REGULAR PRESS BRIEFING BY THE INFORMATION SERVICE

Corinne Momal-Vanian, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired the briefing, which was attended by representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Children’s Fund, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Refugee Agency, World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.

Ebola Response

Christophe Boulierac, for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), introduced his UNICEF colleague Manuel Fontaine, Regional Director for West and Central Africa. Speaking via audio link from Dakar, Senegal, Mr. Fontaine briefed journalists on his recent mission to Liberia. UNICEF was a major actor and strongly involved in the Ebola response, he said, noting that it had so far conducted 50 airlifts to the three countries delivering approximately 550 metric tonnes of supplies. Mr. Fontaine said he had been on mission to Liberia to look at UNICEF’s capacity, see what the main issues were and understand what UNICEF could be doing better.

The immediate and important issues on the ground were the lack of treatment capacity and the need to break the cycle of transmission. However, the side effects of the Ebola crisis required more focus as they were becoming increasingly acute, said Mr. Fontaine. One side effect was the indirect impact the Ebola crisis was having on other health issues such as malaria or acute diarrhoea. In most cases, access to treatment and services were not available. A second issue was the impact of the crisis on child protection, said Mr. Fontaine. UNICEF estimated that there were approximately 3,700 children who had been orphaned because of Ebola, either by the deaths of one or both parents, across Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. That figure was probably the tip of the iceberg.

There were several categories of children who needed to be cared for, said Mr. Fontaine, and the first was the orphans. A second category was children who were potentially orphans but had disappeared, for example children whose parents had brought them to the Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU) then died; no information was taken about their children who were now difficult to trace.

Third, there was the issue of caring for children who had been in contact with their parents or had been sick with Ebola themselves and were now survivors, and who now bore very strong stigma in their communities. UNICEF was considering whether the children should be isolated for the 21 days following exposure, and if so where and who could care for them. The UNICEF preference was always to find alternative family care but that was very difficult for infection reasons, especially in the 21 days following exposure. An alternative possibility was establishing interim care centres and UNICEF was looking at doing that in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and potentially Guinea, to find care for children at least for the 21 day period.

In that regard the biggest issues were stigma, the risk to social cohesion and of communities collapsing said Mr. Fontaine. UNICEF was trying to find survivors, those who had been sick with Ebola, recovered and were now immune, who may be able to care for the children. The authorities in Liberia were very worried about the issue as an increasing number of children were being left alone in their homes, they may be being fed by neighbours, but were receiving no more care than that. It was an advantage that Liberia and Sierra Leone had fairly advanced legal systems to care for children because of the wars, he noted.

UNICEF planned to hold a Survivor’s Conference in Sierra Leone in October to work out what role survivors could potentially play in caring for the children, whether in Ebola Treatment Units or interim care centres or elsewhere, said Mr. Fontaine.

Answering a question about how many children had been infected with Ebola, Mr. Fontaine said the WHO estimated that 15 per cent of all patients who had died from Ebola were younger than 15 years. The percentage of children infected was proportionally lower to the number of children in the community, mostly because the children were not usually primary caregivers. Most of the people being infected were health care workers and other people who had had direct contact with Ebola patients.

WHO and UNICEF were realizing that there was no clear protocol for children in Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) or for infected children, said Mr. Fontaine. For example, a five-year old child infected with Ebola and placed in an ETU would be very isolated and in a very rough and difficult environment, they wouldn’t be able to have a constant care-giver to help them. Some parents asked other patients in ETUs and infected areas to look out for their children, and staff tried to help as well. The work carried out by ETU staff was amazing, added Mr. Fontaine, they weren’t just carrying body bags but they were caring for people. However, staff couldn’t wear the protective equipment for more than one hour at a time so it was really hard to care for children. A way forward could be the establishment of children’s wards in ETUs. Responding to questions about what services were already in place for Ebola orphans Mr. Fontaine replied that there were small units in Liberia that could accommodate 10 to 15 child survivors each, but more such units were needed in all three countries.

Mr. Fontaine made a clarification to confirm that the Survivor’s Conference planned for Sierra Leone was being organized jointly by the Ministry of Social Welfare of Sierra Leone and UNICEF. He also clarified that a figure of 2,500 survivors represented a projection of survivors over the next few months that UNICEF hoped to work with – not the number of survivors today.

Jens Laerke, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service had begun tracking the funding to the Ebola virus disease outbreak response in West Africa, against the five strategic objectives in the recently presented Overview of Needs and Requirements from September 2014 to February 2015. To date 25.7 per cent of the total funding requirement of US$988 million identified in the Overview had been received, equalling US$254 million, said Mr. Laerke. The funding was divided between five strategic objectives: stop the outbreak; treat the infected; ensure essential services; preserve stability; and prevent outbreaks in countries currently unaffected.

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), said WFP had delivered almost 5,000 metric tonnes of food for more than 380,000 people in the three most affected countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) under its emergency operation as of 26 August. Through WFP’s Logistics Augmentation and common services Special Operation, WFP provided urgently needed specialised equipment, transport and storage of relief cargo at strategic locations, logistics cluster coordination and emergency telecommunications.

So far, WFP had transported over 900 cubic metres of cargo, including personal protective equipment, thermometers and chlorine, on behalf of partners and 615 cubic metres of vital supplies had been stored. In Liberia, WFP had established a centralised logistics hub in Monrovia in order to manage, dispatch and track required health stocks. The Common Hub, which became operational on 25 September, had over 700 cubic metres of storage capacity.

Ms. Byrs also informed the media that WFP had contracted a ship for the Ebola response. The ship was currently in Cotonou where it would be loaded with 7,000 metric tonnes of rice, to be transported to Monrovia, Liberia, and Freetown, Sierra Leone.

Ms. Byrs also spoke about the Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) that facilitated the movement of humanitarian workers and the delivery of light cargo between and within the three affected countries, which was managed by WFP. As of 25 September, UNHAS had transported 426 passengers and approximately 6.6 metric tonnes of light cargo for 25 organisations (including non-governmental organizations, United Nations organizations, donors, Government partners and media).

Furthermore, the humanitarian community had been given three months approval for a humanitarian air-bridge between Dakar, Senegal and the three affected countries. Construction of the humanitarian passenger terminal at Dakar Airport was complete and the first UNHAS flight took place on 25 September from Dakar to Conakry.

WFP had a funding shortfall of 61 per cent for its Emergency Operation in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, concluded Ms. Byrs, highlighting that the total funding requirements for the operation were approximately US$93 million.

Nyka Alexander, Guinea and Sierra Leone Communications Team for the World Health Organization (WHO), reported on the situation in Sierra Leone. Ms. Alexander described the case of three young boys who had recently been released from the Government-run Kenema treatment centre, where their mother had died from Ebola. When WHO interviewed the children a few days later the oldest child, Victor (11 years old), said he didn’t allow himself to cry when his mother died because he didn’t want to scare his four and five-year old brothers, who were also sick. Victor said he was looking for his father, but later discovered that his father had also died. Now the boys would be cared for by their grandmother.

Thus, there were children who were taken care of by relatives but this could be problematic because now the grandmother had to take care of three little boys and there were concerns about how well they would be accepted in their town because of the Ebola. The little boy Victor now was the main caregiver for his brothers, even making sure they ate because people with Ebola often lost their appetite. That was their reality. Even if children were not the majority of Ebola casualties (currently approximately 15 per cent) many of them lost their source of survival since the majority of victims were adults in the prime of their earning years, said Ms. Alexander.

Ms. Alexander reported that according to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone there were around 300 survivors. There was uncertainty over the exact statistics due to the discrepancy between reported cases and confirmed deaths, and the lack of information about the actual outcome of many of the reported cases. WHO epidemiologists and experts from the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention were working with the countries concerned to clarify those numbers.

The agenda for the planned Survivors’ Conference in Sierra Leone was being finalized but Ms. Alexander said in general the survivors were to be given a platform to share their experiences, and an opportunity to be informed about blood donation and therapy. Ms. Alexander emphasized that blood should never be bought or sold.

Answering questions on media reports that Ebola survivors were being paid for their blood, Ms. Alexander emphasized that there was no conclusive evidence regarding the effectiveness of blood therapies and that the WHO exclusively recommended Ebola survivors should donate, not sell their blood. Given their unemployment and the stigmatization of survivors it was understandable that they may wish to sell their blood but WHO encouraged them to find other sources of income. That promotion would be a central part of the Survivor’s Conference in Sierra Leone, which was being organized by the Ministry of Social Welfare of Sierra Leone and UNICEF.

Fadéla Chaib, for the World Health Organization (WHO) informed journalists that an expert consultation was being held at WHO this week to discuss the state-of-the-art work being carried out to develop and licence a vaccine for Ebola. More than 70 experts, including many from affected countries in West Africa, attended the event. The expertise represented included Ebola virus diseases manufacture regulators from Africa, Europe and the United States. People with expertise in vaccine science, clinical trials and clinical treatment of patients were also in attendance. A press note on the outcome of the meeting would be sent to the media after 5:30 p.m. today.

Syria Refugee Response in Turkey

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), briefed on WFP’s response to the influx of Syrian refugees into Turkey. The situation at the Turkish border with Syria was of increasing concern and the influx of refugees could be the biggest since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, said Ms. Byrs. WFP had had problems in reaching the area for security reasons and the day before staff had been forced to retreat to Turkish town Gaziantep.

The refugees were fleeing from armed groups who were approaching the Syrian border town of Kobani, and they had left their vehicles and cattle behind. The majority of them stayed with families but the Turkish Government had also established transit centres. People were also being accommodated in mosques, wedding venues and schools.

The Turkish Government had asked WFP for support in dealing with the influx of Kurdish and Syrian refugees. WFP would start to distribute food for 60,000 people on 2 October and the first delivery would include hot meals, with larger rations to follow in the next two weeks. The deliveries would take place near Suruç with the support of the Turkish Red Crescent, which was already distributing food aid to refugees.

WFP stocks were being transported from its warehouse in the coastal city of Mersin Turkey. However, the stocks urgently needed to be replenished, said Ms. Byrs, adding that 25 trucks carrying dry food rations amounting to 450 metric tonnes would reach Gazientep and consequently WFP partner Turkish Red Crescent in Suruc on Wednesday afternoon.

The dramatic influx of refugees had occurred at a very critical time for WFP, said Ms. Byrs, as it faced grave funding gaps that would affect its operations in October. WFP saw the wounded faces of children every day, she added. It required US$352 million for its operations as a whole until the end of the year, including US$95 million for its work inside Syria and US$257 to support refugees in neighbouring countries.

South Sudan

Elisabeth Byrs, for the World Food Programme (WFP), announced that the joint UNICEF-WFP teams had now assisted, with the use of plane and helicopter, more than 500,000 people including 100,000 children under the age of five. The twenty-fifth joint mission took place in Pathai, a settlement in Jonglei State, where around 30,000 children and adults registered for assistance. A press release with more information had been distributed.

Geneva Activities

Ms. Momal-Vanian announced the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would arrive in Geneva tomorrow for a two-day visit, although unfortunately he wouldn’t have time to brief the press. During his visit the Secretary-General would address an event at the World Trade Organization and a special session of the Executive Committee of the United Nations Refugee Agency. He would also visit the Strategic Health Operations Centre at the World Health Organization for a briefing by the Ebola outbreak response operations team. On Thursday the Secretary-General would visit the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at Palais Wilson, before returning to New York. The Secretary-General’s speeches would be circulated to the press and posted on the website, and his address to the UNHCR Executive Committee would be webcast live, Ms. Momal-Vanian added.

Babar Baloch, for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), confirmed that the Secretary-General would address the special session of the sixty-fifth UNHCR Executive Committee at 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday, in the Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations, and that the media were welcome to attend. The session would end at 12.45 p.m. and High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres would most likely also speak, added Mr. Baloch.

Ms. Momal-Vanian informed journalists that the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was meeting in private this week and would close its session this Friday, releasing concluding recommendations on the reports of the six States parties reviewed during the session: New Zealand, Mexico, Belgium, Republic of Korea, Ecuador and Denmark.

The Human Rights Committee would open a new session at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 7 to 31 October in which it would review the reports of Sri Lanka, Burundi, Haiti, Malta, Montenegro and Israel, said Ms. Momal-Vanian.

The International Trade Centre would hold a press conference on Tuesday 30 September at 12 noon in Room III on the impact of Ebola on the economy of Liberia. Axel Addy, Liberia’s Minister for Industry and Commerce would be speaking.

United Nations Children’s Fund would hold a press conference on Tuesday 30 September at 2 p.m. in Room III to give an overview of the nutrition situation in South Sudan, announced Ms. Momal-Vanian. James Elder, UNICEF Chief of communication, Eastern and Southern Africa, would be speaking.

Isabelle Valentiny, for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), announced that a press conference would take place on Thursday 2 October at which the Global Diversity Outlook 4 report would be presented under embargo. The main conclusions of the report would be presented by Paul Leadley, a Professor at University of Paris-Sud and coordinator of the technical report. The report brought together States parties’ own assessments of progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, defined in Nagoya in 2010 to stop the loss of biodiversity, as well as reported biodiversity trends and indicator-based statistical extrapolations to 2020. The report would be officially launched in PyeongChang, Republic of Korea on 6 October 2014, at the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Journalists in Geneva would be given advance access to the report, and would have the chance to speak with one of the lead authors of the technical study, which underpins the report, noted Ms. Valentiny.

Catherine Sibut, for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), spoke about the upcoming World Investment Forum 2014 which would take place in Geneva from 13 to 16 October. The Forum would gather partners from the development sector and lead discussions on the definition of the next Sustainable Development Goals and the issue of public and private investment. The programme for the Forum would include 39 events, said Ms. Sibut, noting that a press conference with James Zhan, Director of UNCTAD’s Investment Division and coordinator of the Forum would take place at 3 p.m. on Tuesday 7 October.

Ms. Sibut also announced that together with Nestlé an event entitled Creating Shared Value Global Forum 2014 would be held in Lausanne on Wednesday 9 October, with the objective of considering ways to change the role played by economic actors in society.
Nestlé Chairperson Peter Brabeck-Letmathe and UNCTAD Investment Chief James Zhan would open the Forum, which would be closed by UNCTAD Secretary General Mukhisa Kituyi and Nestlé Chief Executive Officer Paul Bulcke.

The representative of the International Labour Organization and the International Telecommunication Union also attended the briefing but did not speak.


The webcast for this briefing is available here: http://bit.ly/1CDIbsY.