Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,
As you know, yesterday the WHO Executive Board concluded its first meeting for the year.
The Executive Board is the second-most important decision making body in WHO after the World Health Assembly.
This year, the Board dealt with a large agenda covering the huge range of WHO’s work: emergencies, polio, meningitis, cervical cancer, medical devices, air pollution, universal health coverage and so much more.
To support WHO’s work around the world, the Board recommended that the Health Assembly approves the Programme Budget for 2026 and 2027.
The Board also recommended that the Health Assembly approve the next 20% increase in assessed contributions – the membership fees that countries pay.
In 2022, Member States agreed to gradually increase assessed contributions from 16% of the base budget to 50%.
The increase approved by the Board this week is the next step towards that target, and is critical for putting WHO on a more sustainable financial footing.
===
Now to the Ebola outbreak in Uganda.
So far, the government has reported 9 confirmed cases, including one death. More than 260 contacts have been identified and are being monitored.
I thank the Government of Uganda for its leadership and partnership.
WHO is on the ground supporting the government’s response.
We’re providing surge support for surveillance, laboratories, logistics, infection prevention and control in hospitals, treatment centres and research.
National Emergency Medical teams, trained by WHO, are providing care for those infected;
And we are providing critical supplies from our logistics hubs in Nairobi and Dubai.
There are no authorized vaccines or therapeutics against the species of Ebola virus responsible for this outbreak.
But thanks to preparedness measures that the government took after the previous outbreak, and a global research collaboration led by WHO, we were able to start a trial of a candidate vaccine just four days after the outbreak was declared.
A therapeutics trial will start as soon as national authorities provide approval.
To support the response, I am releasing US$ 2 million from the WHO Contingency Fund for Emergencies.
This is in addition to the US$ 1 million that we contributed earlier to set up the initial response.
I thank all donors and partners who are supporting the response.
===
Now to the recent surge in violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has led to significant loss of life, injuries, displacement, and the destruction of critical health infrastructure.
More than 900 deaths have been reported, and more than 4000 injuries.
At most, only one-third of people who need health services in North and South Kivu are able to receive them.
Pregnant women cannot reach health facilities for safe delivery;
And the threat of infectious diseases including mpox and cholera has multiplied.
Hospitals and morgues are overwhelmed. Some health workers have had to flee, while others have been working around the clock for days.
WHO remains on the ground, although insecurity is limiting our operations.
Anticipating an escalation of violence, we have been working since November to preposition supplies including medicines and fuel.
However, these supplies are running out, and others are running dangerously low or have been looted.
We are continuing to respond as best we can. As always, the best medicine is peace.
===
Now to Gaza,
Since the ceasefire began in January, WHO has sent 139 trucks with supplies for 1.6 million people.
We are expanding our operations and prepositioning supplies at health facilities.
We have supported the evacuation of 414 patients and 588 companions.
We have also sent emergency supplies to hospitals in response to the escalating violence in the West Bank.
WHO has just published our recovery plan for providing life-saving assistance to the people of Gaza, while working on rebuilding and strengthening the health system.
We urge all sides to ensure the ceasefire in Gaza holds, hostages are released, and the violence in the West Bank stops.
===
A significant part of WHO’s response to health emergencies in Uganda, DRC, Gaza, Sudan and elsewhere is supported by funding from the United States.
As we have said, we regret the announcement that the United States intends to withdraw from WHO, and we would welcome the opportunity to engage in constructive dialogue.
There are also actions that the U.S. government is taking that are unrelated to its intended withdrawal from WHO, but which we are concerned are having a serious impact on global health.
For example, the suspension of funding to PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, caused an immediate stop to HIV treatment, testing and prevention services in the 50 countries that PEPFAR supports, based on bilateral agreements.
Although a waiver has been granted for life-saving services, it does not include prevention services for some of the most at-risk groups.
Despite the waiver, clinics are shuttered and health workers have been put on leave.
WHO is gathering data on service disruptions and supporting countries with mitigation measures, including by filling gaps in supplies of antiretrovirals.
The sudden suspension of U.S. funding and the sudden disengagement of US institutions is also affecting the response to global efforts to eradicate polio, and the response to mpox epidemics in Africa;
In Myanmar, almost 60 000 people, most of them women and children, have been left with no access to life-saving services;
And we have limited information about the spread of avian influenza among dairy cattle in the U.S., or human cases.
We ask the U.S. to consider continuing its funding, at least until solutions can be found.
===
Finally, every year, an estimated 400 000 children worldwide develop cancer.
In high-income countries, almost 90% of children survive. In low- and middle-income countries, survival rates are often below 30%.
In 2018, WHO established a Global Initiative on Childhood Cancer with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the United States and more than 100 other partners.
As part of the initiative, WHO and St. Jude have also established a global platform to improve access to lifesaving medicines for children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries.
Yesterday, we began distributing childhood cancer medicines at no cost in the first two countries: Mongolia and Uzbekistan.
Further shipments of medicines are planned for another four countries: Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal and Zambia.
We estimate these treatments will reach about 5000 children with cancer across at least 30 hospitals in these six countries this year.
Six more countries have been invited to join the platform, and over the next 5 to 7 years, we aim to reach 120 000 children in 50 countries.
We’re very encouraged to see how this programme has grown since we started in 2018, and we thank St. Jude for its partnership.
Christian, back to you.