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.
After several weeks of declines, reported cases of COVID-19 are once again increasing globally, especially in parts of Asia.
These increases are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg.
We are also seeing unacceptably high levels of mortality in many countries, especially where vaccination levels are low among susceptible populations.
The pandemic is not over, and it will not simply go away.
Even as other crises demand our attention, we urge all Member States to remain focused on expanding vaccination to reach our shared target of vaccinating 70% of the population of every country by the middle of this year, with a focus on health workers, older people and other vulnerable groups.
We continue to call on all Member States to remain vigilant. Continue to vaccinate, test, sequence, provide early care for patients, and apply public health measures to protect health workers and the public.
The focus of today’s information session is our global effort to adapt and enhance surveillance and reporting, for COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens including influenza.
Our chief of emergencies Dr Mike Ryan and his colleagues will also brief you on innovations including genomic surveillance and the work of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin.
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Now, to Ukraine.
Your Secretariat’s priority remains working to support health workers and Ukraine’s health system to meet urgent needs.
We have been able to establish supply lines to many cities, but we still face major challenges to access.
So far, we have sent about 100 metric tonnes of supplies, including oxygen, insulin, surgical supplies, anaesthetics, and blood transfusion kits.
Other equipment, including oxygen generators, electrical generators, and defibrillators have also been delivered, and we are preparing to send a further 108 metric tonnes.
We are coordinating the deployment of 20 Emergency Medical Teams of experts from many Member States.
But are we face serious financial constraints.
So far, we have received just US$ 8 million of our appeal for US% 57.5 million.
Huge amounts of money are being spent on weapons. We urge Member States to invest in ensuring that civilians in Ukraine and refugees receive the care they need.
And attacks on health care must stop.
More than 300 health facilities are along conflict lines or in areas that the Russian Federation now controls, and a further 600 facilities are within 10 kilometres of the conflict line.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, WHO has verified 43 attacks on health care.
WHO condemns all attacks on health care.
Tragically, Ukraine is not the only place where patients, health workers, facilities, infrastructure and supply are under attack.
2022 is only 75 days old, but already WHO has verified 89 attacks on health care around the world, in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Nigeria, the occupied Palestinian territory, Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, and of course, Ukraine.
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Although Ukraine is the focus of the world’s attention, we remind Member States that your Secretariat is responding to many other crises around the world.
Today, we are releasing our first global health emergency appeal for 2022, with an ask of US$ 2.7 billion to respond to health emergencies in every region, including the COVID-19 response.
In Yemen, roughly two-thirds of the population, more than twenty million people, are estimated to be in need of health assistance.
Afghanistan faces widespread malnutrition and a surge in measles, among many critical health challenges.
And in Ethiopia, 6 million people in Tigray region have been under siege by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces for almost 500 days, sealed off from the outside world.
83% of the population is food insecure. Our partners are running out of what little food they have, and the fuel to transport it.
In February, we airlifted more than 33 metric tonnes of medicines and other supplies to Tigray – enough for 300 thousand people – the first time we have been able to deliver supplies since July last year.
But much more is needed. Less than 1% of the estimated supplies needed to meet urgent health needs have been delivered. Just 1%.
And with no fuel, even if we can get supplies in, getting them to where they need to go is very difficult, or impossible.
There is no treatment for people with HIV, tuberculosis, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and more.
The situation in Tigray is catastrophic. People are dying.
The humanitarian situation in the neighbouring Afar region also continues to deteriorate, with tens of thousands of people displaced and in need of food, shelter and health services.
But while the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara are also affected, we have had far better access to those two regions – and we are providing our support - than we have in Tigray.
Peace is the only solution – in Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia.
As always, we are grateful for your engagement with today’s presentations, and we look forward to your questions, comments, inputs and guidance.
I thank you.