Good afternoon and thank you all for joining us.
As you know, the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is already the second-largest on record, and the fastest-moving that we have ever seen.
Yesterday the epidemic passed 6000 reported cases, and today it reached 3000 deaths.
It now affects 60 health zones in six provinces, covering a huge geographic area.
The province of Ituri remains the epicentre, accounting for 85% of cases and 88% of deaths.
Most concerningly, the majority of deaths are still happening in communities rather than in treatment centres;
Many of those who die are not being buried safely, which is fuelling transmission;
And many deaths are among people who were not on a list of known contacts.
That means there are chains of transmission we don’t know about.
Until every chain is found and broken, the epidemic will continue;
And it will continue to pose a threat to DRC, its neighbours, and the region as a whole.
The epidemic cannot be separated from the humanitarian context in which it is occurring.
This part of the DRC has suffered for decades from conflict, displacement, poverty and hunger.
Nor is Ebola the only health threat that the people of this region face.
One community leader asked me why the world seems to care about Ebola, but not about diarrheal disease, or malaria, or malnutrition, or conflict. It’s a fair question.
All of this has contributed – understandably – to mistrust on the part of the local population.
Earning and keeping community trust and community ownership is the single most important element in changing the trajectory of the epidemic.
Although we face many challenges, there are also many positives.
WHO is working under the government’s leadership, and in partnership with Africa CDC and many others, to scale up every part of the response.
WHO has shipped more than 330 tonnes of emergency supplies, and deployed more than 300 experts.
Laboratory capacity has expanded from one national reference lab to a network of 24 laboratories closer to affected communities.
Testing capacity has expanded to 3000 tests per day.
Treatment and isolation capacity has expanded to over 1300 beds across 49 treatment facilities;
And we plan to triple bed capacity to 3000 beds in the next three months.
WHO and partners are also accelerating trials of vaccines and therapeutics.
A trial of two treatments – called PARTNERS – has now enrolled more than 300 Ebola patients;
And another trial is testing the antiviral obeldesivir among people considered high-risk contacts of cases, to see whether that drug is effective in preventing disease after exposure to the virus.
Two new vaccines against Bundibugyo virus are now in safety trials in the U.K. and Canada.
There is also an approved vaccine against Zaire ebolavirus – the species responsible for most previous Ebola outbreaks – but we do not know whether it is effective against Bundibugyo virus.
Yesterday, WHO published emergency guidance on the use of this vaccine during outbreaks of Bundibugyo.
WHO is working with partners to progress all three vaccines to efficacy trials in DRC, starting in October or November.
Clinical trials are not purely a scientific exercise. They are an essential part of outbreak response, potentially saving lives now and in the future, and helping to build trust with the affected communities.
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WHO’s work on clinical trials was being led by Dr Vasee Moorthy, who many of you knew, and who was here in this room for our last media briefing three weeks ago.
As you know, earlier this week, Vasee died very suddenly and unexpectedly.
My deepest sympathies are with his family and with all WHO colleagues who knew him and worked with him.
The fact that we have three vaccines and three therapeutics now in trials is due in no small part to Vasee’s determination and energy.
He was undertaking this work with passion and commitment, bringing partners together to advance trials as fast as possible.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Vasee will be remembered for his kindness, humility and collegial spirit.
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So, in our fight against the epidemic, we have made a lot of progress, but it’s not enough, and we still face major challenges.
We will end this epidemic, just as we have ended every previous Ebola epidemic.
Last week, WHO confirmed the outbreak in Uganda as over.
The question is how fast we can do the same in DRC, and how many lives will be lost before we do.
The longer it takes, the higher the cost, in both lives and resources.
Although we have already scaled up significantly, we still need to scale up much more, and for that we need the support of the international community.
The Government-led plan for the next six months comes with an ask of 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, covering the work of all partners.
We ask donors to increase and accelerate contributions to fund this plan.
We know that we are making this request at a time when financing for humanitarian assistance has contracted, and when there are many other competing priorities.
But as we know from previous Ebola outbreaks, we can control this epidemic, if we choose to.
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Now to Gaza, where the humanitarian emergency continues to deepen, with major public health risks growing as winter approaches.
Most people remain displaced in overcrowded tented camps.
Overflowing sewage, accumulating waste and limited access to safe water are creating increasingly dangerous conditions.
Water contamination is increasing, and cases of acute watery diarrhoea have nearly doubled this year.
With the onset of rains, flooding is likely to spread sewage and contaminated water through densely populated areas, increasing the risk of disease.
Gaza’s already overwhelmed health system is not equipped to manage these surges.
WHO continues to support disease surveillance and preparedness, but urgently needs access to critical laboratory and diagnostic supplies that remain restricted.
At the same time, rehabilitation needs are immense.
More than 6,600 people now require long-term rehabilitation and prosthetic or orthotic services following limb amputations.
Although assistive devices such as wheelchairs and crutches have entered Gaza, WHO has not been allowed to send prosthetic and rehabilitation equipment into Gaza for more than two years.
As a result, only a small proportion of those who have lost limbs have received prosthetic devices.
We again call for the unimpeded and expedited entry of essential medicines, rehabilitation equipment and public health supplies at the scale required to meet the needs of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Meanwhile, thousands of people urgently need medical treatment that is not available in Gaza.
On Monday this week, WHO supported the medical evacuation of five children from Gaza to Romania and Belgium, with 14 companions.
We call for the reopening of patient referral to health facilities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
We also call for unhindered access to health care in the West Bank, where patients and health workers continue to face arrests, searches and access restrictions.
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Last week’s flash flooding at the Nepal-China border has caused devastating loss of life and widespread destruction.
As search and rescue operations continue, more than 1000 deaths have been reported in Nepal, with thousands still missing, and further deaths and missing persons in China.
Entire communities have been cut off by damaged roads, bridges, power and communications networks, while several health facilities have been destroyed and are no longer functioning.
WHO extends its condolences to all those affected.
Within hours of the disaster, and at the request of the Government of Nepal, WHO mobilized emergency health supplies, infection prevention and control materials, and temporary facilities.
We have also released funds and deployed additional staff to strengthen surveillance and response.
Our main concern now is the risk of outbreaks, and restoring essential health services for those who need them.
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Finally, yesterday marked five years since we opened the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin.
The Hub was established in response to one of the key lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic – to help the world detect and respond faster to outbreaks and other emergencies.
Over the past five years, the Hub has become an integral part of the global health security architecture, working with more than 160 Member States and 190 partners.
The Hub develops innovative tools and harnesses artificial intelligence and open source information to detect threats earlier;
It’s working with countries to use pathogen genomics and advanced modelling to identify and understand emerging infectious diseases;
And collaborative surveillance to connect people, institutions and data around the world to generate actionable public health information.
I thank Germany for its steadfast support for the Hub over the past five years.
Next month, the Hub will launch its 2030 strategy, working towards a world in which a new health threat can be detected and understood within 24 hours.
Thank you all once again for your interest in WHO and our work. We look forward to your questions.
Christian, back to you.