UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : UN Geneva Press Briefing

[Other language spoken]

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

Today is Friday, 14th of August and I have the pleasure to have with me on the podium our colleagues from WHO.

Tariq has brought us Altaf Musani, who is the Director of the Humanitarian and Disaster Management at WHO to tell us about the attacks on healthcare.

Maybe I sat directly with.

Yeah, sure, let's go, let's go straight to to Altaf.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you moderator.

So allow me to start with the scale of the problem.

Through the World Health Organisation surveillance system for attacks on healthcare, since 2018, more than 10,400 attacks have been reported across 29 countries and territories, this resulting in approximately 5700 deaths and over 8000 injuries.

Between January and August in 2026 alone, the World Health Organisation has recorded more than 900 attacks and again resulting in at least 900 deaths and more than 1400 injuries.

This accounts for almost more than four attacks per day.

Currently, Ukraine, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian territory account for a majority of these incidents.

However, other contacts also report attacks on health care.

This includes Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, the Russian Federation, Syria and Nigeria.

What we are witnessing are multiple forms of violence.

Heavy weapons followed by destruction of healthcare and then of course the psychosocial violence are the top categories.

44 reported incidents involving the abduction, arrest or detainment of healthcare workers and patients have been recorded in this.

Specifically, the detention of healthcare workers account for the majority of these cases, directly affecting 94 healthcare workers in this reporting.

These numbers matter, but do not tell the whole story.

An attack on healthcare does not end when an attack gets verified.

When a hospital is attacked, the impact is not only on the people inside the hospital that day.

It is the patient who cannot receive healthcare tomorrow.

It is the ambulance that cannot make the next referral.

It is the healthcare worker who cannot return to work or medicine supply that can no longer reach facilities.

We now have the evidence that these consequences can be substantial and long lasting.

For example, in northwest Syria, a study of 69 attacks found that outpatient consultations fell by 51% that day after the attack, with the reduction continuing up for 37 days.

Facility births fell by 23%, lasting days.

In Sudan, 37% of facilities have been reported non functional in 2026, while only 3% of assessed facilities had inpatient care.

In Gaza, all 36 hospitals have been damaged, with only half remaining partially functional, and the same is true with Primary Health care.

In Ukraine, WHO has verified more than 3000 attacks since the beginning of the conflict, affecting not only health facilities but ambulances, warehouses and supply chains.

Most recently, the World Health Organisation own warehouse was attacked in Denipro and finally in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the Ebola virus outbreak response.

12 attacks on healthcare have BeenVerified since the declaration of the outbreak in May 2026.

These attacks have disrupted surveillance, case investigation, contact tracing, treatment and community engagements and show how undermining not only the availability of health services are needed at a time and as as such, but also further affecting the capacity to detect and contain this outbreak.

These are not simply statistics.

Behind every percentage is a patient.

Behind every damage facility is a service lost.

Behind every interrupted service is someone who will be left without healthcare.

There is also the impact we cannot see easily, fear when a hospital is attacked, people may delay seeking healthcare, healthcare workers may stop coming to work and communities who will eventually lose trust during an outbreak.

Insecurity can disrupt vital surveillance, contact tracing, treatment and potentially making it harder to contain an outbreak.

We must move beyond counting the attacks and measuring the impact of the consequences.

We need to ask how many services have been disrupted, how many patients could not access healthcare?

How many treatments, surgeries and referrals have been delayed?

How long will this last as healthcare tries to rebuild and ultimately, what outcome will this have on people's health and well-being?

This is not a question of simply better data.

It is a question of making the human consequence visible and using the evidence to protect healthcare and the people who depend on it, as well as holding parties to the conflict accountable.

Our director general has repeatedly called and appealed for that.

Healthcare is not a target.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Alta, for this information, this very dire situation.

I'll open the floor to question.

Robin is our correspondent of AFP, the French news agency.

[Other language spoken]

Have you noticed any changes in the nature of these attacks over time, say, for example, such as drone strikes or whether facilities are now being deliberately targeted perhaps more than they were in the past?

And secondly, although it's not the WH OS job to do it for all of these attacks that you've spoken about, has anyone been brought to account?

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much for your question.

So as I mentioned, the type of attacks that we're seeing are the physical destruction in addition to the denial of healthcare.

And we can go context by context, as I mentioned in the case studies, which we will have additional case studies to share with our partners that when we look at the physical destruction, the use of heavy weaponry stands out.

But it's not just the destruction of healthcare, it is the denial and or obstruction of healthcare.

And some of the statistics that I mentioned to you clearly outline healthcare workers and patients either being arrested and or deducted, abducted, hence denying healthcare.

And WHO did not addresses the definition of attack on healthcare, which includes all these elements.

With regards to your second question, of the more than 10,000 verified incidents that I spoke of, not a single one has entered the accountability system.

You're absolutely right.

WHOD has neither the mandate nor the expertise to hold parties of the conflict.

However, we do.

And as I mentioned, the Director General has repeatedly called for parties of the conflict to be held accountable.

[Other language spoken]

So just on that point, would these attacks on healthcare be something that comes under under international jurisdictions?

So perhaps if they can't be prosecuted in the country concerned that there would be the possibility that they could be brought to prosecution elsewhere if countries wanted to do that.

It's important to remind colleagues that health facilities and the health system at large falls under the protection of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and are protected by certain Geneva Conventions.

So the accountability agenda for those who are managing it, there's a wide range of accountability that can happen locally, nationally as well as internationally.

Thank you very much.

Any other question in the room?

Let me go to the platform.

[Other language spoken]

Good morning and thank you for for this very interesting and important briefing.

I, I know that it's not to complete the question of my colleague, I know that it's not in your mandate, but we've seen attacks of health cares and, and particularly the deny of access to health in Palestinian territories.

And recently we've seen a family, a Palestinian family that has been there.

There has been a siege of a Palestinian family in Kusra in the South of Nablus.

And I'd like to know how and if you have direct contacts with, for instance, the Office of Human Rights or other entities that have the mandate to, I mean, I don't know how to express that to investigate, monitor the, monitor these events and bring these people accountable.

And by the way, Alessandra, is there anyone of human rights that could, you know, comment the situation of the siege of this, this Palestine family where journalists and ambulances have been denied access to?

[Other language spoken]

So you're absolutely correct in the sense that the World Health Organisation mandate is centred around 3 aspects, the data collection and the evidence base that I just spoke of.

The advocacy, calling out and appealing for the protection of the medical mission or healthcare at large, as well as the coordination with other partners.

We work very closely with a wide range of both UN and non UN partners to be able to address the prevention of such attacks but also encouraging the use of the evidence base to be able to fall into the accountability agenda.

I am aware that the Human Rights Council has also recently passed a resolution integrating the importance of attacks on healthcare to protect the medical mission.

And as both reporters have rightly pointed out that the trend increase 10,400 verified attacks since 2018 is alarming.

In 2026 alone, we see a massive upsurge in some of the settings that I've reported to.

And then specifically on Gaza, we, we actually, as the World Health Organisation, have operational teams, our own staff as well as partners on the ground.

We're the only United Nations agency that has the mandate to address the verification of such attacks.

And I think this is really important because there is a lot of information flow in this area.

The responsibility of the World Health Organisation is to verify such attacks and it puts an additional pressure on our teams.

In addition to providing healthcare, coordinating healthcare and working with partners, we use some of our teams to be able to verify attacks when happened.

And as I pointed out, in the case of Gaza, whether it's the 36 hospitals, whether it's the primary healthcare network, whether it's ambulances, healthcare workers, patients, we have clear, documented and verified incidents.

All this is available on our website.

[Other language spoken]

And on your second question, unfortunately, no, we don't have anybody from OHCHR, but I'd like to refer you to the story written by our own Daniel Johnson yesterday, where he has been speaking with the head of the UN office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ajit Sanghai Osanjai.

You find the story on your news.

And in this story, the head is speaking extensively about the situation and also appealing to the Israeli security forces to take to stop the siege.

And I also speak extensively about the protection of Palestinian communities across the West Bank.

So I'd I'd like to refer you to that on this particular subject.

[Other language spoken]

Olivia, Olivia Reuters, hello there.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much indeed for for this briefing on such an important topic.

I just have a a couple of questions if I may.

You mentioned there about attacks, more than 3000 verified attacks in, in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict affecting health facilities etcetera.

I just wanted to understand from your perspective of whether in the past month you've seen also an uptick in strikes specifically in, in the past, yeah, month in, in Ukraine.

I, I noted the new figures released by the UN today showing a 30% increase between July and June in terms of civilian casualty.

And I'm just wondering whether you've seen that map on also to attacks on healthcare in Ukraine and therefore your, your concern during that protracted conflict.

And, and just the second question I had is, I, I believe back in April, we reported that The Who said that attacks globally on, on facilities, health facilities and staff once averaged about 3.7 per day.

But now that increased 4.3.

Is, is it still around the 4.3 figure or is that also increased again since, since April that daily average?

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for that question.

So on Ukraine specifically since the start of the conflict, the World Health Organisation has verified more than 3100 attacks.

We're now heading into the fifth year of this conflict specifically in 2026.

We have you know we're six months into this year and we have more than 156 attacks that have been recorded specifically one that is affected even our own warehouse capability as of last week.

So it's and it's very difficult to be able to assess the uptake and the upsurge of attacks recalling the fact that one attack is too many.

And so whether it's an average of 3.7 or 4.3, we are witnessing and verifying A substantial increase in the number of attacks.

And in the case of Ukraine, it is clearly affecting our ability to provide supplies to health facilities both on the frontline and doing the back end work supporting rehabilitation.

This is having a direct impact on both patients and providers who are actively providing life saving support.

And I think to your point, in terms of overall data, again, you know, the World Health Organisation relies on its partners and relies on its own staff to be able to verify such incidents that take place.

So there is obviously a lag time between what is actually officially reported on our website and what may be witnessed or reported by the media.

The other thing is we do put a lot of pressure on our staff to be able to ensure the verification of in a world of information flow, we need to be able to have that precision that that attack has happened too often tax have had both indirect and direct impact on the functionality of healthcare.

We've seen a six fold change in functionality alone in fragile conflict and vulnerable environments.

And again, that is test testimony to the fact that humanitarian and aid partners are trying to provide support, both material as well as technical to ensure functionality of healthcare, particularly in places like Ukraine and Gaza and in the West Bank right now.

Thank you very much, Nikam Bruce, New York Times.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for the briefing.

The Who has probably addressed this before, but I just wondered how many major hospitals or health facilities in Iran have been damaged or hit in the course of the war since February?

And in relation to Gaza, how many medical staff doctors are still held in detention?

And since the ceasefire, have you seen any significant effort by Israeli authorities to release medical personnel who were detained in the course of the actual war?

[Other language spoken]

So I don't have the actual figures in front of me for Gaza in terms of health detainment and healthcare workers released since FIFA.

Happy to circle back with you offline to be able to share that information with you.

And, and the same is true, we have recorded attacks on healthcare in the Middle East conflict, specifically in Lebanon as well as Israel and Iran.

And again, happy to share the updated numbers that are available on our website.

You can go there and see what what has BeenVerified, but happy to get a little more granular in terms of the actual impact of such those attacks and the locations you mentioned.

Thank you very much.

You know, Tariq, you have sent the notes.

So this is also in your mailbox in addition to.

[Other language spoken]

So I don't see other hands up for you.

I'd like to thank you very much, Alta, for this important briefing.

Really keep us updated.

It's it's very important.

[Other language spoken]

So let's go now to Altaf has spoken about Sudan and on Sudan we have the pleasure to welcome.

I don't know if you want to come to the podium, but we have the pleasure to welcome Fabrizia Fortrone, who is the UNFPA Sudan country representative.

She's speaking now from Karrara in Italy, but she will tell us about the maternal health situation in Darfur from where she just come back.

[Other language spoken]

And you have the floor for your introductory remarks.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

And also just to say that, yes, I'm in Carrera, but I'm in Carrera but on leave and normally based in Khartoum.

And so good morning and thank you for the opportunity to brief you today following my return from Darfur last week.

And I would really wish that the women I met in Darfur could speak directly to you, to the UN General Assembly and to the world.

I travelled to the region to see and hear first hand what women and girls are facing and what we urgently need to do to strengthen the productive health services and protection.

And to understand the reality in Darfur.

First we have to understand what it takes to simply reach the people in need there from Algini in West Darfur, near the border which had to reach Golo, Central Darfur.

It was the nine hour drive, only an hour on paved road.

And the rest across mountain trucks that are made for donkeys and camels.

Mountainous area where there is only one hospital capable of performing AC section.

Most women reach it from mountain villages on foot, often walking for hours or being transported on crude wooden stretchers through the mountains where when they're already in labour or bleeding.

Those who can't afford it hire a donkey, but many women cannot.

Many arrive when it is already too late for them and also for their babies.

The hospital itself, which is very dedicated staff including doctors and midwives, is often short of supplies and at times even missing anaesthesia.

A few days after AC section, women return to their villages on the mountain, again on foot from Golo.

Then we travelled another 8 hours across the mountains to Tawela.

And again, these are paths for donkeys and camels, not actual roads.

When the rainy season comes, just like right now, parts of these paths become impassable even by the four by four.

And the trucks they're transporting supplies.

Then we arrive in Tawela.

And arriving in Tawela Displacement camp puts you in front of an unimaginable picture.

The camp stretches across the desert in all directions.

You can't see the beginning or the end of it.

With more than 700,000 people displaced, we're now sheltering there and the new families were arriving daily daily and are erecting their makeshift tents.

Many humanitarian actors are present in Tawila, including UNFPA and its partners, and they're all doing an extraordinary job under very difficult circumstances.

We do want to do more, but we're operating in a work context and with very limited resources.

UNFP and some NGOs are providing basic emergency obstetic care.

In Tarouila, one hospital provides comprehensive emergency obstetric care, and that is the only place where a woman can have a CIS section.

These services bring women from areas in North and Central Darfur to seek care when it is already too late for them and for the babies.

What I saw and listened to and therefore made three priorities very clear.

First, we have to bring the reproductive health care closer to the women.

We can't give pregnant women no other option than going across this vast and difficult terrain to reach a hospital, to give birth safely.

We need to decentralise healthcare, expand mobile services to reach those most difficult to reach.

We need to support the community midwives, They're everywhere and they're a well trained and a properly equipped midwife can meet 90% of the medical needs before, during and immediately after the delivery.

And the midwives I spoke with in Darfur told me that for helping a woman deliver, they're paid what women may have, a bottle of soap or some sugar.

Midwives are life saving health professionals and they must be treated and paid as such.

Second is that we need to urgently get more reproductive health supplies, including family planning, into Darfur.

Reproductive health supplies save lives, but these supplies are often not prioritised when it comes to funding.

UNFPA is very grateful we just received support from the regular location of the Sudan Humanitarian Fund to cover part of the current needs of service providers and more funding sources are also needed and getting equipment, medicines and other life saving supplies into these areas and maintaining the cold chain where needed is extraordinarily difficult.

Health facilities in Tawil and across Central and N Darfur are running out of their stock of oxytocin, which is used to stop fatal bleeding during childbirth.

The hospital in Lolo has only one month cover to go, the next one month.

And the same is Fortawila.

And I will end by saying what a woman in a hospital after having given birth and after having lost two of her children due to the war told me.

We can deal with many things, but we're human and we need peace.

And I thank you, the one thing we need the most.

Thank you very much.

I open the floor to question Robin.

[Other language spoken]

Those limited places that that can provide emergency care for pregnant women, how are pregnant women actually getting there?

And what sort of distances are they having to to cover to reach them and and how long would it take to actually receive care?

[Other language spoken]

And yes, so as I was saying, it's actually actually extremely difficult for them.

First of all, they often have absolutely no money, so they cannot even rent a donkey.

They either have to walk when they're lucky enough, or the community can give them money to get a donkey.

They will take a donkey or in the worst also cases they will have to go on a on a wooden stretcher brought by some men on foot.

I was told even by health service providers in Tawila, the women come even from Golo to get AC section where they know that their situation is desperate.

Now if it took us by 4x4 9 hours, you can imagine how long it will take a woman on a donkey from Golo to Tawila.

And that is exactly why the medical health providers told us when the women reach here, it's definitely often too late and they cannot do anything and they lose their lives, their lives and those of their babies.

Also to say that This is why our appeal to make sure that the services get decentralised.

Tawila definitely needs more support as the other areas of Darfur need enormously support.

We want to avoid that.

Also, Tawila becomes a pull factor and sometimes by becoming a pull factor, then women are made to go through extremely long journeys that become really fatal for them.

Thank you very much.

If there are no other hands in the room or go to the platform.

Antonio Brotto, the Spanish news agency.

[Other language spoken]

I, I would like to know if this access to Darfur is common right now for UN agencies, if you need to negotiate these with rapid support forces and if other UN agencies were granted access during your your visit and and you were accompanied by, by others.

[Other language spoken]

So access now for the UN is, is definitely easier from a permit a point of view.

And so yes, in Tarila there are already a number of UN organisations that are present as well as including UNFPA.

In Angolo, it's the only UN, which is Central Darfur.

The only UN agency that is present is UNFPA.

We do need to request the permits on all sides and but we are getting the facilitation that we need.

So it is getting easier to get access.

I was also with the two colleagues of mine coming from Khartoum as well.

And immediately after my mission, I've already started the approval processes for more colleagues to go in order to increase the humanitarian response from the NFPA side.

So yes, it is we are getting easier access.

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

I have a question regarding funding and amid the funding crunch that you've been that UNFPA has been facing, I'm wondering if in Sudan itself whether you're working more closely with UN Women as there's been that merger proposal as part of UNAT that's come up.

And yeah, that's and, and also where the funding, whether you're getting any pool funding from OCHA through the pool funding following, you know, whether you've received any of this funding of pool funding following the US funding installments that were announced to OCHA.

[Other language spoken]

So first of all, yes, the funding situation is extremely complex and funding are limited to the point that we have to select which areas and we go by priority needs, the highest priorities.

We'll then get the dedication of the funding.

So unfortunately, there are places where we are obliged to close some services in order to continue the service delivery in the area with the highest needs.

In terms of pulled funds, as you all know, UNFPA is not receiving the US funding to the SHF, to the Sudan humanitarian funds, the American ones.

However, through the regular location, as I was saying earlier, we have just received 1.8 million for supplies and that is for reproductive supplies and that is going to then help the service providers in in the areas with highest needs, which is the great majority in Darfur.

Also in relation to yes, we work very closely with the other UN organisations, particularly those organic UN organisations and the NGOs who are working in delivering the humanitarian aid in health and in protection in in Darfur.

We work very closely with our colleagues from OCHA, UNFCRIOM, WWHO.

Obviously we work closely also with you and women, particularly on the issue of women LED organisation, which require really strong and dedicated attention.

Women, the women LED organisation receive very limited funding.

I've met also with them during my mission in Darfur with a large group of of them and and they need assistance, number one, in coordinating more closely with the other humanitarian actors with the donors in making their voice being heard.

And the other thing that they're asking for is to really develop their capacities.

They need support in order to become the partners where also the humanitarian entities can go and work with.

Thank you very much Fabric.

[Other language spoken]

I don't see any other hand up.

So thanks very much for coming and telling us what you've seen there.

Good luck for your future work and thank you very much, Pernila for bringing Fabricia to us.

So let's stay in the very same region with the last of our speakers agencies.

We have a Eugene, you want to come to the problem, We have a joint briefing from WFP and even HCR.

And I'd like to welcome Adam Effendi, the WFP Deputy Country Director for South Sudan and Masfin De Gefu, the UNHCR Deputy representative in South Sudan, both of them speaking from Juba on the critical funding shortfalls, which is threatening life saving assistance to refugees in South Sudan.

Eugene is here and as far is online also.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, we start with WFP then OK.

So let me give the floor to Adam Efendi if let's see if we can see him.

[Other language spoken]

See me and here we do go ahead Sir.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for having me.

WFP in South Sudan is featuring towards a humanitarian funding Cliff.

Despite unprecedented operational efforts, humanitarian needs continue to outpace available resources in South Sudan.

WFP has already delivered more than 55,000 metric tonnes of food assistance this year, distributed the cash assistance worth $70 million and reached 2.9 million people until the end of July.

Yet these efforts are no longer enough to keep the pace with growing needs without immediate and urgent funding.

The final food and Nutrition Assistance for the most vulnerable, 240,000 refugees across the country, will be provided in September, cutting off lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people already living on the edge.

This is not a future scenario.

It is sadly reality that will hold within weeks.

After more than two decades on the humanitarian front lines, I have rarely seen such a painful gap between scale of human suffering and the resources available to respond.

Needs are rising while the lifeline to the most vulnerable is running dangerously thin.

The impact of funding shortfall is much wider and I'm afraid this is set to continue beyond September.

I will have to add some numbers here.

From October, food assistance for approximately 180,000 internally displaced people will also cease because of pipeline breaks affecting general food assistance.

By November 600,000 people living in feminine risk areas will no longer receive life saving food assistance.

Around 800 nutrition sites will be forced to suspend preventive and curative nutrition services.

More than 220 thousand children under 5 and pregnant breastfeeding women will lose access to essential nutrition support in a country where 7.8 million people face acute food insecurity and 2.2 million children are acutely malnourished.

In South Sudan, shrinking humanitarian funding is no longer just a resource gap, it's a direct reduction in life saving assistance for those least able to cope.

When food assistance stops, families are forced into impossible choices.

People reduce meals, sell productive assets, withdraw children from school and adopt negative coping strategies.

Women and children face heightened risks of exploitation and abuse when resources shrink.

The cost is not measured in dollars.

It is measured in lives, dignity and future lost among those with the least capacity to cope.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much, Mr Refundi.

And I'd like now to go to Miss Finn de Geffou, the UNHCR represented deputy represented in South Sudan.

Thank you very much for this opportunity.

And I thank very much my W3 colleague who have already highlighted the the situation in in South Sudan in terms of lack of funding for good assistance.

I just want to also highlight some of the critical components on all protection implication of the most vulnerable.

And today we are sounding the alarm not just about 100, but about severity of the broader protection consequences that arise when residue families lose access to assistance.

That means that assistance will depend on to survive.

It is very critical for them to continue to receive assistance in order to survive.

Funding cuts have already forced us to scale down in many services.

The more than 240,000 that WLP has mentioned are the last group of refugees who have been receiving food assistance are 50% of the Poo Russian.

And by September, by end of September, 1st of October, these people will not also receive food, which means that by 1st of October, no refugees in South Sudan will have access to food in addition to other critical services that has been reduced due to lack of funding.

And also it comes at at the worst possible moment as the rainy season is picking and access become harder and food prices are actually increasing due to the crisis in the in the Middle East and families have been have been having only fewer options to to survive.

As my colleague already mentioned, the 240,000 people who have been receiving Russian so far are part of the 650,000 refugees currently in in Sudan, in South Sudan.

And 90% of these refugees are actually from Sudan, where our UNF colleague also explained the entire situation happening in in Sudan itself.

We are still receiving around 3000 people every week from Sudan.

These are combined of refugees, Sudanese refugees and also South Sudan returnees that are coming into into South Sudan due to the deteriorating services in in in Sudan for many refugee families.

Food assistance is not simply a source of nutrition, it is a critical protection intervention.

When they get food, they keep their children in school, reduce the risk of exploitation and it also allows the family to pursue opportunities to build their lives from the UNICER side.

One of the most concerning consequence is the increased risk of onward movement, which means cross-border movement.

When people can no longer meet their most basic needs, they may feel compelled to move again in search of food services and safety.

And across the region, we have repeatedly seen food insecurity and declining assistance contribute to population movements and especially with movements back to Sudan.

We have witnessed that many people are taking the risk to go back to Sudan where they have cleared from in the last several years.

And it also impacts often exposing vulnerable women, men and children to additional protection risks along the dangerous routes when they are going back to Sudan.

In most recent refugees, they have requested that UN Asia help them to facilitate their return to Sudan.

If they you know, do not continue to get or receiving support in South Sudan, including put As you all know, we as you Asia do not promote or support return to Sudan as the current situation in the country is not available for for the return.

We are already hearing from refugees who are reducing meals, selling their belongings, withdrawing children from school and taking on debt survive.

These are coping mechanisms that can quickly evolve into serious and long term protection concern.

At the same time, UNHR and WP in collaboration with the government of South Sudan, we have made a really tangible progress in advancing refugee self-reliance.

Our government are locating agricultural land and we are humanitarians providing vocational training, enterprise training and helping families move into livelihood and wedge employment.

Early results are very promising, but this is precisely why the timing of this funding gap is so damaging.

self-reliance is a multi year transition.

It doesn't happen overnight and it cannot take root in absence of basic service support.

Families still need a sustained bridge of food assistance while livelihood and local markets mature enough to sustain them.

Cutting food now risks reversing years of investment and pushing families who were on the path of self-sufficiency back into active vulnerability.

What refugees need is not less time to transition.

It's more time to sustain flexible funding to see this transition through.

I thank you very much and back to you.

Thank you very much, Mr Degefou.

The sound was not perfect.

So I'm asking your colleagues, Eugene, and also as as far for WFP to, to send out the notes as soon as possible to the journalist of your introductory remarks.

Is there any question in the room?

[Other language spoken]

So a question for for both agencies really, how much money would it take to get your operations back on track and to get them to where you'd like them to be?

[Other language spoken]

Maybe we can have a question and answer from each one of you so we know what are your needs by agency.

I don't know if Adam offended.

Do you want to start and then mess in to get food?

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much for the question.

For World Food Programme, just the immediate needs for next three months and by that I mean October to December for refugees alone we are looking at approximately $37,000,000 in general and $86 million to sustain rest of the operation just to cover pretty much the last quarter of this year.

Back to you please and maybe we can hear from Masvin.

Yeah, our situation is not different from WFP.

We are actually in need of $286 million for the entire of 2026.

However, from this 286, we got only 20%, twenty 8% of of funding, which means that there is a still huge job we want to do self-reliance and livelihood projects.

However, we are so limited to pursue on on this direction.

So anything between 20 or 50 million might take us up to the end of the year where I'm saying this, I'm not saying that this is fully sufficient, however, to continue life saving assistance.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for for this briefing.

I just want to follow up on the funding and I wanted to ask you in particular WFP, but also UNHCR, how much money you have received and that's in the bank from the OCHA full funds and the 800 million in direct contributions from the US.

This is both referring to the, you know, additional funding or the funding that was announced since late last year, the two instalments through OCHIS pool funds as well as that direct contribution to WFP in South Sudan.

And I guess the the, the how much you may be expecting out of that funding to to reach you by the end of the year maybe this time I will start with on HCR, OK, As long as the UHCR is concerned from the 100 million SSH fund from the US government, we have received 12 million in the first branch.

We are still working for the second tranche which is I think 50 million.

For South Sudan, we are expecting in the range of 3,000,000 out of this 50 million.

So what I can confirm is we we received 12 million from the first allocation.

Unfortunately, this year UNICER did not receive any other funding from OCHA, whether it is serve or any other full funding, we did not receive those from those allocations.

Over to you.

Thank you and maybe WFP.

Yeah, thank you very much.

First, I would like to acknowledge also the support given to us by the donor community to help us sustain our operations in South Sudan.

That's why we have come this far away.

In terms of the direct question, OCHA pool funds which my colleague also mentioned, the 100 million, WFP received approximately 32.5 million.

But with those 32.5 million, we were able to cover the gaps which we were facing during the lean season, which pretty much ends in in a month's time.

Now in South Sudan, unfortunately, if you look at the integrated space classification, as I also mentioned in my brief, overall 7.8 million people are acutely food insecure and we are unable to even reach people who are in a higher category requiring food assistance.

We have to make very difficult choices who to leave behind and who to help the most vulnerable groups.

Even within the integrated phase classification for emergency levels, we are only reaching the percentage of that quiz load.

But overall, over 50% of the people in South Sudan out of 14,000,000 require food assistance during lean season.

And let's not forget the potential effects of floods, which has been the trend in these past 5-6 years.

Aleno is also going to have adverse effects other climate shocks pushing additional population into extreme hungers.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Yes, sorry for, for WFP there.

There was that direct contribution that was announced of 80, sorry 800 million to by the US to WFP.

I'm wondering of that how much you would have received.

You spoke, you spoke about the pool funds, but I would be interested to know how much you had received of that, that additional of that additional contribution directly to to WFP in South Sioux.

And you know how much more you may expect from that as well as the full funds till the end of the year.

I don't know if you're able to to specify that please.

Yeah, thank you very much.

Sorry, I was trying to unmute myself.

We are expecting approximately additional $11 million for nutrition activities.

So that's pretty much, I would say a drop in the ocean indeed, it's still important.

We need all the resources which could be made available to us, but that's all the visibility we have for right now.

From the 800 million and from the 100 million, we did receive 32.5 million, which we have already expensed and we are expected to exhaust all the resources within next 30-40 days.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much.

That was pretty clear.

Any other question?

If not, I would like to thank very much Adam Fandy and Mesfin de Gefu from Juba, but keep Eugene on the podium for a little while.

So thank you very much to our colleagues of the WFP and UNHCR Juba office.

And Eugene has just received an update on something that should be of interest to you about the situation in Colombia.

So I'll give her the floor on that.

Thank you, Alexandra.

As Alexandra just mentioned that we received the update from our colleague on the ground in Colombia who is dealing with the earthquake, the tragic earthquake in Colombia.

The earthquake in Colombia has hit community already living with the consequences of armed conflict, forced displacement and confinement in the country.

In some of the worst affected areas, families who had already been forced from their homes are now facing the prospect of losing them once again.

I will just give you the more detail, but the UNHCR has a long standing presence in three community and is already supporting the government LED emergency response with the team on the ground in affected area including Kali, Buena, Ventura and Kipto.

The earthquake is particularly concerning because it has a struck areas already facing significant humanitarian and protection pressure among the 69 affected municipality across the eight department namely forgive me if I mispronounce it, but I will try my best.

Choco and by the Cauca 2 of the hardest hit department accounted for around 93% of displacement and confinement recorded across affected municipality in 2025.

So we can see that how the displaced population is impacted by the earthquake, refugee and other in need of international protection are living in significant numbers in affected urban areas.

Among the municipality impacted, Kali, for example, host more than 133,000 in these categories, followed by Pereira, Parmeira and Armenia and Ibogwe.

For internally displaced people and refugee who are already trying to rebuild their life, this earthquake risk of becoming another displacement.

On top of displacement, Colombia continue to host one of the world's largest internally displaced population, while also responding to ongoing armed conflict, mixed movement and climate related shocks and natural disaster.

Our teams are working closely with the national and local authorities, community organisation and humanitarian partners on the ground.

The Government of Colombia is leading the response, of course, with the UNHCR and other UN agencies supporting through established coordination mechanism under the UN Resident Coordinator.

The most urgent need includes shelter, food, clean water, healthcare and psychosocial support, particularly for family whose home have been damaged or destroyed.

UNHCR has activated emergency procedure and is preparing the distribution of a critical relief item already available in our stockpile stockpiles in Colombia.

These include more than 18,000 hygiene kit, 3100 solar lamp and 30 refugee housing unit for temporary shelter.

UNHCR will continue working with the government and humanitarian partner to ensure that people affected by earthquake, particularly those already exposed to displacement and protection risk, receive the protection and assistance they urgently need.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for this update.

Sorry.

Thank you very much, Eugene for this update.

[Other language spoken]

There are some more questions, sorry, on on South Sudan.

I'll come back to that afterwards.

But let me see if there's any specific question on Colombia in the room or online.

I can't see anymore.

[Other language spoken]

Listen, it's just a quick question to know how many staff OCHA now has in Colombia.

[Other language spoken]

I mean, otherwise she wouldn't have asked you.

[Other language spoken]

Maybe you have the answer.

Yeah, it's I said we have offices on the ground as I mentioned before.

But I I can get back to you on the exact step member on the in the country at the moment.

[Other language spoken]

Yeah, yeah, I see she was intending to ask about your stuff.

Thank you very much.

If there are no other question or Columbia, let me go back a second.

I don't know if Mesfin is still connected or maybe Eugene you can answer this.

I think there was a question from Nashkar.

Would it be possible to have UNHCR repeat the figures given?

She just want confirmation if you said 28% funded, yes, yes, correct out of a 2800, I will give you a, you will receive the note with the funding update, but 28 is percent is funded is correct number.

I think she's saying it was in the response to Robin's question on how much would be needed to get operations back on track that I will check.

I think the maths been mentioned at the end and it wasn't clear for me as well.

But let me double check with the operation and then I will get back to you on that.

Thank you to you as well.

Thank you very much.

Oh, but I see that I see that Masvin is connected.

So maybe Masvin, you could answer this part of the question, how much more you need to bring the operation back on track on your side.

It's true that the audio is not perfect.

So it's a little bit difficult to understand the numbers.

Sorry for that.

I'm just talking about, you know, the life saving intervention, not the you know what we wanted to do, but the life saving intervention includes, you know, service for new arrivals because we I mentioned we still have new arrivals from Sudan and this activities are not in market and under in market contribution.

So in order for us to continue receiving those new arrivals, providing shelter, health services, WASH activities, we still need to have more funding.

We will give you the actual the actual figures the gap to reach to the end of the year, but I was estimating around 50,000 will at least keep us going to provide, you know to continue to provide lifestyle intervention.

Not really the bigger, you know livelihood intervention because we have for instance a three-year, three-year multi multi year strategy to transition the campus into settlements from 2026 to 2028.

Those are not yet even received, you know a single dollar.

So for us, what we are saying is we have to promote self, previous and livelihood.

And let you just become self reliant.

We need to have this transition between providing services, basic services and, you know, moving into a more, a more self reliant intervention which requires years of engagement.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much to our again, to our colleague in Cuba.

Thanks to Jean for this update on Colombia.

I'm just left with a few announcements for you.

The first one, I have been asked by our colleagues of the Office of Disarmament Affairs to inform you that the ninth, sorry, the ninth session of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention will take place in the Assembly Hall of the Paladin assume from the 17th to the 21st of August.

It will be chaired by Ambassador Federico Mayer, the Brazilian disarmament ambassador here in Geneva.

As you know, while the norm enshrined in the Convention against by against biological weapons is strong, the Convention lacks an institution and a verification system.

Given developments in science and technology, especially the convergence of AI and biology, which are lowering the technical barriers to developing biological weapons, and also the interest is pressed in biological weapons by some terrorist groups, it is urgent to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention.

So they have created this working group and by the 9th BWC Review Conference back in November, December 2022, created this working group, which is meeting now.

He met for the first time in March 2023.

The ninth session next week will be it's penultimate session.

The 10th and final session will also be held in Geneva, but from 7 to 11 of December, the group is expected to make recommendation to strengthen and institutionalise the Convention in all these aspects and develop institutional mechanisms.

It's now reaching the end game and then negotiations are approaching a crunch point.

There's a comprehensive draft of the final report, which has been negotiated and is available to you on the website of the convention.

We can, we will distribute the link.

The exact link is pretty long to read, but it's available on the Internet and this will be the focus of the discussion next week.

The group is due to adopt it's final report by consensus at the 10th session in December.

We understand that the report would then be submitted to the 10th Review conference next year.

While the report may appear quite dry and difficult, it if adopted, it would represent a significant strengthening of the 50 year old convention and enable it to better guard against the misuse of biology And they're exposed by the interficial intentions.

Ambassador Mayer is also available for interviews upon request, so we'll share this with you and if you are interested in having an interview with him, the Ambassador, we will be happy to help you organise it.

Also, let me remind you that the Committee on the Rights of Person with Disabilities is reviewing today the report of Sri Lanka and next week we'll look at Lithuania, Chile and Slovakia, while the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we report the, we review the Port of Finland next Monday and Tuesday.

And then let me reiterate something that you probably know because we do this every year, but on the 19th of August, the international community comes together to commemorate World Humanitarian Day.

So the commemoration ceremony this year will be held at 4 O 4:00 PM at the Paledinacio.

As you know, we normally do it in the building E, but this year a building is closed.

So the ceremony will be held in the older paper due on the 3rd floor of building A.

And as usual, we'll hear from a testimony of of a of a person who has survived the 2003 terrorist attack against the UN mission in Baghdad.

I think this is what I had for you.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you, Alexander.

The current UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will complete his term on December 31 and his successor will take office on January 1st, 2027.

Do you have any updates on this matter?

As you know, this is a, this is a matter that is held and and and carried out by the General Assembly.

Member states are the masters here.

They are going to decide who will succeed.

Our current secretary, Chairman Antonio Guterres, As you have mentioned, he has carried out his functions as Secretary general for 10 years and will end at the end of this year.

So I would invite you to follow the there.

There is a lot of information on that on the General Assembly page.

As you know, they've been hearings, they've been even here in Geneva, but there have been hearings from the General Assembly in New York.

There's been a a first vote.

So I would invite, but this is really happening in by the by the Secretary, the Security Council.

But this is going to be really happening in New York.

So I would invite you to follow the information that has been and will continue to be published on the General Assembly and page.

We will keep you informed, of course, when there are votes and when there, if there is any news, we will keep you informed.

But it's it's in the hands really of of New York.

And we will follow this very, very closely.

Of course, if there is no other question.

I thank you all very much and wish you a good weekend and see you next week.

[Other language spoken]

UN Geneva Press Briefing - 14 August 2026