Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,
As we speak, WHO’s Member States are meeting to negotiate a historic, legally-binding agreement to protect future generations from the impacts of pandemics.
There is much agreement between Member States on the objectives of the agreement.
Now they need to agree on how to achieve those objectives.
Areas of disagreement remain, but there is still enough time for countries to find common ground and finalize a strong agreement in time for the World Health Assembly in nine weeks. It’s doable.
We’re encouraged that Member States are committed to meeting that deadline.
And we’re encouraged that communities, youth organizations, faith-based groups, health workers, current and former political leaders and others are raising their voices to demand a strong agreement.
We cannot miss this generational opportunity.
If we do, we will see the same inequities, the same lack of coordination, the same preventable loss of lives and livelihoods, and the same social, economic and political upheaval as we saw with COVID-19.
We cannot allow the cycle of panic and neglect to repeat.
We cannot forget the trauma of the pandemic, and the painful lessons it taught all of us.
I urge all Member States to work together on the principles of solidarity and equity to find common ground, compromise and to give all of us an effective agreement, and a safer future.
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Now to Gaza.
On Tuesday, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification partnership said that Gaza faces imminent famine, because so little food has been allowed in.
Up to 16% of children under 5 in northern Gaza are now malnourished, compared with less than 1% before the conflict began.
Virtually all households are already skipping meals every day, and adults are reducing their meals so children can eat.
Children are dying from the combined effects of malnutrition and disease, and lack of adequate water and sanitation.
The future of an entire generation is in serious peril.
In particular, malnourished children need ready-to-use therapeutic food that is targeted at their needs. There are some supplies of this type of food in Gaza, but it cannot be distributed safely to where it is needed.
Recent efforts to deliver food by air and sea are welcome, but only the expansion of land crossings will enable large-scale deliveries to prevent famine.
WHO has supported the establishment of a nutrition stabilization centre at Kamal Adwan hospital to treat children with severe acute malnutrition with medical complications, who are at the highest risk of imminent death if not treated urgently.
We are supporting the establishment of another centre at the International Medical Corps field hospital in Rafah.
And we are training health workers on how to recognize and treat malnutrition with complications.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health system continues to suffer.
WHO and our partners have been conducting high-risk missions to deliver medicines, fuel and food for health workers and their patients, but our requests to deliver supplies are often blocked or refused.
Damaged roads and continuous fighting, including in and close to hospitals, mean deliveries are few and slow.
We are particularly concerned about military operations inside and around Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
Accessing Al-Shifa is now impossible, and there are reports of health workers being arrested and detained.
A planned mission to Al-Shifa today had to be cancelled due to lack of security.
Once again, we ask Israel to open more crossings and accelerate the entry and delivery of water, food, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid into and within Gaza.
Once again, we call for health care to be protected, and not militarized.
Once again, we call for the release of hostages.
And once again, we call for an immediate ceasefire.
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Now to Haiti, where the security situation in the capital Port-au-Prince continues to worsen.
The airport is closed, making it impossible to import essential goods, including medicines.
The national port is operational, but accessing it is challenging, as the surrounding areas are controlled by gangs.
Less than half of health facilities in Port-au-Prince are functioning at their normal capacity, and there is a pressing need for safe blood products, anaesthetics and other essential medicines.
According to the World Food Programme, 1.4 million people are facing emergency levels of hunger, and need assistance to survive.
The cholera outbreak, which has been declining since the end of last year, could flare up again should the crisis continue.
Cholera response activities and data surveillance have already been affected by the recent violence.
The situation could worsen significantly in the coming weeks if fuel becomes scarce and access to essential medical supplies is not improved soon.
WHO-PAHO is supporting the Ministry of Health and other partners with supplies and logistics, including water, sanitation and hygiene and disease surveillance in centres for displaced persons.
We call for safe and unhindered humanitarian access, the safety of health workers and the protection of health facilities.
We call on donors to increase financial support for Haiti.
And we call on all partners and the public not to forget the people of Haiti.
To say more, I’m pleased to welcome my colleague Dr Jarbas Barbosa, WHO’s Regional Director for the Americas, and Dr Oscar Barreneche, WHO’s Representative to Haiti.
Dr Jarbas, you have the floor.
[DR JARBAS ADDRESSED THE MEDIA]
Thank you, Dr Jarbas, and we look forward to hearing from you and also our WHO Dr Barreneche during the question and answer session.
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Finally, this Sunday marks World Tuberculosis Day.
Each day, TB kills over 3500 people, and the disease strikes close to 30,000 more.
We are seeing some positive trends.
Last year, we saw a significant increase in access to services for diagnosis and treatment, the highest number of people diagnosed since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995.
There is also some progress in the development of new TB diagnostics, drugs and vaccines.
Last year I launched the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council, to support innovative sustainable financing, market solutions and partnerships for TB vaccine research.
However, all of this progress is constrained by limited funding.
So to mark World TB Day, WHO is launching a new investment case for TB, to help countries advocate for more resources to close gaps in access to services for prevention and care.
The investment case outlines the health and economic rationale for investing in evidence-based, WHO-recommended interventions , as part of every country’s journey towards universal health coverage.
This World TB Day, we remember the millions of people who lose their lives to TB every year, and the millions who continue to struggle daily against this preventable and curable disease.
We honour the health workers at the forefront of the fight to end TB.
We thank the communities, civil society organizations, advocates, partners and donors for their tireless dedication and support.
And we commit to carry forward the fight to end TB.
Tarik, back to you.