Welcome to the press briefing of the UN Information Service here in Geneva.
Today is Tuesday, 18th of August.
And while it's not on your programme, I would like to start this briefing by giving the floor to Jens, who will guide us through the day of tomorrow.
That as you know, it's a very important day for for our community because the international, the world comes together to commemorate World Humanitarian Day.
Despite repeated promises from the international community, humanitarians continue to come under attack with over 1000 aid workers killed in the past three years alone.
UN in Geneva will hold a commemorative event in the memory of those who paid the utmost sacrifice in line of duty and to honour the invaluable contributions of humanitarian workers.
That event will be tomorrow at 4:00 PM in the southeast.
De Pas Perdue is the right pronunciation right here in the Palais.
This year's Act for Humanity campaign provides a focus on legal obligations, accountability and the systemic failures that allow violence against humanitarians to persist.
A specific focus of this year's campaign is on the misuse of drones and other emerging technologies and the growing risks that pose to civilians, including aid workers.
As always, the day involves activities and events around the world, a media campaign on aid worker security and a global digital campaign.
So tomorrow on 19th August, Orchard will release the latest aid worker security data, an annual report with in collaboration with the organisation Humanitarian Outcomes.
We have shared a press release with you under embargo yesterday.
The embargo will be lifted tomorrow at 6:00 AM Geneva time.
This year the demand is clear.
Act early before warning signs become casualty lists.
Stop the violence, stop the obstruction, investigate every attack, prosecute those responsible and support survivors and families.
And maybe if I can just add that you will see tomorrow morning the UN flag to be lowered the half mast in observance of this very important day and in honour of humanitarian personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
This is going to happen in the same way in all the UN offices and duty station around the world.
You will join us for this important commemoration tomorrow.
Is there any question to the ends or to me on this commemoration?
There are in fact online.
Oh, I see Christian wants to intervene on this.
Maybe Christian, you want to add something on the on the humanitarian Day and then I'll give the floor to Emma.
Yeah, thank you very much, Alessandra, and thank you Jens for for and OCHA for leading on this today.
Let me add a few points here before we then go to questions, then to our our Ebola topic.
World Humanitarian Day, marked on 19 August, as just mentioned, was designated by the UN General Assembly to honour 8 workers worldwide.
This year's OCHA LED campaign theme, Families of Fallen Humanitarians, aims to humanise aid workers through the voices of those they left behind it to recognise the lasting impact of their loss on families, loved ones and communities.
For W Joe, World Humanitarian Day is an opportunity to honour the memory of W Joe staff and health workers who have lost their lives and conflict, to highlight the dedication of health workers who often place their duty of care above their own safety and family lives.
It's also an opportunity to reinforce WTO's advocacy to end attacks on healthcare, ensure accountability and call for the political leadership needed to end the violence.
This message is particularly relevant in 2026, which marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 2286 on healthcare in armed conflicts.
A couple of of key messages just as highlights, without going into details.
Behind every farm health worker is a family, a community and a health system that loses A vital part of its capacity.
Attacks on healthcare must stop.
Attacks on healthcare are attacks on people's ability to survive and recover.
When health facilities, health workers, medical, transport and supplies are attacked.
People can be denied life saving care precisely when they are most vulnerable, deepening preventable suffering.
In crisis and conflict setting, attacks on healthcare can disrupt entire health systems.
The impact goes far beyond a single facility or incident.
Attacks can disrupt the delivery and continuity of essential services, from emergency trauma care to maternal and newborn health, vaccination and care for chronic conditions.
Healthcare must be respected and protected.
A decade after Security Council Resolution 2286, protection of Healthcare is still not a reality.
W Joe is committed to evidence, action and protection.
W Joe will continue to document and analyse the tax on healthcare.
Advocate for an end to attacks and support countries and partners to identify, implement context specific measures to prevent attacks, protect healthcare and mitigate their impact.
This evidence is essential to understanding the scale and consequence of attacks and strengthening the protection resilience of healthcare delivery.
Thank you for adding all this to the announcements.
Freans on the drones, please.
Have any humanitarians been actually haunted down by these drones or are they more caught in the crossfire?
We've heard from colleagues working in Ukraine about how they've really stalked people.
I'm wondering if that's the case with aid workers.
And secondly, on the prosecutions and the need for consequences, can you say a little bit about who's responsible for those prosecutions and what's going wrong?
Why isn't there accountability for aid worker deaths in the world right now?
As you know, we are not in a position to determine the intent of any attacker using drones.
When aid workers are killed, it can be either deliberately or it can be recklessly right because they are protected same way as any other civilian.
So I simply cannot say that, but we can talk about the consequences of what happens in in these situations.
And that's what we do and that's why we call it it's either deliberate or intentional.
But we cannot say because we're not in the heads of the commanders releasing these or whomever of releasing these, these strong attacks.
So that's number one on on prosecutions.
I think this is primarily in frankly a question for OHGHR.
But what I what I can say is that normal procedure is that it is the authorities, the government in the country where these things happen that are the first port of call to investigate these these incidents.
And that is what we are encouraging them to do, fulfilling their own obligations.
They have themselves decided on this legal framework.
So we're asking them to live up to that and we don't see that happening at the moment.
All right, legacy and oh, OK, OK, thank you.
OK, so I don't see any other hands.
We'll just send you very soon the statement of the secretary general for this important day.
And I understand, yes, people are asking on the chat, the press release to be sent again, but maybe not again.
Well, I'll encourage you to look in your inbox yesterday morning, I think 9:00 around 9:00 from an e-mail address, which is called Ocha Dash Media.
You should have it there.
If you don't, please text me or send me an e-mail.
That was an answer especially for Nick.
And we all see hopefully tomorrow at the commemoration.
And let me now move to WHO again, but with this time with Doctor Thierno Balde.
I think he doesn't need introduction and we've had the chance of listening to talk about you already.
He is The Who incident manager calling in from Bunya in the DRC.
Doctor, welcome for an update on the situation of Ebola in DRC, please.
Thank you so much for having me.
And but before giving you the the these update, I just wanted also to express really my solidarity to all of the different humanitarian workers are facing, I mean, different challenges on the field.
And I'm here calling from Bunya, where we are facing the same situation.
We are not far from yesterday, one of our ambulance was attacked here.
You know, the ambulance of the response operation was attacked here, you know, in Bunya and we are really quietly, extremely, very regularly challenged by these situation by these Atacon healthcare services.
So I wanted first to explain really my solidarity and also the importance of taking this element into consideration.
So today, with your permission, I will provide an update on the fastest growing Ebola outbreak in the recent history of the humanity.
As you know, about two days ago, we have really surpassed the number of 5000 cases with more than 2000 deaths.
This is really something which is unprecedented since my last update.
A new province has already also mentioned, I mean the comfort cases.
This is making us now at six provinces affected by this outbreak.
This is the province of Bazoli and it was a case coming from already in affected area in the hot valley.
Why I'm saying that is cause the movement of the populations, you know, the very, very fast movement of the population, the transportation of patient, the transportation of dead bodies, but also all the factors as I was mentioned in the security situation are the main elements explaining really these rapid growing transmission of the outbreak in different, different localities.
At the same time, I would like also to mention that under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, we are really all of the different responders that breaks when all partners are really trying to scale up as much as possible to response to be at the same scale down the outbreak.
And the first element for doing that currently we are really recentering all of the operational approach, all of our activities, you know around the engagement of the communities and one of the main communities that we are targeting to have with us.
It's like the association of the motorbikers who are transporting those patient, who are transporting those dead bodies, who have them with us, include them into the surveillance, to include them into the response, the women's association, the political leaders and administrative leaders to have them therefore to have a kind of really role of society and with the sectoral response approach.
This, this is one first point.
The order element also is about the scale up of the surveillance capacities, detecting cases as quick as possible and obviously to transfer them into the different health centres in order to reduce these high mortality rate that we are seeing.
And for doing that, WHO has already added 100 additional expert epidemiologists who will be deployed at the field level, at the health zone levels.
You know, supported by almost more than 500 community health workers WHO will go to the communities, do the contact tracing and identify the cases, convince the people to accept to be followed up and obviously giving all of also the different means for translating them into the health centres.
That's the second scale of the third one is obviously the augmentation of the different bed capacities because once you receive all of these people, you need to find a place where they can go in to be tested and to be treated.
So we are scaling up on that one.
Over the past two weeks, we've been able at least to add more than 400 beds, functional beds, you know, beds in different localities to add to hostage these different patient and suspected cases.
But apart of that, we have also understood and obviously also highlighted by the communities that people are not just suffering of Ebola.
We are in the context of a very fragile health system where you have needs for for for for blood for all the primary healthcare services.
So how can we really make the trade off by providing care for Ebola, but at the same time also addressing the whole the health need of the population.
And the last two points, it's about obviously the scaling up.
We've the partners like the Federation of Red Cross, FHR, you know, around all of these safe and dignified barriers.
We have done quite well on that one.
But we really need to push under extra miles on the safe and dignified barriers by notably engaging those local people who are doing that in the villages who are known for that, capacitating them, giving them a bit of chlorine, giving them a bit of gloss, you know, to be able, obviously, to handle these bodies in a very safely manner in a very bad dignified barrier.
The last scale up, it's about the humanitarian access.
You have people living in these camps, they don't have water, they don't have nutrition, they don't have sanitation.
So how can we really bring these other partners, these other actors, you know, who can help us to do that?
So overall, we have a direction.
The outbreak is extremely difficult.
It's really moving quite, very fast, but we have a direction and we, the Ministry of Health at the centre of this one, the support of W and other partners, we are really trying to scale this response at that level, at that speech.
But we are really facing these challenges because we need to be present everywhere, each and everywhere, and even anticipating being where the outbreak is not there yet.
But at the moment, I can tell you with confidence, it's only few partners, mostly WHO, which she is in all of these different provinces, helping the Ministry of Health for organising the response.
So how can we capacitate all of the partners to give them the necessary resources and to provide the necessary security measures?
Obviously, by engaging communities, but beyond the communities to allow us to do this work in areas, there is a place where we wanted to be and now you know, but we cannot cause off disability issues and we have those elements.
And so with your permission, allow me to stop here.
I think the situation is quite difficult, but people are working here days and night for trying to control these outbreak and to be at the same place down the dynamic of of these outbreak.
And I'd like to add some inputs that we've received from our colleagues in the Central African Republic where the UN system is mobilising to help strengthen the national response and preparedness efforts against the Ebola virus.
The colleagues tells us that although no case has been confirmed to date in the country which shares a long board that with the DRC.
As you know, the peacekeeping operation Minuska together with relevant UN entities WHOIOMUNISFAUNDSS are assisting Central African authorities with technical assistance, surveillance and preparedness measures, communication and community awareness activities as well as capacity building and an interagency coordination mechanism has been established led by WHO and UNDSS to monitor developments and coordinate support with government.
Our peacekeeping colleagues at MINUSKA have been providing technical and logistical assistance including transportation of health as experts throughout the country and the delivery of essential equipment and supplies and it's registration.
GIRA FM has been broadcasting weekly updates and public health messages in Sango, the national language about the evolving situation in the region and the prevention measures in place, while also helping counter misinformation.
And we can get this more this more of this from our colleagues in Minska.
I'll open the floor to questions now in the room.
Thank you for the briefing.
I was wondering if you could say a little bit more about your efforts with the the motorcycle association, the people who are transporting the sick, how, how are you working with them to reduce the spread of the disease?
And then also I know that who has said the aim is to is to turn this around within the next three months.
Is that still in the cards?
How do you think that you'll be able to do that?
Yes, thank you for these questions.
And the motorcycles, the association have been engaged somehow since day one.
But, you know, this is one of the most affected also, you know, category in the population because they are transporting sick people, they're transporting dead bodies.
And when we heard from them, some people, I met with someone who said he lost six members of his family, his wife, his daughter for about of 11 months.
You know, so it was really people have been affected.
So we are trying now to see, you know how best we gave them about two weeks ago, you know, some kind of hand washing stations, you know, with the bit of fluoride to put that in the kind of, you know, stations where they are parking the the the motorbikes, you know, where people comes in.
And then obviously to do that.
But we wanted to go beyond now to have them as surveillance and response officers.
And this is a strategy that we have developing with all of all the partners, Africa, CDC, IO, and we hope also, you know, with the in supporting the government for having them.
And therefore at least they can be able to tell us whenever they transport in sick person, how can they really rely and contact the surveillance team and then be able that that person can be tested and said.
And obviously in a very dignified money and manner, you know, by convincing them, extending to them, I mean, this is for the good of themselves, the good of their families.
So really bringing that engagement, that sensitization to people to understand what the dangerousity and the risk that they're facing in all that happened with us.
So this is the plan that we are going to do and in the upcoming, we have already started that.
Now we need to be at the scale, You know, we are having hundreds and thousands of people having these motorbikes.
So how can we be at that scale to have these people with us?
It's not an easy task, but we have started to do that.
About the next time for the three months, Yes, if you have the necessary resources, I think it will be possible to do that.
Because I can tell you confidently, there are some areas where we were having really hard time about six or seven weeks ago.
That was a place like Nizi or about Glitter or even maybe the hotspot Monguan where it has started.
You know, Nyangunde, I can tell you today that we are not facing this tension.
We have seen a kind of stabilisation of the situation where we are capable of intervening as quick as possible.
But obviously also these are committee members.
It's not easy to change the mind of someone and to change the behaviour of someone in just one or two days.
So this is the trade off, this is the balance that we are trying to make.
Being extremely active around the response but at the same time taking into consideration the realities, the fragile health system, the absence of structures.
You know, we are coming really in a context where these health system is extremely fragile.
And I see her nodding, so I think it's fine.
So let me go to the platform, Antonio Brotto, FA Spanish News Agency.
I would like you to comment a little about the fact that the emergency committee is meeting today.
What can we expect from this meeting, maybe some some new recommendations on the tracking and control of new cases may be a change of the risk levels.
I think now it's very higher in DRC and high in in the neighbouring countries.
So what can you comment about this?
But I also see Christian wanted to say something afterwards.
So the emergency committee is meeting the second time today starting around noon.
We should not and cannot speculate on any outcome of the of this meeting, but any communication will be sent afterwards.
We're not expecting a press conference, but expect any other sort of communication coming from us.
Thank you, Doctor, you want to add something?
Just to mention that we are obviously working with the Ministry of Health.
Just after this press briefing, I'm going to to be with the incident manager of the Ministry of Health.
So we're working with them and we are going to present the situation.
And obviously, we are going to part up to the expert for taking the right decision, for supporting the response, I mean, as much as possible.
Thank you, Emma Farge, Reuters.
Yeah, I just had a few questions actually.
If you clarify what happened with the attack on the ambulance yesterday in Bunya, anyone hurt and what were the circumstances and what does it show about the difficulties countering misperceptions about the disease?
And two more follow-ups, if I may, any update on the funding at all?
Your colleague mentioned at one point that you only had half of what you're asking for.
And finally, the fatality rate has spiked almost doubled in a few weeks.
We're informed about the ambulance yesterday, but this is not an isolated situation.
Almost on a daily basis we face some kind of reaction from the communities.
And again, these are difficult situation.
People are having the relatives who are sick, who are dying and then obviously we are having this kind of imperative acting very quickly.
But that requires some changes, some interactions.
So we go, we try, we explain.
Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don't succeed.
But then we come that the day after we try to mobilise the different communities for getting it.
So it's not really an isolated point, it's just the reality of the situation.
It's the reality of the operations, the reality of the disease, the reality of the virus.
So this is not really something which is, it's extremely important.
But we are facing that and we are negotiating.
We are really engaging all of the different authorities, including the governors, you know, the mayor, the association and all of these things for trying that doesn't just possible around the funding component.
I don't have the figures per SE, but what I can tell you, a plan has been developed now, but looking at the scale and also the geographic expansion of these outbreak, what all it requires, you know, the distances, the need of cars, ambulances and all of these elements, it's clearly I need more funding, more funding capacities.
I was meeting last weekend, on Sunday, you know, one of our partners in international NGO, they were mentioning about the challenges that they have for getting the right resources or being able to deploy the adequate response services.
And in the humanitarian context, all of these services were stopped at one point.
So how can we really resume that and to be able to scale?
So it requires more funding.
That's what I can say really.
So more solidarity, more funding, you know, and more operational capacities around I think the last point was around the fatality, yes, the case fatality rate.
So the case fatality rate has not doubled per SE.
You know, it's, it's really we have to take that also with some kind of questions.
Obviously the community deaths, it's a really major concern for us and we are trying to bring all of the different perspective, you know, for handling that a community deaths.
I mean, it's defined as a death occurring outside of an ETC of a nebula treatment centre.
So when it occurs on the family level, at the household level or at the private health centre or at the public health centre, it's called, it's considered as a community deaths.
So how can we get those people, you know, to encourage them to come to the to the ETC by bringing again, you know, for them to understand, I mean, the importance of coming at the ETC to have the right ambulances for the day, transportation and also to convince the people who are in these health centres not to treat the patient who are suspected but to refer them.
So this is the process that we are doing.
And as I was saying, there are some good example where we are seeing some kind of progress on this thing again like the case of MISI where we are overwhelmed by the number of community deaths about six weeks ago, seven weeks ago today we are only reporting only few cases, few deaths and those deaths are being safely, identifiably, you know, valued at the right time.
So progress has ongoing back.
Our main challenge today again is about, about having really the operational capacity, the funding which is required, which is far from, you know, being obtained and also having that not only for that, but for all of the responders, all of the partners.
Thank you very much, Doctor Felix Sussman, Housing Health Policy watch and act to end.
Thank you so much for briefing.
I seem to have some technical issues with my camera.
Anyway, I have two questions on behalf of Health Policy Watch.
The first one is just a follow up on the emergency committee meeting today to plan our reporting.
Do you have any estimates as to when we can expect the press statements on today's proceedings?
And the second one is on leadership report broke this morning on the resignation of Doctor Jeremy Farrar as Assistant Director General.
Can you confirm and briefly comment on that report?
And since when was the Director General aware of his resignation?
And can you give any information on who might take his place at this challenging time as things will have to move quickly?
I guess these are for Christian.
Doctor Farrar is reaching WTO retirement age at the end of next month.
So that's why he is retiring at the end of September.
That's all I have at this point.
That's so that the first question I don't I lost track of it now.
At what time do you expect to have any outcome of the committee?
Ah, so this should be actually happening today in, in under any normal circumstances.
But by the time they consolidate, because the work this work stays, they reach a consensus and they write a report and only once their report is finished.
Normally after this, we would communicate.
So whether this would our communication would come by the end of today or during tomorrow or in any, any, any steps ahead, I cannot tell you at this point.
We're waiting for it just the same way.
But maybe Alessandra as we add it and the the Emma, I think before I asked about of funding, let me add a few points quickly on the funding situation because it also came up at the at the recent press conference we had.
So W Jo is grateful to the many partners supporting W Jo's response to the able outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the scale up of preparedness and response efforts across Africa.
These partners includes the African Development Bank, Australia, SEPI, UN SERF, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Denmark, the European Commission, the Gates Foundation, Germany, the Global Fund, Italy, the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Switzerland, the UAE, the UK and Welcome.
Together, the contributions have reached about $69.3 million of the $115 million currently required for life saving operations.
A critical pillar of the broader response LED with governments, community communities and partners, including Africa CDC.
As countries strengthen coordinated cross-border actions, we call for the rapid disbursement of pledge funds and additional flexible financing to help stop transmission, save lives and protect regional and global health security.
OK, I appreciate your, your answer.
But if it is due to retirement age, could you give any information on who will take his place?
Because then that sounds like it was a planned move.
No, no further information on that.
It's a bit too early for that.
This is the last follow up from Nina.
I had a couple of follow up questions.
So on the ambulance attacks that was mentioned earlier, I was wondering if there's an overview of how many such attacks there have been, how many health workers may have been hurt during this these operations and if anyone was hurt in the specific attack that that was mentioned.
I was also wondering what the current fatality rate is considered to be.
And finally, for today's meeting, I was wondering if we might get access to Tedros's introductory speech.
OK, so I start with doctor about the, I guess when you speak fatality rate, is fatality rate of Ebola in general?
Yeah, Doctor about then I go to Christian.
I mean the attack on healthcare, this is something I mean that we have a system for reporting these different elements.
You know, at the institutional level, we have the anti initiative where we are capturing this information, I mean on a more regular basis.
So we'll be able to provide the exact numbers with you.
I mean, and I hope that Christian will be able to help us on that one.
Around the component around the fatality rate, we are around 50% if I'm not mistaken.
But we, we, this is also changing quite very often.
But what is extremely important, Madam, it's really to look at the different localities also because we have the overall national picture, the figures that we have mentioned around more than 5000 cases, but also more around 2300, you know, deaths.
So definitely you can make the report and you have the case fatality rate, but most important is also to have that granular distribution of the case fatality report where it was high and where it's quite also improving.
And how are we really monitoring that and all of the different actions that we have taken again, you know, for really addressing that and handling that in the context of where when we started this outbreak there were zero bed capacities.
Today we are having more than 1300, you know, bed which are operational.
We are having more lab testing capacity.
So all of these things we I'll not say we started from zero, but to that level.
This is just to tell you a little bit of magnitude and also the situation that we are facing and also all of the efforts which has been made with the support of all of the international solidarity over to you and Christian and Doctor Tetris.
Sorry, Nina, repeat please.
I was just wondering if there might also be access to his introductory remarks at the meeting instead of having to wait for for the press press release after.
Normally we do send the introductory remarks as soon as they have been delivered.
So we're waiting for that one.
I have the impression discloses the I will chapter.
There are no further questions.
So thank you very much Doctor Balde to to update us on this dire situation.
Again, as we said from Bunya, thanks Christian and keep us in keep the journalist informed on the outcome of the of the committee.
Is that your hand up for something else or?
And for the sake of nearly monopolising this today and so sorry you're in HCR.
No, because we talked about what humanitarian day and the way that the the communities and Geneva and the UN is commemorating this tomorrow just to flag one event which is happening in Geneva for your interest.
And that is that Mid Sanson Frontier, MSF Switzerland and the RCG, the Hospital University de Geneva invites the media to the unveiling of a public mural by Swiss artist Do Never Crew to mark World Humanitarian Day tomorrow.
And this the event takes place tomorrow in front of the RCG at 10:00 in the morning.
So for all those interested in that, certainly and nice event too.
Yeah, thank you for flagging it, Christian.
OK, so let's now go to Lebanon and I have the pleasure to have Babar with me.
You have an update on the situation in this war-torn country.
First, on the World Humanitarian Day, as the day is being mentioned, the mind takes you back to some of the colleagues and friends that we have personally known and lost saw in their memory.
Colleagues in Lebanon wanted us to bring this update to you in terms of what is happening, just to let you know and not to forget the displacement and humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.
While the majority of people displaced by months of air strikes and insecurity in Lebanon have now returned to their areas of origin, many are faced with damaged homes, widespread destruction and lake of essential services, with UNIT CR, the UN refugee agency, warning that the displacement and humanitarian crisis in Lebanon is far from over.
Despite declared ceasefire arrangements, fresh Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon over the weekend triggered a new wave of displacement, with hundreds of families fleeing northward in search of safety.
These movements add to an already protracted displacement crisis, increasing uncertainty for communities attempting to make their way back home.
Around 860,000 people are reported to have returned to their areas of origin, while another 360,000 remain displaced include including at least some 22,000 people living in collective shelters.
Others report living with relatives or in overcrowded rented apartments.
The security situation in Lebanon remains fragile and the humanitarian needs of hundreds of thousands of people remain immense.
While the intensity of hostilities has decreased, air strikes continue to put many lives at risk.
Movement restrictions, military activity and risks related to explosive remnants of war continue to affect large parts of southern Lebanon and the back up, posing threats to safety and preventing sustainable solutions for conflict affected communities.
Remember, there were around 1,000,000 displaced people inside Lebanon during the peak of the conflict.
Many families remain unable to return to their homes due to extensive debris insecurity, lack of access to their communities and widespread damage to infrastructure resulting in strained or non functioning health, water and electricity services.
For many households, return means relocating as close as possible to their towns and villages, remaining displaced there rather than finding a lasting solution.
Families continue to rely on rented accommodation, hosting arrangements, temporary or collective shelters while awaiting debris clearance, home repairs, restoration of services and improved security condition.
Many undertake repeated go and see visits before deciding whether return is safe or feasible, while others continue to move between areas of displacement and their areas of origin.
As a result, the distinction between those who have returned and those who remain displaced has become increasingly blurred.
The approaching school year is creating additional pressure as collective shelters, mostly hosted in public schools, are progressively being consolidated.
Municipalities in conflict affected areas continue to call for temporary housing solutions to prevent renewed displacement and enable families to remain close to their communities.
Widespread damage to housing, water system, electricity networks, schools, health facilities, agricultural land and community infrastructure continue to constrain prospect of recovery.
More than 700,000 people are reportedly affected by damage to water infrastructure in parts of southern Lebanon, underscoring that return does not mark the end of humanitarian needs.
We have some more details in the note as as as well that we will share right now with you.
And, and we join UNHCR appeal for civilians who must be able to return home safely.
They must be able to do it voluntarily and with dignity, and they must be able to do so without being repeatedly exposed to renewed displacement.
As we are seeing, as we've heard from Babar, we once again urge the parties to exercise maximum restraint, adhere to the latest ceasefire and push your dialogue to advance a long term solution to the conflict in line with Security Council Resolution 1701, including through the ongoing data talks under the trilateral framework.
And I'll open the floor to questions on Lebanon, if any.
I don't see any hand up on on the platform either.
So Babar, thank you very much for for this update on the situation and people in the move in Lebanon.
I'm just left to with with three announcements for you.
The Committee on the Rights of Person with Disability is reviewing today the report of Lithuania and Chile, which is going to be continuing tomorrow.
It will then review Slovakia next Thursday, 20th of August.
This morning the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will end the review of the report of Finland.
And the next plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament will take place on Thursday, 20th of August at 10:00 AM in Room 12 on the topic Prevention of an arm race in outer space.
And I think that's what I had for you.
If there are no further questions and I don't see any heads up, I thank you very much.
Wish you a good afternoon and hope to see you tomorrow at the commemoration of All Humanitarian Day.
