Honourable Ministers, Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening to all Member States, and thank you for joining us once again.
We will continue with our planned briefings on El Niño and cholera, but first I would like to update you on WHO's response to the violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
We are witnessing tragedy upon tragedy.
The attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on the 7th of October that targeted Israeli civilians were horrific and unjustifiable.
At the same time, I am gravely concerned about the health and well-being of civilians in Gaza, who are suffering from bombardment and siege.
I deplore the attacks on health care in both Gaza and Israel, which have led to deaths and injuries of health workers and patients on both sides.
Under international humanitarian law, all armed actors are obliged to actively protect health care.
The bombing of the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday night, and the horrific loss of life it caused, regardless of who was responsible, is a violation of international humanitarian law, and a violation of human rights.
The hospital was one of 20 in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military.
The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter.
Despite the airstrikes and the risks to their own security, the WHO team in Gaza has delivered lifesaving medical supplies, sufficient to care for 2000 patients. But much more is needed.
In Cairo last week, I met with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who agreed to facilitate the delivery of medical supplies to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.
On Saturday, WHO delivered a planeload of supplies to Egypt from our logistics hub in Dubai, and a further four flights, with 40 metric tons of supplies, will arrive over the course of the next week.
These include trauma medicines to treat wounded patients, medicines for those with noncommunicable diseases, and other essential health supplies to serve the needs of 300,000 people, including pregnant women.
We welcome Israel's announcement yesterday that it will not block aid entering Gaza from Egypt, and we are now working with the Egypt and Palestine Red Crescent Societies to deliver our supplies into Gaza as soon as possible.
We have also issued a call for emergency medical teams in Egypt, the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel.
WHO has mobilised 10 million U.S. dollars to support our response.
There's still time and opportunity to prevent the situation from escalating further.
I support the United Nations Secretary-General's call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
I call for the immediate and safe release of hostages seized and taken into Gaza by Hamas and other militant forces.
They reportedly include infants, children, and the elderly, and people who are badly injured.
I continue to appeal to Israel and Hamas to abide by their obligations under international law to protect civilians and health care.
I appeal to Israel to restore supplies of electricity and water, and to support the establishment of a humanitarian corridor into Gaza.
I wish to remind Member States that the Secretariat is impartial, and is committed to supporting the health and well-being of all Israelis and all Palestinians.
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Now to El Niño, a cyclical climatic event that results in changes in rainfall patterns across the globe, and a global increase in temperature.
El Niño's impacts on weather patterns can lead to extreme weather events, including droughts, floods, and storms.
This can result in increased transmission of infectious diseases such as cholera and malaria due to flooding, along with increased malnutrition due to droughts and wildfires.
In some regions, such as the Greater Horn of Africa, health impacts are expected for this year.
But the greatest impact of El Niño on health is expected to occur in 2024.
Vulnerable populations, including refugees and internally displaced people, are most at risk.
Strengthening risk-informed community readiness capacities is critical, as well as building resilience through addressing underlying vulnerabilities and engaging community stakeholders.
WHO has developed a Public Health Situation Analysis that summarizes the health risks both globally and at individual country level, so countries can identify priority needs and readiness gaps, and mobilize preparedness efforts.
That analysis will be presented here today.
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Now on to cholera, a disease that led to the birth of modern public health, and health diplomacy, with the forerunner to the International Health Regulations.
This is a disease that we should have defeated a long time ago, but in fact, is growing.
Reported cholera cases doubled from 2021 to 2022, and this year will be even worse.
At least 31 countries have had cholera outbreaks so far this year.
There are one billion people are at risk.
The most concerning outbreaks right now are in Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Sudan, Syria and Zimbabwe.
While significant progress has been made in curbing cholera in southern Africa, the rainy season increases the risk of severe outbreaks.
What is particularly troubling is that countries that had eliminated cholera for many years saw the disease re-emerged this year.
This illustrates the fragility of many countries affected by climate change, including El Niño, and adverse social and economic conditions.
The worst affected are communities without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
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Conflict and humanitarian crises increase the vulnerability of these communities.
At the same time, we face severe shortages of life-saving supplies, including the oral cholera vaccine.
WHO continues providing essential supplies, coordinating on-the-ground response with partners while supporting countries to detect, prevent and treat cholera, and informing people how to protect themselves.
We are grateful for the close collaboration with UNICEF and other partners from GTFCC, GOARN, Standby Partners, Emergency Medical Teams, and others.
WHO has released over US$16 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies over the course of 2022 and 2023.
We are appealing for US$160 million through the Global Cholera Strategic Preparedness, Readiness and Response Plan.
At this time, no funding has been received at the global level, though there has been funding provided directly at country level for operational response.
It is time to act on this appeal to avoid unnecessary mortality.
However, the only real and sustainable solution to cholera is ensuring that everyone has access to safe water and sanitation, an internationally recognised human right.
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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.
