Good morning, good afternoon and good evening.
The ceasefire announced in Gaza two weeks ago is fragile and has been violated, but continues to hold, which is great news for everyone.
We welcome the return of hostages, the release of prisoners, the cessation in violence and the increase in aid flows.
But the crisis is far from over and the needs are immense.
More than 170 000 people have injuries in Gaza, including more than 5000 amputees, and 3600 people with major burns.
At least 42 000 people have injuries that require long-term rehabilitation.
And every month, 4000 women give birth in unsafe conditions.
Hunger and disease have not stopped, and children’s lives are still at risk.
The destruction has been physical but also psychological. An estimated one million people need access to mental health care.
The demands on the health system are huge, but significant parts of the system have been destroyed or badly degraded.
There are no fully functioning hospitals in Gaza, and only 14 out of 36 are functioning at all. There are critical shortages of essential medicines, equipment and health workers.
Since the ceasefire took effect, WHO has been sending more medical supplies to hospitals, deploying additional emergency medical teams, and scaling up medical evacuations.
Today, WHO teams are at the Kerem Shalom crossing, collecting medical supplies.
And yesterday, we supported the evacuation of 41 patients and 145 companions to several countries.
I thank the more than 20 countries who have received medical evacuees from Gaza.
However, there are still 15 000 patients who need treatment outside Gaza, including 4000 children. More than 700 have died while waiting for evacuation.
We continue to call for the restoration of referrals to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem;
We call for more countries to receive patients from Gaza for specialized care;
And we call for the Rafah crossing – and all crossings – to be opened, to allow more patients to be treated in Egypt, and to enable the scale-up of aid.
Although the flow of aid has increased, it’s still only a fraction of what is needed.
The Rafah crossing was supposed to be opened last week. A significant amount of aid has built up at Al-Arish in Egypt that is ready to enter Gaza as soon as the crossing is opened.
While we are focusing on responding to today’s health needs on the ground, we are also working with partners to plan for the longer-term recovery and reconstruction of Gaza’s health system.
Over the next days and weeks, WHO will focus on four areas:
First, maintaining life-saving and life-sustaining essential health services;
Second, strengthening public health intelligence, early warning, and prevention and control of communicable diseases;
Third, coordinating health partners;
And fourth, supporting the recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the health system.
Our 60-day ceasefire plan asks for US$ 45 million, but the total costs for rebuilding Gaza’s health system will be at least US$ 7 billion dollars.
WHO was in Gaza before the war started, we have been there throughout, and we will stay there to help the people of Gaza build a healthier, safer and fairer future.
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There’s more good news in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the Ebola outbreak seems to be on track to come to an end.
Last Sunday, the last patient with Ebola was discharged in Bulape, after making a full recovery.
The 42-day countdown started officially on Monday, meaning that if no further cases are confirmed, the outbreak will be declared over in early December.
In total, 64 cases have been reported, with 45 deaths and 19 recoveries.
This illustrates again what a dangerous disease Ebola is.
But it also shows that with strong government leadership, and the right tools, partnerships, and expertise, Ebola can be controlled swiftly.
The outbreak is not over yet. Measures on the ground need to be maintained so that we are ready to respond to any new cases.
More than 250 community health workers are following up contacts every day.
Some of them walk for hours through forests and swamps to reach the most isolated villages.
Since the start of the outbreak, almost a thousand alerts of potential Ebola cases have been reported, many coming from communities themselves, showing the importance of working hand-in-hand with affected populations.
The response in Bulape also relies on strong community mobilization, with community leaders briefing their people, including at markets and churches, to raise awareness about vaccination and isolation, and reinforce trust in the response.
WHO has deployed over 100 experts, providing 150 tons of medical supplies, ambulances, motorbikes and digital tablets for rapid data collection and sharing.
We’re also supporting the government to ensure that people who have recovered have continuing care through a survivor care programme.
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Responding to emergencies is just one part of WHO’s work; supporting countries to prepare for them is another.
Today, WHO is publishing our new National Health Emergency Alert and Response Framework, which outlines the key steps for an effective and coordinated emergency response locally and nationally.
That includes dedicated systems with clear roles; a trained workforce; flexible procedures to deal with rapidly changing information; and more.
The framework has been developed based on lessons learned from real-world experiences, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Finally, tomorrow is World Polio Day.
When we launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, more than 350 000 children were paralyzed by polio every year.
Today, that number has dropped by more than 99 percent – just 36 cases of wild poliovirus reported so far this year.
A large part of this success is due to the leadership of Rotary International, who have been pathfinders for polio elimination.
This week I had the opportunity to welcome partners from Rotary here at WHO, and to thank them for their partnership in bringing us so far.
But we’re not done, and as long as polio exists anywhere, it’s a threat everywhere.
Decades ago, the world overcome geopolitical and geographic barriers to end smallpox.
Let's do the same for polio. Let's finish the job.
Tarik, back to you.