Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,
At our last media briefing, I spoke about the impact of recent funding cuts on global health.
Since then, WHO has compiled feedback from more than 100 countries, to understand that impact, and the support those countries need to mitigate it.
The results show severe disruptions to health services in almost three-quarters of countries, and closures of health facilities in one quarter of countries.
We also see increased out-of-pocket payments for health services in one quarter of country offices.
They also report job losses for health and care workers, and disruptions to information systems, and the supply of medicines and health products.
In response, countries are revising budgets, cutting costs and strengthening fundraising and partnerships.
WHO has been working with countries for many years to support them to transition away from aid dependency to sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic resources.
We are now supporting countries to accelerate that transition, to avert the health impacts that these sudden and unplanned cuts are having.
For example, South Africa’s parliament has approved an additional US$1.5 billion for its health budget this year;
Nigeria has allocated an additional US$200 million to health in its 2025 budget;
Kenya’s health ministry has requested an additional US$250 million from the National Treasury to support health services;
And Ghana is also taking steps to bridge its financing gap.
Countries are asking for WHO’s support for innovative fundraising and targeted technical assistance, and WHO is working to provide that support as best we can.
There are several principles that we advise countries to follow:
First, prioritize the poorest, and prevent exposing them to impoverishing out-of-pocket health spending;
Second, protect health budgets and resist reductions in public health spending;
Third, donor funds should be channelled through budgets, instead of parallel donation systems, and aligned with national priorities, based on one plan, one budget, one report.
And fourth, avoid cutting services or closing facilities, and absorb as much of the impact as possible through efficiency gains in health systems.
This can include improving procurement, minimizing overheads, pooling purchasing of goods and services, and using health technology assessment to guide decisions on which services and products provide the biggest health gains for the money.
There are also several tools that countries can use to generate new sources of revenue.
In the short term, immediate measures include introducing or increasing taxes on products that harm health, including tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks.
Countries including Colombia, the Gambia, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, Thailand and more have all introduced such taxes in recent years, and seen consumption decrease and revenues increase.
In the longer term, countries that don’t already have social and community-based health insurance can introduce it, in which individuals or families contribute a small amount to a fund which finances health services.
Not all of these measures will be right for every country, especially countries that have weak tax collection or a large, unregulated informal sector.
These countries will require significant loans from development banks at concessional rates, and the right terms.
WHO is working with affected countries to identify which measures are best for them, and to tailor those measures accordingly.
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Now to Gaza, where a complete blockade since the 2nd of March has prevented all food and medicine from entering into Gaza.
In addition, in the past week, 75% of UN missions within Gaza have been denied or impeded.
This blockade is leaving families hungry, malnourished, without clean water, shelter, and adequate health care, and increasing the risk of disease and death.
WHO took advantage of the precious ceasefire to resupply the health system and our warehouses. After six weeks of blockade, those supplies are dangerously low, and will run out in two to four weeks, unless the siege is lifted.
180 000 doses of routine childhood vaccines — enough to fully protect 60 000 children under the age of two — have not been allowed to enter, leaving newborns and young children at risk.
Since the breakdown of the ceasefire, almost 400 000 people are estimated to have been displaced again, with no safe place to go, and almost 1500 people have been killed, including 500 children.
The health system is only functioning partially and is overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, healthcare continues to be attacked.
Since the conflict began in October 2023, more than 400 humanitarian workers have been killed.
On the 23rd of March, the Israeli army attacked a medical and emergency convoy, killing 15 health and humanitarian workers.
Despite security risks, access restrictions and dwindling supplies, WHO is staying in Gaza, and will continue to deliver supplies, train health workers, support emergency medical teams, medical evacuations, surveillance for epidemics, and primary health care centres.
Yesterday, WHO and our partners evacuated 18 patients and 29 companions to Norway, Malta, Luxembourg and Romania.
However, more than 10 000 other patients are still awaiting evacuation.
WHO calls for the urgent lifting of the aid blockade, the protection of health care, unimpeded humanitarian access across Gaza, the immediate resumption of daily medical evacuations, the release of hostages still detained in Gaza, and – above all – a ceasefire.
Peace is the best medicine.
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Now to Myanmar.
Ten days after the earthquakes that hit Myanmar, over 3600 people have been reported dead, 5000 are injured, and almost 200 remain missing.
Across the affected areas, people continue to face significant health challenges, including trauma-related injuries, mental health issues, and lack of access to care for noncommunicable diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
With limited access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, there is an increased risk of disease outbreaks, including cholera, malaria and dengue.
Five health facilities have been destroyed and 61 damaged.
WHO and our partners are strengthening disease surveillance, and we have deployed experts to support response operations.
So far WHO has delivered 140 metric tons of specialist medical supplies, and more is expected to arrive from Dubai today.
These supplies are being used by mobile clinics providing emergency care to the affected communities.
15 Emergency Medical Teams have also been deployed, made up of volunteer international health professionals.
To support our work, WHO has launched a flash appeal for US$8 million. We ask countries, philanthropies and individuals to contribute, including through the WHO Foundation.
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Late last week, WHO convened more than 350 experts from 15 countries to test, for the first time, a new initiative for deploying and connecting health expertise during health emergencies. Knowledge and people, software and hardware.
The two-day simulation, called Exercise Polaris, tested WHO’s Global Health Emergency Corps, a framework designed to strengthen countries’ emergency workforce, coordinate the deployment of surge teams and experts, and enhance collaboration between countries.
The exercise simulated an outbreak of a fictional virus spreading across the world.
It was a rare opportunity for governments to test preparedness in a realistic environment, where trust and mutual accountability were as critical as speed and capacity.
The exercise showed what worked well, including rapid information sharing, and coordination of surge responses.
It also showed what needs to be strengthened, including connections between technical leaders.
Exercise Polaris reaffirmed that all countries must continue investing in their emergency health workforce and in scalable mechanisms that can expand rapidly and in a coordinated manner during crises.
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Finally, today WHO issued our first guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment and care of meningitis.
There are an estimated 2.5 million cases of meningitis globally each year.
Many viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites can cause the disease. The most dangerous form is bacterial meningitis, which kills one in six of the people it strikes, and leaves many others with lifelong disabilities.
These new guidelines are designed for health workers to use, and will help to save lives, improve long-term care, and strengthen health systems.
They also contribute to the global plan to defeat meningitis by 2030.
Christian, back to you.