they share information that can save lives.

In many areas, radio remains the most trusted and accessible ways for community to receive information.

Local radio stations are helping share public information messages.

They're helping to answer questions but also to counter the misinformation At a time when a lot of peers and rumours can and are spreading quickly.

At the same time, response efforts are intensifying rapidly on our sites signify safe and dignified burial.

Teens are also being mobilised and trained in affected areas, including Imangwalu during Ebola outbreaks.

Funerals can become moments of hiding risk from transmission, but there are also deeply emotional moments for the families in the communities of those that have been affected.

Supporting burials, they're both safe and respectful, is essential to protecting public health and preserving the dignity and the trust.

Critical supplies are moving into DRC.

Safe and dignified burial kits are being dispatched from our locations in Kinshasa and Dubai as the IFRC is scaling up the support along the DRC, Red Cross and health authorities.

Additional protective equipment, logistical support and specialised search personnel are also being mobilised.

What is happening in Eastern DSC also has implications beyond the immediate algorithm.

The situation in neighbouring countries continues to reinforce the urgent need for regional coordination and preparedness and readiness across the neighbouring countries.

The Uganda Red Cross is already supporting readiness efforts alongside national authorities in border area.

This week the IFRC emergency appeal, they launched its emergency appeal seeking 29,000,000 francs and this appeal will help us support the scale up of community engagement, surveillance, safe and dignified burials, infection preventiness, but also our cross-border coordination and the readiness activities for the neighbouring countries.

But above all, what we'd like to say is that this response really depends on the communities themselves.

We have learned from the past epidemics that containment is not a medical response alone, they are contained.

These outbreaks are contained when communities trust the response, when people have reliable information, and when local action is supported quickly and consistently.

Our message today is clear.

The outbreak can still be contained, but the window for action is narrow.

What happens in the coming days in homes, in communities and across borders will matter enormously.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Gabriella.

Very important message is indeed well, well noted.

Let's see if there are questions for you in the room.

[Other language spoken]

Reuters, thanks very much for this.

Just wondering what your comment was on the reports of a fire breaking out at a hospital from loved ones who were distressed about the death of one of their relatives supposedly due to Ebola.

Is that a kind of an example of what you're now, you and your colleagues are now having to deal with on the ground in terms of those kinds of situations?

And yeah, maybe you could speak a bit bit more about the challenge of these rumours that can like, how are they spreading?

Is it just word of mouth?

[Other language spoken]

And yeah, and just why this kind of line of defence is so important in terms of having these community community volunteers go door to door, as you were explaining there.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you and thank you for that question.

Yeah, so we are aware of the developments in Rampada and first and foremost, our thoughts are with the families and the communities that have been affected.

What I can say is that what this shows is that it reinforces is why community engagement and trust building is so important during outbreaks like this one.

Yeah, Ebola outbreaks start and end between communities.

And This is why the local engagement remains, remains so central to the response and to the work that the Red Cross is also doing.

We're continuing to work closely with the communities, health authorities, but also partners to ensure that we can provide, continue to support the safe access to healthcare and the reliable public information.

But in terms of the rumours, yes, I mean, this is something that is it's happening that we see it.

And in many communities this is coming from past experiences, fear, lack of trusted information, which I think has created us best for the rumours.

And this is what we're seeing again.

But yeah, I think what I would reinforce is that again, this really shows the the role and the importance of engaging communities in share, sharing the reliable data and trying to fight the reverse for us.

Our volunteers are part of the community.

They are working with everyone around them to ensure that we can share this trusted information, but also to identify where these rumours are coming from and make sure that we can address some of these issues quickly.

So, yeah, I hope that would answer your question and forgive me, I also wanted to ask about safe burials just in terms of the kind of teams going on the ground.

Do you have, sorry if you already mentioned it, any numbers on how many team members are going on the ground?

And how do you, how do you actually ensure safe burials?

And why is that so important, especially I guess in this context of of misinformation, why is that also so critical to get under control?

[Other language spoken]

I'm going to acknowledge I'm not an STV expert, but what I can tell you is that the burials are very important because the viral load is the highest on the dead bodies and basically continues feeding in its fluids for days.

So touching the bodies is extremely risky.

And for that reason, we have all the protocols to perform this highly specialised burials and we have teams that are trained for that.

I can go, we can come back to you exactly on the number of teams that are being deployed because this is coming from the in different areas in different health sectors.

But for us, I mean STV is one of the critical parts of our response.

And we've actually been working with the National societies not just for this outbreak, but also in outbreaks before and in our readiness and preparedness efforts to ensure that our teams are prepared.

But also that we can work with communities to see how we can invest, ensure that that this is culturally appropriate, that there really is dignified and that we can to ensure that while we're doing these processes, we can adjust and, and, and have the Community Trust.

Thank you very much, Gabriella, maybe just take this opportunity to note, if you consult the briefing note from yesterday's noon briefing, there's a lot on what our peacekeeping mission in the region is doing.

[Other language spoken]

They're doing a lot to provide critical logistical assistance to the very much of the assistance that we've just heard about to the rapid delivery of medical supplies, equipment to Bunya and other affected areas.

So do take a look at those notes for further granularity.

I think that's it for questions.

Sophia, thank you so very much for being here, and thank you again for your patience.

And Gabriela, thank you very much for joining us from Nairobi to highlight the important response to the Ebola outbreak.

One more briefer, Claire Nullis.

[Other language spoken]

Claire is online from the World Meteorological Organisation.

Thank you to you for your patience.

You have an update hurricane season outlook.

So over to you, Claire.

[Other language spoken]

There you go this morning, everybody.

[Other language spoken]

So I will be, I will be very brief.

the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just issued its hurricane outlook for the forthcoming 2026 season, which begins on the 1st of June.

We've just posted a short item about it on our website and I'll put the link in the in the chat.

But in a nutshell, NOAA is expecting a below average hurricane season with eight to 14 named storms.

Of those, three to six are expected to become hurricanes and one to three major hurricanes.

This is below average.

But as we know, as we see, unfortunately, every year, as we saw last year with the case of Hurricane Melissa, it only takes 1 landfalling storm to cause a huge amount of, of damage.

You know, every year the forecast forecasts get better.

NOAA forecasters, other forecasters around the world are, you know, relying increasingly on AI as prediction tools to, to, to help.

And sorry, I've lost, I've lost my I've lost my plot, but yes, oh, Oh yes.

And what why why are we expecting a below average recent?

One of the reasons is El Nino.

We are expecting non Nino event to develop.

A Nino tends to suppress hurricane activity, But then there's like a slightly competing factor which of increasing ocean temperatures which favours hurricane activity.

[Other language spoken]

We will wait and see.

But as I said, Noah is predicting and a below average hurricane season.

WMO will be issuing its next update on El Nino on the 2nd of June.

So please stay tuned for that because we'll have more details.

[Other language spoken]

Thanks to you, Claire.

Well noted about the the next update to June and thanks for the rest of this important information.

Do we have any questions for Claire?

No, I don't see that's the case.

So thank you again and thanks for your patience and the important update.

[Other language spoken]

In fact, I don't have anything to say other than Monday and Tuesdays, a holiday here.

So yes, Monday and Tuesday.

So if you want to come in to the Palais, do let us know and we'll provide that arrangement for you.

Otherwise, we won't be doing a press briefing this Tuesday for the obvious reason.

We will resume here next Friday the 29th of May for the next press briefing.

And on that note, I wish you a good afternoon.

[Other language spoken]

No, there's no question.

So thank you very much and see you here next week and have a nice long weekend.