Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening to all Member States, and thank you all for joining us once again.
First to Uganda, where WHO is supporting the government to respond to an outbreak of Ebola disease.
So far, there are 54 confirmed and 20 probable cases, with 39 deaths, and 14 people have recovered.
More than 660 contacts are currently under active follow-up.
Our primary focus now is to support the Government of Uganda to rapidly control and contain this outbreak, to stop it spreading to neighbouring districts, and neighbouring countries.
Yesterday, I addressed a meeting convened by the Prime Minister of Uganda, with health ministers from several neighbouring countries.
I welcome the Prime Minister's commitment to controlling the outbreak, and for engaging Uganda's neighbours.
Our Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Mike Ryan, is now in Uganda assessing the situation and he is online today to address the questions you may have.
In a few moments you will hear more from Assistant Director-General Dr Ibrahima Socé Fall and other colleagues.
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The outbreak in Uganda is the focus of today's briefing, but allow me to me give you a brief update on the other emergencies to which the Secretariat is responding around the world.
First, the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clearly, we are in a very different situation now to where we were when the Emergency Committee recommended that I declare a public health emergency of international concern more than 33 months ago.
We have all the tools we need to end the emergency in every country.
But the pandemic is not over, and there is more work to be done to address the large vaccination gaps, reduced surveillance, low rates of testing and sequencing, and the potential impact of variants.
As we speak, the Emergency Committee is holding its regular quarterly meeting, in accordance with the International Health Regulations. They just opened the meeting, and have already started their deliberations.
I look forward to receiving its recommendations.
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Now to Pakistan.
More than 1,500 people lost their lives in the devasting floods that covered more than a third of the country.
But many more people are at risk of dying from disease in the coming weeks.
There is now a malaria outbreak in 32 districts, while the incidence of cholera, dengue, measles and diphtheria is also increasing in flood-affected districts.
We expect the situation to deteriorate.
But so far, international support has not been at the scale or speed needed.
Trillions of dollars are being spent to fight wars around the world.
We urge international donors to invest in saving lives in Pakistan now.
As the Secretary-General said, this is not generosity, it is justice.
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In Haiti, we are deeply concerned about the outbreak of cholera in the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.
As of last Saturday, there were 224 suspected cases of cholera and 16 deaths.
On Sunday, the ministry also confirmed a cholera outbreak in a prison in Port-au-Prince, with 39 suspected cases and nine deaths.
The affected areas are very insecure, which makes surveillance very difficult.
In addition, fuel shortages are disrupting access for both health workers and those seeking care, and causing some health facilities to close.
WHO is working with the Ministry of Health and our partners to coordinate the response, including for surveillance, case management, water and sanitation, vaccination and community engagement.
But to bring this outbreak under control, we need secure access to the affected areas.
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And the Secretary-General will convene a meeting this afternoon to discuss the cholera situation in Haiti, and I will join him.
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Finally, on monkeypox, more than 70,000 cases have now been reported to WHO, with 26 deaths.
Globally, cases are continuing to decline, but in the past week, 21 countries reported an increase, mostly in the Americas, which now account for almost 90% of all new cases.
We are continuing to work with countries around the world to increase their testing capacity, and to monitor trends in the outbreak.
We are concerned about reports of cases in Sudan, including in refugee camps near the border with Ethiopia.
Like COVID-19, monkeypox remains a public health emergency of international concern, and WHO will continue to treat it as such.
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As always, we are grateful for your engagement with today's presentations, and we look forward to your questions, comments and guidance.
I thank you.
