Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,
First, an update on H5N1 avian influenza.
Last week, the United States reported a fourth human case of H5N1 following exposure to infected dairy cows.
Cambodia also reported two cases in children who had contact with sick or dead chickens.
For the moment, no human-to-human transmission has been reported, which is why WHO continues to assess the risk to the general public as low.
However, our ability to assess and manage that risk is compromised by limited surveillance for influenza viruses in animals globally.
Understanding how these viruses are spreading and changing in animals is essential for identifying any changes that might increase the risk of outbreaks in humans, or the potential for a pandemic.
WHO calls on all countries to strengthen influenza surveillance and reporting in animals and humans;
To share samples of influenza viruses with WHO Collaborating Centres;
To share genetic sequences of human and animal flu viruses with publicly accessible databases;
To provide protection for farm workers who may be exposed to infected animals;
To accelerate research on avian influenza;
And to encourage closer cooperation between the animal and human health sectors.
Even as we continue to study the spread of H5N1, we also continue to study COVID-19, which still kills an average of 1700 people globally every week.
However, data show that vaccine coverage has declined among health workers and people over 60, which are two of the most at-risk groups.
WHO recommends that people in the highest risk groups receive a COVID-19 vaccine within 12 months of their last dose.
Mpox also remains a global health threat, with 26 countries reporting cases to WHO this month.
The outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo shows no sign of slowing, with more than 11,000 cases reported this year, and 445 deaths, with children the most affected.
South Africa has recently reported 20 cases of mpox to WHO, including three deaths, the first cases in that country since 2022.
The cases were all men, and most self-identified as men who have sex with men.
None had reported any history of international travel, which suggests the confirmed cases are a small proportion of all cases, and that community transmission is ongoing.
WHO is supporting both DRC and South Africa to respond to these outbreaks, to conduct surveillance, to engage the affected communities, and to develop immunization strategies to ensure the most effective response.
===
Now to Ukraine, where the Ohmatdyt National Children’s Hospital in Kyiv was severely damaged on Monday following a series of aerial strikes.
More than 600 children were in the hospital when it was struck.
Two people were killed and 50 injured, including 8 children.
Sixty-eight children remain under treatment in the surviving buildings, and 94 children were transported to other medical facilities in Kyiv.
The remaining children, who were in the hospital for scheduled treatment, have been examined and temporarily discharged.
Our WHO team arrived at the hospital immediately after the attack and saw the desperation of parents, medical staff, and volunteers evacuating the children.
WHO’s biomedical engineers are assessing the damage to medical equipment to determine what we can provide to ensure continuity of care.
We will also provide medical supplies to hospitals that have received patients from Ohmatdyt.
Including the attack on the children’s hospital, WHO verified four attacks on health care in Ukraine on Monday, killing 9 health workers and patients and leaving another 71 injured.
Since the beginning of the war, WHO has verified 1885 attacks on health care, which have been linked to 157 deaths and 435 injuries among health workers and patients.
Attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law.
===
Next to Sudan, which has endured 15 months of conflict, with almost 19,000 people killed and 33,000 injured.
Access to health services continues to be severely constrained due to insecurity and shortages of medicines, medical supplies and health workers.
Almost 15 million people need urgent health assistance, including maternal and newborn care, treatment for cancer, diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases, and protection from outbreaks of cholera, measles, malaria, dengue, meningitis, and more.
The risk of famine is growing, with more than half Sudan’s population facing crisis levels of food insecurity, or worse.
WHO has recently distributed 3 metric tons of pre-positioned supplies to meet the critical needs of the population in North Darfur.
We call on both sides to the conflict to facilitate assistance for those in need.
Opening the Adré crossing from Chad into western Darfur is absolutely vital for scaling up assistance.
Access must also be facilitated elsewhere, including to Khartoum, the Kordofan states, and other hotspots.
Renewed fighting has forced even more people to flee. In the past three months, the number of displaced people has increased by more than 45% to 12.7 million, including 10.5 million who are displaced internally, and 2.2 million who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.
Their health needs are enormous. In Chad, most arrive after multiple displacements, suffering gunshot wounds, many having survived rape and sexual violence, without sufficient food for months, and having walked for days.
Host communities in Chad have been very hospitable, offering food, water, and shelter for refugees, but the needs are overwhelming.
Last week, WHO experts from our Eastern Mediterranean and African regions conducted a joint mission to Chad to assess the refugee situation and scale-up cross-border operations.
Our priority is to create systems that address immediate medical needs but also strengthen Chad’s health system capacity so the health needs of refugees are not dependent on aid in the long-term.
Despite the increasing health needs in both Chad and Sudan, WHO has only 18% of the funds we need to meet those needs. The international community must do better than that.
Sudan remains a political crisis that can only end with a political solution.
Peace, access, and funding are in desperately short supply, and once again it is the innocent who suffer.
===
Finally, to Gaza.
Since the conflict began in October last year, more than 38,000 people have been killed, 88,000 injured, and about 10,000 are missing.
More evacuation orders issued by Israel are further threatening the health of people who have already suffered so much.
The Al Ahli and Patient Friendly hospitals in northern Gaza are the latest that are unable to function because of fighting nearby.
Patients from Al Ahli have been evacuated to the Indonesian Hospital, which is now operating at three times its capacity.
Over 10 000 patients still need medical evacuation for treatment that cannot be provided in Gaza.
Multiple evacuation corridors are needed urgently, to the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan.
And almost the entire population of Gaza now faces high levels of acute food insecurity.
Almost one in four are facing starvation, and another one in three face an emergency level of food shortages that can lead to a high rate of acute malnutrition.*
At the same time, very few supplies are getting into Gaza.
Only five WHO trucks were allowed into Gaza last week.
More than 34 trucks are waiting at the Al Arish crossing, and 850 pallets of supplies are awaiting collection. A further 40 trucks are waiting at Ismailiya in Egypt.
WHO calls for the restrictions on supplies entering Gaza to be lifted immediately.
The people of Gaza who have nothing to do with this conflict must not be the ones who pay the price for it.
To say more, I’m pleased to welcome WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Hanan Balkhy, who visited Gaza and the West Bank last week.
Hanan, thank you for joining us. You have the floor.
[DR BALKHY ADDRESSED THE MEDIA]
Thank you, Dr Balkhy, we really appreciate your leadership.
Tarik, back to you.
*The speech was updated for clarity on 11/7/2024