18 March 2025
Colleagues, members of the press,
Good afternoon.
Thanks for becoming a member of us at the moment.
Earlier than I start my briefing, I want to point out that the Jap Mediterranean Well being Journal just lately launched a two-part sequence centered on Gaza.
The primary subject explores the warfare’s impacts on well being, providing scientific proof, sensible suggestions for coverage, advocacy, and interventions, and offers a basis for future analysis.
The second subject might be revealed in April.
I encourage you all to learn it on the EMHJ web site.
This morning, there’s regarding information of airstrikes throughout the Gaza Strip, with unconfirmed reviews indicating that tons of have been killed. I echo the Humanitarian Coordinator in his name for an finish to hostilities, sustained humanitarian help, launch of the hostages and the restoration of primary providers and other people’s livelihoods. That is the one manner ahead.
Girls and gents,
That is my second Ramadan as WHO Regional Director for the Jap Mediterranean.
I hope that the Blessed Month meets you in well being and wellness. I do know, for a lot of in our Area, that isn’t the case this 12 months.
As we method the Eid al-Fitr holidays, there might be little to rejoice for the tens of millions of males, ladies and kids caught up within the numerous crises that afflict our a part of the world.
An estimated 110 million folks want pressing help, accounting for one third of the worldwide humanitarian burden.
WHO is at the moment responding to 16 graded emergencies throughout the Area, together with seven advanced humanitarian crises and 50 illness outbreaks, whereas additionally monitoring 61 different public well being occasions.
Six of those emergencies are Grade-3―essentially the most acute disaster degree, requiring a significant WHO response.
Throughout the Area, we’re working hand in hand with Governments to strengthen capacities to forestall, put together for, detect, reply to and get better from well being emergencies.
With out WHO-led surveillance and early-warning methods, ailments would unfold undetected for longer, rising our vulnerability to outbreaks and pandemics.
With out Emergency Medical Groups, nations with weak well being methods would not be capable to handle large-scale crises.
With out WHO’s final resort provide chain and logistical assist, hospitals in battle zones would run out of gasoline, provides, important medicines and oxygen.
With out technical help for outbreak administration, epidemics could be more durable to regulate, and extra folks would die.
With out assist for essential immunisation programmes, tens of millions could be vulnerable to vaccine-preventable ailments.
And with out WHO’s key function in managing biothreats, chemical hazards and laboratory security, the world be much less ready for organic assaults and lab-related outbreaks.
Every single day, from cholera management in Yemen, to the administration of extreme acute malnutrition in Sudan, to the supply of trauma care in Gaza, WHO’s work saves lives and protects the susceptible.
A phrase on the criticism that has been levelled on the WHO, and the way we’re addressing it. We take this extraordinarily significantly.
Over time, now we have launched reforms to enhance accountability and effectiveness. We’ve got strengthened Incident Administration Methods, enhanced Member State coordination, and streamlined processes for sooner responses.
After all there’s all the time room for enchancment.
My precedence since taking workplace as WHO Regional Director for the Jap Mediterranean has been to ship outcomes for our Member States.
Quickly after taking workplace final 12 months, I initiated a reform course of to make sure that our construction helps our imaginative and prescient, and that our staffing matches the capabilities required for the supply of the 14th Basic Programme of Work (GPW14) in our Area.
We accomplished critiques of key workplaces―like in Iraq and Yemen―to right-size our operations. We labored with Administrators and Nation Representatives on a assessment of important capabilities.
We proactively pursued optimising assets, eliminating duplication, and abolishing vacant positions that we are able to handle with out, notably on the Director degree.
Over the approaching weeks, we are going to roll out a brand new succession planning and recruitment course of for WHO Representatives―to make sure that now we have the best folks, in the best place, on the proper time, delivering the very best well being outcomes.
The brand new course of will scale back the necessity for appearing preparations, guarantee a seamless handover course of, and keep operational continuity. We’re additionally working to increase the pool of certified WR candidates by means of teaching, coaching and headhunting.
We’re re-prioritising, re-organising and additional streamlining our operations to drive better effectivity whereas delivering for the folks we serve. We purpose to grow to be a leaner extra agile organisation that may nonetheless ship at tempo.
Latest bulletins of international help cuts have given a brand new impetus to this effort. They underscore the need of guaranteeing that now we have the best footprint, construction and expertise to ship.
Our Member States anticipate to see outcomes and anticipate worth for cash. They need us to enhance effectivity, improve oversight and scale back pointless expenditure.
We hear them.
Simply as we’re being requested to do extra with much less, world well being is more and more below risk, notably within the Jap Mediterranean.
In Sudan, 20 million folks want pressing well being help and a few 25 million will expertise acute meals insecurity by June this 12 months, however the well being cluster response is just 5.6 per cent funded.
In Syria, sixty-five per cent of the inhabitants want emergency well being help, at a time when 70 per cent of the well being workforce has left the nation, and fewer than half of the nation’s hospitals nonetheless perform. However WHO faces a funding shortfall of greater than 80 per cent.
And in Afghanistan, funding shortages may pressure the closure of 80 per cent of WHO-supported important healthcare providers by June this 12 months and negatively affect features remodeled a long time within the battle towards polio.
The cruel actuality is that, in all places we function, there’s a deep disconnect between the urgency of the wants we face, and the degrees of assist being offered.
Our collective failure to adequately reply to those and different crises, to finish this persistent and unimaginable struggling, may hang-out us for generations to return.
However, with adequate political dedication, collectively, we are able to chart a special course.
Whereas now we have little or no management over the geopolitics and different advanced components that gasoline these crises, we do have the flexibility to alleviate the immense struggling that they bring about.
The regrettable U.S. announcement to withdraw could have an unlimited affect on the World Well being Group and the broader humanitarian sector.
The implications of the Cease Work Order are acutely felt throughout our operations, notably in emergencies.
The USA has lengthy been the highest contributor to the WHO – offering 18 per cent of our biennial finances income in 2024/25 – and has historically topped this up with substantial voluntary contributions to particular programmes.
U.S. funding has helped advance polio eradication, strengthen illness surveillance in battle zones, and rebuild fragile well being methods.
However this was a skewed funding mannequin, and we’re seeing its penalties at the moment.
We’ve got lengthy identified that we should diversify our sources of funding, and now we have been striving to take action.
WHO wants a broader, extra balanced donor base, the place the monetary burden is healthier shared by all nations.
It can’t be the accountability of a handful of rich nations to shoulder the burden of humanitarian help for your complete world.
Extra nations should step as much as assist defend the world’s most susceptible and ship world well being safety.
In our personal Area, there are nations which are more and more making their mark within the humanitarian enviornment. We urge them to show their consideration to well being. Their second is now.
Because the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) stated: “The most effective of individuals are those that are most useful to others.”
Donors the world over know that there isn’t any safer funding than within the United Nations.
WHO is accountable for each penny obtained and―in the case of world well being―no person can do what the WHO does. We’re an indispensable pillar of the worldwide well being structure, in addition to its major convener and coordinator.
If WHO had been abolished at the moment, it must be recreated tomorrow. International well being points are too large and too advanced for anyone nation to deal with alone.
We’d like one another―that’s why the multilateral system was constructed.
Many nonetheless perceive this.
On the Govt Board assembly in February, Member States agreed a 20 per cent enhance in assessed contributions for the 2026-27 finances, a robust sign of their assist. The EB determination might be put to the WHA78 in Might, and the Meeting could have the ultimate phrase.
On the Govt Board, we additionally heard an outpouring of assist from our Member States. Many interventions highlighted the worth of WHO’s work, emphasising that no different organisation can do what we do.
So, I conclude this Ramadan briefing with a be aware of optimism: the overwhelming majority of our Member States stay dedicated to WHO and its mandate. We are going to proceed to try – day and night time – to earn their confidence and belief.
Thanks.
