HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STÉPHANE DUJARRIC,
SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES
FRIDAY, 23 AUGUST 2024
SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
The Secretary-General arrived in Auckland in New Zealand, a few hours ago. Tomorrow, he will meet with the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, before heading to the Pacific Islands Forum which is taking place in Tonga.
Earlier today in Apia, in Samoa, the Secretary-General met with members of civil society - including youth groups, women’s groups, and representatives of people with disabilities. They all took part in an Intergenerational Dialogue ahead of the Summit of the Future.
Participants shared their perspectives about the Summit of the Future. Their views will feed into the government preparations for and engagements at events that will take place in September at UN Headquarters in New York.
DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL/TRAVELS
On the final day of her visit to Mongolia, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, met with the Prime Minister of Mongolia, Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai.
After the closing ceremony of the World Women’s Forum, Ms. Mohammed visited a Service Centre for victims of gender-based violence that is being run by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). She expressed her appreciation for the dedication, the commitment, and the tireless efforts of the service providers in delivering crucial care and services to survivors and for their advocacy against such violence.
The Deputy Secretary-General also visited a herder family in their traditional home, to learn about their livelihood and the impact of climate change and modernization on their nomadic way of life. Ms. Mohammed will depart Mongolia on Saturday.
GAZA/HUMANITARIAN
The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that disrupted water and sanitation systems in Gaza - including at hospitals - are increasing the risk of infectious diseases.
WHO has procured more than $400,000 worth of infection prevention and control supplies, including chlorine tablets, hygiene products, and gloves. These items have already been delivered to five hospitals, with plans to reach two others in the coming weeks.
However, we keep sounding the alarm that repeated evacuation orders continue to severely disrupt aid operations in Gaza.
Meanwhile, UN partners say the amount of food assistance that has entered southern Gaza in July was one of the lowest recorded in the past 10 months. They warn that active hostilities, damaged roads, access constraints, and a lack of public order and safety have led to critical food shortages.
Children are paying the heaviest price – with poor diet and the decimation of health-care services and water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure raising the risks of malnutrition and disease.
UN partners who are working on the nutrition issue say the number of children in northern Gaza who were diagnosed with acute malnutrition soared by over 300 per cent last month compared to May – and by more than 150 per cent in the south of the Gaza Strip.
Without unfettered humanitarian access that allows a major scale-up of support, hunger and malnutrition will only worsen.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says that, as of a week ago, the agency had reached some 370,000 people with partial food parcels and wheat flour this month. However, distribution in Rafah is unfortunately rare due to the ongoing fighting.
WFP also distributed more than 4.4 million hot meals across Gaza so far this month, and that was done through about 60 community kitchens.Those meals reached an estimated 78,000 people, most of them in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah area.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reports that in July, the percentage of humanitarian movements denied by Israeli authorities more than doubled from seven to 15 per cent, severely hampering efforts to quickly reach people with critical support. This is despite the overall number of humanitarian missions coordinated by the Israeli authorities increasing from 414 in June to more than 540 in July.
Meanwhile, OCHA says as of yesterday, 43 per cent of nearly 150 planned humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by Israeli authorities this month. The rest were either denied, impeded or cancelled due to various reasons, including security, logistical and operational reasons. And in southern Gaza, less than half of the 280 coordinated aid movements have been facilitated by the IDF in August.
GAZA/POLIO
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed yesterday that a 10-month-old baby in Deir al Balah has polio. It’s the first case in 25 years. This was already flagged by the Ministry of Health in Gaza earlier, but was confirmed by WHO yesterday.
Given the risk of polio spreading in Gaza and the wider region, WHO, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), as well as many other partners, are preparing two rounds of polio vaccination campaigns for children under the age of 10. The first round will provide vaccinations for over 600,000 children and the second round will commence four weeks after the first.
WHO is sending more than a million polio vaccines to Gaza, which will be administered in the coming weeks.
UNRWA health teams are committed to lead this upcoming vaccination against polio. UNRWA says they insist on vaccinating children in both its healthcare facilities and mobile health points within its shelters. Additionally, UNRWA mobile teams will visit communities, tent to tent, to vaccinate children unable to actually go to health facilities.
UN agencies request all parties to the conflict to implement a humanitarian pause in Gaza for seven days to provide this urgent healthcare to protect children in Gaza from polio.
These pauses in fighting would allow children and families to safely reach health facilities and community outreach workers to get to children who cannot access health facilities for polio vaccination. Without humanitarian pause, the delivery of this campaign will be that much more challenging.
SUDAN
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that flooding is heightening the risk of cholera in Sudan, and that it will continue to spread.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that in a month since the first suspected cases were reported, more than 650 cases and 28 deaths have been reported in five states, primarily in Kassala, which is in the east of the Sudan.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is particularly worried about the spread of the disease in areas hosting refugees and internally displaced people, mainly in Kassala, Gedaref and Al Jazirah states.
At three refugee sites, nearly 120 cholera cases have been confirmed, as reported by Sudan’s Ministry of Health, and five refugees have died.
UNHCR is working with their colleagues at WHO, with humanitarian partners, and the Sudanese health authorities to scale up prevention and response efforts. These include providing beds, medicines and hygiene supplies at treatment facilities in Kassala.
WHO says an initial cholera vaccination campaign in Kassala has reached more than 50,000 people. Upwards of 450,000 additional doses of oral cholera vaccines are in the pipeline to be delivered.
WHO has also prepositioned cholera kits and other essential medical supplies in high-risk states.
WHO stresses that to launch and maintain a robust response to the cholera outbreak, health-care workers need safe and unhindered access to all affected areas, as well as sustained financial support.
LIBYA
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has called for an immediate de-escalation following reports of mobilizations of forces in the capital Tripoli.
The Mission says that there are threats to use force to resolve crisis concerning the Central Bank of Libya.
UNSMIL is actively with engaging relevant stakeholders to reach a peaceful settlement and resolve this crisis.
It reiterates that the display of military power and armed confrontations in densely populated neighborhoods is unacceptable and threatens the lives of civilians.
LIBERIA
This morning we shared with you a press statement from the UN Peacebuilding Commission.
It relates to a meeting which focused on Liberia’s peacebuilding and sustaining peace priorities, in particular transitional justice and youth inclusion. The meeting took place earlier this week.
NAMIBIA
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that Namibia is facing the worst drought in 100 years. The acting UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, allocated $3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support the Government-led response to this crisis.
84 per cent of Namibia’s food reserves are already exhausted, and nearly half of the population is expected to experience high levels of food insecurity between July and September, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system.
The drought is contributing to an increase in severe acute malnutrition among children under five, with deaths already reported in some regions. OCHA says that for women and girls who are required to walk longer distances to collect food and water, their risk of being subjected to gender-based violence also increases.
The World Food Programme (WFP), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) will use the money allocated from the Central Emergency Response Fund to support more than 163,000 people. This will take the form of cash assistance, treatment for acute malnutrition, rehabilitation of water supply points, and assistance for survivors of gender-based violence.
VENEZUELA
I was asked about the situation in Venezuela and the announcement made by the Venezuelan Electoral Chamber of the Supreme Court regarding the results of the presidential election.
In answer to these questions, I can say that the Secretary-General takes note of the decision taken by the Supreme Court. We understand that the National Electoral Council has still not released the election results by polling station.
The Secretary-General continues to call for complete transparency in that regard, and he reiterates his call for the full protection and respect of human rights and continues to urge all parties to resolve any electoral disputes through peaceful means.
He is concerned about reports of human rights violations, including alleged arbitrary detention of minors, journalists, human rights defenders, members or supporters of the opposition and others.
He recalls that everyone has the right to hold opinions without interference, to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
INTERNATIONAL DAY
Today is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
On this Day, the head of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay calls on all to remember the victims and freedom fighters of the past so that they may inspire future generations to build just societies.
NOON BRIEFING GUESTS/MONDAY
On Monday Louise Wateridge, UNRWA Senior Communications Officer, and Sam Rose, UNWRA Senior Deputy Field Director, will be the Noon Briefing guests. They will brief journalists on the situation in Gaza.
