WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing – 8 May 2024

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,

First, to Gaza, where we are deeply concerned about Israel's increased military activities in Rafah, where most of Gaza's people have fled for safety.

An estimated 30 to 40 thousand people have left Rafah for Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, but more than 1.4 million people remain at risk in Rafah, including 600 thousand children.

Already, one of Rafah's three hospitals - the An-Najjar hospital - has had to shut down. Its patients have moved elsewhere, and hospital staff are removing supplies and some equipment to safeguard them.

The Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza remains closed, which is a major access points for supplies into Gaza.

Fuel that we expected to be allowed in today has not been allowed in, meaning we only have enough fuel to run health services in the south for three more days.

WHO has pre-positioned some supplies in warehouses and hospitals, but without more aid flowing into Gaza, we cannot sustain our lifesaving support to hospitals.

WHO has no intention of withdrawing from Rafah and will stay and deliver alongside our partners.

WHO is coordinating the work of 20 Emergency Medical Teams in Gaza, comprising 179 internationals from 30 countries, working alongside 800 local staff.

These teams are embedded in 10 existing hospitals, and have established five field hospitals.

They have provided almost 400 thousand consultations, performed more than 18 thousand surgeries, and added more than 500 additional hospital beds.

They are working at all levels of care, in the north and south, providing trauma stabilisation, delivering babies, supporting early warning for disease outbreaks, and so much more.

With support from WHO and hospital staff, Emergency Medical Teams have cleaned up Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis following an attack and siege earlier this year.

They have recruited health workers and the hospital is ready to start receiving dialysis patients today.

A ceasefire is needed urgently for the sake of humanity.

WHO calls for the removal of all obstacles to the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance into and across Gaza, at the scale that is required.

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Now to Sudan, where more than a year of fighting has left the country facing a humanitarian disaster.

More than 15,000 deaths and 33,000 injuries have been reported since the conflict began in April last year.

15 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian health assistance.

Almost 9 million people are displaced, half of them children, with extremely limited access to health services.

More than 70% of hospitals in conflict-affected states, and almost half of health facilities in the rest of the country, are not functioning.

Those that are functioning are overwhelmed by people seeking care, many of whom are internally displaced.

Health facilities, ambulances, health workers and patients continue to be attacked, depriving entire communities of essential health services.

Just last week, two of our colleagues from the International Committee of the Red Cross were killed in South Darfur.

The conflict has led to a devastating deterioration in food security. More than one-third of the population is facing acute hunger, and there is a risk of famine in Darfur and Khartoum.

Humanitarian partners have released a famine prevention plan.

WHO's priority is to ensure continuity of health services to prevent and respond to outbreaks, and to provide care for those most in need, including pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under five.

Access to the most vulnerable remains highly constrained. It is imperative that all sides to the conflict provide unhindered humanitarian access to those in need, including through cross-border routes.

In neighbouring Chad, an outbreak of Hepatitis E has been declared, with more than 2,000 cases and 7 deaths, mainly among Sudanese refugees. WHO has deployed a team to support the response.

Most of all, we call for a ceasefire and a comprehensive peace process for Sudan.

It is time to silence the guns and raise the volume for peace. The best medicine is peace.

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Now to the United States, and the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among dairy cattle.

So far, 36 dairy herds have been infected in nine states. Only one human case has been reported, at least 220 people are being monitored and at least 30 have been tested.

However, many more people have been exposed to infected animals, and it is important that all those exposed are tested or monitored, and receive care if needed.

So far, the virus does not show signs of having adapted to spread among humans, but more surveillance is needed.

The virus has been detected in raw milk in the US, but preliminary tests show that pasteurization kills the virus.

WHO's standing advice in all countries is that people should consume pasteurized milk.

Based on the available information, WHO continues to assess the public health risk posed by H5N1 avian influenza to be low, and low-to-moderate for people exposed to infected animals.

In recent years, H5N1 has spread widely among wild birds, poultry, land and marine mammals, and now among dairy cattle.

Since 2021, there have been 28 reported cases in humans, although no human-to-human transmission has been documented in that time.

WHO has a strong system for monitoring influenza around the world, through a network of influenza centres in 130 countries, 7 Collaborating Centres and 12 reference laboratories with the capacities and biosafety requirements to deal with H5 viruses.

We also have the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, to support the rapid development and equitable distribution of vaccines in case of an influenza pandemic.

However, no similar system exists for other pathogens - a gap that WHO Member States are now seeking to close through the Pandemic Agreement.

The outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cattle also demonstrates the importance of a One Health approach that recognizes the intimate links between the health of humans, animals and our environment.

These two systems - one to prevent outbreaks and pandemics through a One Health approach, and another to respond to them by sharing vaccines - are two vital elements of the Pandemic Agreement that WHO Member States are negotiating as we speak.

I am encouraged that all 194 Member States are strongly committed to finalizing the agreement in time for the World Health Assembly. They are working long hours to find common ground, in good faith, for the people of the world.

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Finally, yesterday we launched the 2023 WHO Results Report, summarizing our work over the past two years.

This interactive, comprehensive report, available on the WHO website, shows the depth and breadth of our work, with 174 dedicated country pages, 100 country impact stories and more.

It also provides transparency on where our funding comes from, where it's going, and what it's doing.

The report paints a mixed picture of the state of global health.

We have many reasons to celebrate. For example, since the turn of the century, child mortality has fallen by half, thanks largely to vaccines.

But due to the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination rates fell, and we are seeing a resurgence of diseases like measles.

We have seven years remaining until 2030, the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Some are on track; many are not.

WHO will continue supporting all countries to strengthen their health systems in pursuit of our founding vision: the highest attainable standard of health for all people, as a fundamental right.

Fadéla, back to you.

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