WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing – 1 November 2024

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,

On Tuesday this week, WHO published this year's Global Tuberculosis Report, showing that 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023 - the highest number recorded since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995.

The number of TB-related deaths declined for a second consecutive year, as access to services for prevention, diagnosis and treatment continues to improve after the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the first time, the report provides country estimates on the financial impact of TB, showing that half of the households it affects face catastrophic health costs because of it, meaning they spend more than 20% of annual household income on diagnosis and treatment.

TB is the definitive disease of deprivation, disproportionately affecting the poorest people in 30 high-burden countries. Just eight countries account for two-thirds of all TB cases and deaths: India, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Multidrug-resistant TB also remains a serious challenge. Treatment success rates for people with MDR-TB have increased to 68%, but less than half of patients estimated to have MDR-TB have been diagnosed and treated.

About one quarter of the world's population is estimated to have been infected with TB bacteria, but most people do not develop TB disease.

In up to 10% of people the infection is activated and they become sick, often because of undernutrition, HIV infection, alcohol use disorders, diabetes and smoking, especially among men.

This could be one reason why 55% of people with TB are men, while 33% are women, and 12% are children and young adolescents.

At last year's UN General Assembly, world leaders made concrete commitments to improve access to prevention, diagnosis and care, to protect households from its financial impacts; to develop a new TB vaccine; and to increase funding for TB implementation and research.

WHO urges all countries and partners to make good on those commitments. The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent, detect, treat, and end TB.

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Now to the outbreaks of mpox in Africa.

So far, more than 50,000 people have been vaccinated against mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, thanks to donations from the United States and the European Commission.

Last month, WHO, the Africa CDC, CEPI, Gavi and UNICEF established an Access and Allocation Mechanism - the AAM - to support equitable and timely access to mpox vaccines.

This week, the AAM is allocating almost 900,000 doses of vaccine to nine countries, based on public health need - especially those with significant transmission of clade 1b virus.

Countries are being informed of allocations today, and WHO and our partners will announce the details soon.

This is the first allocation of almost six million vaccine doses that we expect to be available by the end of 2024.

These vaccines are being used in a phased approach, as part of the comprehensive global and continental strategy.

I thank the countries and partners that donated these vaccines: Canada, the United States, the European Union and 12 of its Member States, and Gavi.

This is an important step towards bringing the mpox outbreaks under control, as part of WHO and the Africa CDC's shared strategic response plan.

It's important to underscore that vaccination is only one part of that plan, alongside case finding, contact tracing, infection prevention and control, clinical care, risk communication and testing.

Although testing rates have risen significantly this year, only 40 to 50 percent of suspected cases are tested in DRC.

In the past two weeks, WHO has approved two more tests for Emergency Use Listing, to enhance access to quality-assured products.

We are also working with manufacturers of these products, and regulatory authorities in affected countries, to facilitate domestic registration or emergency listing.

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Now to Gaza.

This week, Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed two bills banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - or UNRWA - from operating in Gaza.

UNRWA is one of the largest providers of essential health services in Gaza, providing critical health and humanitarian support for over seven decades.

Every day, it provides thousands of medical consultations and vaccinates hundreds of children.

Many humanitarian partners rely on UNRWA's logistical networks to get supplies into Gaza and onward to where they are needed.

The UNRWA staff that WHO works with are dedicated health and humanitarian professionals who work tirelessly for their communities under unimaginable circumstances.

Israel's decision to restrict UNRWA's operations contravenes Israel's obligations and responsibilities and jeopardizes the lives and health of all who depend on these essential services.

This ban will not make Israel safer, it will only deepen the suffering of the people of Gaza and increase the risk of disease outbreaks.

Let me be clear: There is simply no alternative to UNRWA.

Tomorrow, the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign is set to begin in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, after it was postponed last week due to intense bombardment, mass evacuation orders, and lack of access or assurance of humanitarian pauses.

The humanitarian pause necessary to conduct the campaign has been assured, but the area of the pause has been substantially reduced, and is now limited to just Gaza City.

The final phase of the campaign had aimed to reach an estimated 119,000 children under 10 years old, but achieving that target is now unlikely, as conditions in northern Gaza get worse every day.

In the past two weeks, WHO has conducted 6 missions to northern Gaza to bring medical supplies and food for hospital staff and patients when permitted, and fuel to keep the generators working.

In recent days, following intense fighting, a siege and a raid, Kamal Adwan hospital has been reduced from a hospital helping hundreds of patients with dozens of health workers, to a shell of itself.

WHO helped to move the most critical patients to Nasser and Shifa hospitals, where they can receive a higher level of care. Now a few dozen patients remain at Kamal Adwan, with a handful of staff to care for them.

An attack and subsequent fire on one of the floors of the hospital has destroyed some of the supplies we delivered. We are trying to reach hospital staff for more information.

To say more, we're joined today by WHO's Representative to the occupied Palestinian territory, Dr Rik Peeperkorn, who joins us from northern Gaza.

Rik, over to you.

[DR PEEPERKORN ADDRESSED THE MEDIA]

Many thanks to you Rik, and to all our WHO colleagues, and all humanitarian partners who are working in unimaginable conditions.

Once again, the ultimate solution to this suffering is not aid, but peace.

Fadéla, back to you.

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