Regional Director statement for media briefing

19 December 2023 Thank you all for joining us. This is my last media briefing before the year ends, and I am speaking to you today with the heaviest heart as I, like all of us here, witness unimaginable suffering. Our region of over half a billion people is home to 38% of the global population in need of humanitarian aid, which means over 140 million. These numbers represent the everyday tragedies experienced by the people of Syria, Afghanistan and Morocco after earthquakes, the lived horrors of the people of Libya after catastrophic flooding, drought in the Horn of Africa, rapidly worsening conflict in Sudan and, of course, the humanitarian crises in Gaza that continues to unfold with unprecedented brutality.  Last week, the WHO Executive Board held a special emergency session on the health situation in the occupied Palestinian territory at the request of 17 member states.  It was the first time since the conflict began that the international community reached consensus on the situation in Gaza, issuing a resolution that calls for immediate, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian aid. Despite this and the continuous efforts of UN Security-General António Guterres and humanitarian actors around the world, the brutal violence is relentless and continues unabated.  It is only possible to adequately respond to the needs of the people once this conflict comes to an immediate halt.  The WHO has consistently called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. WHO’...
Source: WHO EMRO News - Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news