Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,
First malaria, I'm pleased that together with Gavi and UNICEF, WHO will shortly announce the allocation of 18 million doses of the RTS,S malaria vaccine to 12 countries in Africa.
With the climate crisis changing weather patterns, mosquitoes that carry these diseases are increasing in density and spreading further afield.
Malaria remains one of Africa's deadliest diseases, killing nearly half a million children under the age of 5 every year, and accounting for approximately 96% of global malaria deaths in 2021.
As the first vaccine against malaria, the RTS,S vaccine has now been delivered to more than 1.6 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.
It has been shown to be safe and effective, resulting in a substantial reduction in severe malaria and a fall in child deaths.
Other positives worth noting, at least 28 African countries have expressed interest in receiving the RTS,S vaccine.
And a second vaccine is currently under review for pre-qualification and if successful provides additional supply in the short-term.
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The climate crisis is now one of the major factors determining human health outcomes.
El Niño, which has now been announced by the World Meteorological Organisation, together with global warming is already driving record temperatures.
On Monday, the world recorded its hottest day on record.
Over the coming months, we expect a range of extreme weather events, including droughts, floods, hurricanes, and heatwaves, all of which harm human health.
Prolonged drought in the greater Horn of Africa has already driven a wave of hunger, migration and disease, and is putting a major strain on health services.
This year, nearly 60 million people are food insecure across the greater Horn of Africa, which includes 7 countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
In Somalia, South Sudan, and parts of Kenya, WHO teams are seeing the highest levels of severely malnourished children arriving in health facilities since the crisis began 3 years ago.
Over 10 million children under 5 years are facing acute malnutrition in 2023.
While drought has given way to heavy rain and flooding, the situation remains extremely difficult, and hunger levels are expected to remain high.
WHO is working with local partners to provide critical health and nutrition services to marginalized communities and training to health workers.
There is a 97% cure rate when treating severely acutely malnourished children but it takes well trained health workers to deliver skilled care.
The sooner WHO and partners are able to treat children in need, the better chance of regaining their strength and health.
WHO and health partners need sustainable and coherent funding to mitigate the severe health outcomes, which are happening today.
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Conflict in Sudan is further exacerbating an already challenging health and hunger situation.
The health needs of the population are high, access to healthcare remains very difficult, and the conditions created by the conflict in Sudan increase the risk for epidemics to spread and kill.
The conflict has dramatically increased the number of people at highest risk of hunger - from 11.7 million to 19.1 million people.
WHO has verified 50 incidents through WHO's Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care since the beginning of the conflict, which started in April.
This includes 32 incidents affecting health facilities, and 10 deaths and 21 injuries reported among health workers and patients.
I'm appalled by attacks on health care, as well as increasing gender-based violence in the country.
The ongoing violence, including attacks on health care workers, facilities, transportation and supplies, are preventing survivors of gender-based violence from accessing essential health services at a time when they need them most.
Women and girls must have unhindered access to the care they need, particularly survivors of sexual violence and women that need support through pregnancy and birth.
Health workers and facilities must be protected.
Corridors for humanitarian and health supplies to be delivered need to safeguarded.
We urge all parties to the conflict in Sudan to cease hostilities now before the health and hunger crisis gets even worse.
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Over the last few days, I have also been deeply concerned about the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory where renewed violence has led to 12 deaths - including 5 children - hundreds of injuries and thousands of people displaced.
Roads have been destroyed, which has made it difficult to reach those people injured.
Across the occupied Palestinian territory, WHO has been using contingency funds for emergencies to train medical staff for mass casualty events and pre-positioning supplies to help health systems and health workers.
WHO pledges to continue working with our partners to get medical supplies to those in need.
WHO also calls for de-escalation of tension and for talks to maintain peace in the long-term so that health systems can recover.
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Now, to food guidelines for children.
Based on reviews of recent evidence, WHO has released a new guideline on policies to protect children from the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages that are high in saturated fatty acids, transfats, sugar and salt.
Marketing of unhealthy food remains a threat to public health and continues to negatively affect children's food choices and is linked to growing rates of obesity in children and adults, worldwide.
Considering this evidence, WHO now recommends that Governments should establish strong and comprehensive regulations as part of a comprehensive policy approach to create enabling and supportive food environments.
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Finally, tomorrow, WHO and UNICEF are releasing a new report with new data on the impact of water, sanitation and hygiene on gender inequalities.
Too many people - especially women, girls and the elderly - face the reality to have to go outside the home just to use a toilet and walk miles to get clean water.
This puts them at risk of being harassed or injured.
I invite you to tune into WHO and UNICEF social media channels tomorrow to learn more.
Tarik, back to you.
