WHO EMRO | Regional press briefing on health emergencies | News

4 December 2024

Good afternoon, everyone, and greetings from Cairo.

As we hold our final press briefing of the year, I am reflecting on the steadily increasing health needs of our Region, and the road that lies ahead.

This has been a profoundly difficult year, marked by tremendous grief and loss for the people of our Region. The path ahead is fraught with challenges as we strive for peace, and work towards rebuilding and recovery.

The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic this past week adds to the volatility in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

In yet another testing time for the country, we urge that politics does not override humanity and dignity. Civilian lives, humanitarian workers and critical infrastructure – especially health services, which are lifelines in times of conflict – must be protected.

We are vigilantly monitoring all developments. Last week, a charter plane full of emergency response kits landed in Damascus and essential medicines and supplies crossed into Idlib to provide immediate medical support.

We are scaling up trauma care to hospitals in areas affected by increased fighting, restoring operations in priority facilities, and mobilizing health teams. Aid is reaching those in need, but continued, unhindered access on all sides is critical to supporting our health partners and sustaining these efforts. Our commitment to the people of Syria and their fundamental right to health is unwavering.

Turning to Lebanon,

As of now, despite several reports of violations, a fragile ceasefire seems to be holding in the country. Any halt in fighting brings relief, but now we must confront the magnitude of devastation. Thousands are mourning the loss of family, friends and homes while grappling with life-altering injuries that will take years to heal – both physically and emotionally.

The impact on health care has been particularly tragic. Since 7 October 2023, close to half of attacks on health care in the country have resulted in the death of at least one health worker or patient, marking the highest fatality rate for health care attacks in any current conflict.

Hundreds of thousands of people have now returned to neighborhoods in ruins, where health services have collapsed, water and sanitation systems are destroyed, and the risk of disease outbreaks looms.

WHO is on the ground, working to meet urgent needs. We are prioritizing repairing and reopening damaged health facilities and are conducting mass casualty management trainings in hospitals across Lebanon. Emergency medical teams are treating severe burns and carrying out reconstructive surgery, and trauma kits and blood supplies are being delivered to ensure uninterrupted lifesaving care.

The situation in Gaza continues to be marked by inconceivable suffering.

Winter has compounded the agony, with 90% of the population living in tents – cold, hungry, and surrounded by death and devastation. For me, as Regional Director, their suffering is unbearable. I wish it were equally unbearable for political decision-makers.

Given the circumstances, it is remarkable that health care in Gaza has not collapsed. Health workers tirelessly sustain services with minimal resources, despite the huge cost to their own mental health. They serve after losing their own children, they serve while living through personal injury, and they live with the trauma of witnessing people die who could have been saved if more medical supplies were available. There are few people in the world as inspiring as the health workers of Gaza.

I must also mention here how indispensable UNRWA is to the people of Palestine and our collective efforts. If UNRWA is forced to suspend operations it will be a catastrophe for the humanitarian response in Gaza.

WHO and partners are doing everything possible – from delivering medical supplies to fueling hospitals and deploying Emergency Medical Teams – within the extreme constraints imposed by Israeli authorities. The ultimate solution to this suffering is not aid, however, it is peace. Gaza desperately needs a ceasefire.

In Sudan, conflict and hostilities have sharply escalated. In the past year, there has been an over 100% increase in the number of people displaced by conflict in Sudan – over 14 million people are displaced today, either within Sudan or in neighbouring countries.

This war has triggered one of the world’s largest protection and displacement crises and has led to the largest hunger crisis globally. Women and girls bear the heaviest burden – hungry, displaced, and enduring horrific sexual violence, with some resorting to taking their own lives to escape rape and sexual abuse.

The cycle of suffering seems unending. Areas most in need remain largely inaccessible to humanitarian actors. Insecurity, bureaucratic hurdles, and logistical challenges have severely restricted WHO’s ability to deliver essential health assistance, particularly in Darfur, Khartoum, Al Jazirah, Sennar, and Kordofan states.

While we continue to do our utmost, from supporting immunization for cholera and malaria to deploying medical mobile teams and strengthening disease surveillance and positioning emergency supplies, Sudan urgently needs improved access for humanitarian aid.

As we look to the year ahead, our resolve remains strong. I thank our donors and partners for making WHO’s work possible in the Eastern Mediterranean, helping us serve those in the direst circumstances.

This past year, however, several health emergencies have been underfunded. In Yemen, only 30% of our US$ 136 million requirement was met. In Somalia, we could only meet 41% of our US$ 82 million requirement. We ask for greater support in 2025, alongside political solutions to end conflicts and ensure unhindered aid delivery.

2024 was a devastating year for humanitarian workers, with more aid workers killed this year than in any previous year – more than double the annual average of the previous 10 years. Most of these deaths stem from large-scale warfare and mass civilian losses in Gaza and Sudan.

Our Region must not be defined by the worst conflicts, the highest numbers of displaced people, the tragic loss of humanitarian workers or conflict-induced famine. These culturally rich, diverse, and historic lands deserve far more. Death, devastation, war, and hunger cannot be the legacy of the Eastern Mediterranean.

I wish for 2025 to be remarkably different – for us to no longer prepare for conflicts and emergencies but instead have an opportunity to strive and prosper, with health and dignity for all people.