UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Health Organization, International Committee of the Red Cross, United Nations Women, United Nations Trade and Development, the Human Rights Council, and the World Meteorological Organization.

Gaza Health System at a Breaking Point

Dr Rik Peeperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said global attention had shifted to escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, but the world needed to continue to focus on Gaza, which had been decimated, and its health system, which was at breaking point.

Currently, only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were partially functional. Of these, just four, including Nasser Medical Complex, were major referral facilities. The 17 hospitals had a total of around 1,500 beds - around 45 per cent less hospital beds available in the Gaza Strip than before the start of the conflict - for the entire population of two million people. None of these hospitals were fully functional. In the north of Gaza, the situation was even more concerning. All hospitals and primary care centres were out of service, with only one partly functioning medical point in Rafah. 

Nasser Medical Complex, the largest referral hospital in Gaza, was the only remaining main hospital in Khan Younis, and was the most important hospital in southern Gaza. The hospital was within the evacuation zone announced on 12 June. This put Nasser at high risk of becoming nonfunctional. The health system simply could not afford the loss of Nasser hospital, which was currently the sole provider of intensive care and neurosurgery services in Khan Younis. The haemodialysis unit at the hospital, equipped with 26 functioning machines, was currently serving more than 200 patients. Nasser hospital needed to be protected.

WHO had just received reports of another mass casualty incident this morning. The hundreds of reported casualties were completely overwhelming Nasser Medical Complex. In Gaza City, Al-Shifa Hospital was at 200 per cent bed occupancy rate, putting it under immense stress.

Some 80 per cent of Gaza was under evacuation orders. Between 22 May and 12 June 2025, nine displacement orders were issued, impacting areas across the North Gaza, Gaza, Deir Al-Balah, and Khan Younis governorates. Within the designated displacement zones were Al-Amal and Al-Ahli Arab hospitals, seven primary health centres, and 26 medical points. An additional 68 health service points lay within a one-kilometre radius of these zones, further jeopardising access to healthcare across the Gaza Strip.

While the load on hospitals was immense, there was no end to the injured pouring in, further overwhelming hospitals and depleting supplies fast. Yesterday, on 16 June, over 200 cases arrived at the Red Cross Field Hospital in Al Mawasi, marking the highest number received by the facility in one single mass casualty incident. A total of 28 patients were reportedly declared dead. On 15 June, the same hospital had received over 170 patients, who reportedly had been trying to access a so-called “food distribution site”.

Medical supplies were critically low – more than 50 per cent of WHO’s medical stocks in Gaza were depleted. As the largest medicine and medical supplies provider, WHO needed to be supported to move supplies into Gaza in a cost-effective manner via all possible routes, otherwise many medical services would shut down. Some 33 WHO trucks were currently waiting at Al Arish and 10 in the West Bank. Discussions with Israeli authorities were ongoing, and the goalposts were constantly shifting, but it was hoped that trucks from the West Bank could be allowed to enter Gaza later this week and early next week.

The Palestine Ministry of Health had reported severe shortages in essential medications and supplies in May 2025, with zero stock levels at 47 per cent and 65 per cent, respectively. There were shortages of IV fluids, masks, gauze gowns, drugs for diabetes, and specific antibiotics.

Without fuel, no services could be provided. For over 100 days, no fuel had entered Gaza and attempts to retrieve stocks from evacuation zones had been denied. Combined with critical supply shortages, this was pushing the health system closer to the brink of collapse. WHO, emergency teams, and partners were forced to ration the last remaining fuel reserves, already disrupting essential services. Seventeen hospitals, seven field hospitals, and 43 primary health centres - barely running on minimum daily fuel - would soon have none left. Without fuel, all levels of care would cease, leading to more preventable deaths and suffering.

Hospitals were already being forced to reduce services. To stretch fuel, health workers were switching between generators and batteries to power ventilators, dialysis machines, anaesthesia equipment, and incubators. If fuel ran out, intensive care units, emergency rooms, dialysis units, and oxygen plants would shut down, cutting off critical care. Vaccination efforts were also at risk. Without electricity, cold chain systems in hospitals and WHO warehouses could fail, jeopardising thousands of vaccine doses. Field hospitals—entirely reliant on generators—were struggling to function. Ambulance services were already reduced and could come to a full stop, preventing timely referral and stabilization of patients.

As fuel ran out, WHO’s ability to sustain operations was also at risk. No fuel meant emergency medical teams could not be supported to run services, medicine and supplies could not be delivered to hospitals, partners could not be supported to run facilities, and no medical evacuation or patient transfers could take place. Restoring fuel supply was a top priority.

In response to questions, Dr Peeperkorn said hospitals in Gaza were completely overwhelmed, dealing with hundreds of casualties. Yesterday, over 200 cases arrived at the Red Cross field hospital in Al-Mawasi, the highest number received by the facility in a single incident. A total of 28 patients were declared dead. On 15 June, the same hospital received over 170 patients, who were injured while trying to access the food distribution site.

WHO was continuing its activities, delivering supplies to hospitals and continuing with medivacs. WHO and partners had kept many hospitals at a partly functional level through various measures. But the number of operational facilities was now shrinking – for example, European Hospital and Rafah Hospital were now non-functional – and hospitals such as Nasser were difficult to access, even for WHO. Hospitals with appropriate services were needed to deal with patients’ needs. The lack of supplies and fuel were major challenges. There were several hospitals and medical points that were partly functional. WHO hoped that they would receive the supplies they needed to keep functioning.

Mass starvation was looming, as Integrated Food Security Phase Classification reports clearly showed. Very little food had come into Gaza. During the ceasefire, almost 600 aid trucks came into Gaza each day, but now, only around 10 to 20 trucks were coming in. People were desperate. There had been an increase in malnutrition. In Kamal Adwan, 200 to 300 children were being assessed every day, between 10 and 20 per cent of whom had malnutrition.

Medivacs remained extremely limited. From the start of the crisis, WHO had evacuated more than 7,400 patients, including more than 5,000 children. However, since 18 March, there had only been six medivacs, transporting 294 patients, with the latest evacuation last week transporting around 34 child patients to Jordan and Italy. An estimated 10,000 people needed to be evacuated. More countries needed to step forward to accept patients and referral routes to the West Bank and East Jerusalem needed to be restored.

Dr Thanos Gargavanis, trauma surgeon and emergency officer, World Health Organization (WHO) said the situation in Gaza was worsening. There was a continuously shrinking operational space for the WHO and the entire UN in Gaza. WHO was not being allowed to deliver at its full capacity.

WHO knew how to deliver health care, support health actors and act as a multiplier factor on the field, so that health actors on the field were able to deliver the best of their capacity. However, operational space was continuously shrinking. The capacity of inpatient services in the entire Gaza Strip had been decreased in a way that had never been seen before.

Concerning the capacity to perform operations on causalities, there was limited access to a fixed operation theatres in Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital, which were both located in Khan Younis. These hospitals were located where the evacuation zones had been expanded. In Gaza City, Shifa Hospital was continuously at more than 200 per cent of its maximum capacity. This continuous pressure on the entire Gaza health system led to a situation where people had to be operated on in field hospitals. These were suboptimal conditions that would have an impact on the overall morbidity and mortality rates in ways that could not be predicted.

People often asked when Gaza was going to run out of fuel, but Gaza was already out of fuel. Hospitals were rationing their usage, transitioning from generator batteries, converters and then again to generators.

Recent food distribution initiatives by non-UN actors had resulted in mass casualty incidents every time. Another food distribution attempt today had resulted in numerous fatalities and even more casualties ended up in Nasser, which was in limited operational capacity because of its position in the evacuation zone.

The United Nations knew what needed to be done in Gaza, how to deliver care, support partners, and do its job. But to make the very best of its presence on the ground, its work needed to be facilitated. It was facing issues each mission that made it difficult to operate, which was increasingly frustrating. The UN had repeatedly requested access to the evacuation zones for a specific number of health facilities, but this had never been granted. Whenever a mission went forward, it was invariably delayed by authorities with the excuse of “operation priorities on the ground”.

The civilian population was the priority for the UN and WHO. Patients needed to receive the care that they deserved.

Responding to questions, Dr Gargavanis said the breakdown in communications prevented WHO from obtaining specific information on the number of casualties, but there were unconfirmed reports of more than 20 fatalities and more than 30 casualties today as a result of another food distribution initiative by a non-UN actor.

WHO was walking a fine line between operational capacity and total disaster every day. The health system was underperforming due to several factors linked to the war. It was difficult to say when the health system would collapse. The shrinking humanitarian space made work more difficult each day.

There were correlations between the four non-UN food distribution points established and the casualties and fatalities being seen daily. WHO was not a forensic agency and could not identify who caused the injuries but was seeing gunshot and shrapnel injuries.

There had not been a change in the pattern or number of security incidents in Gaza since the escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran.

WHO was working to set up two stabilisation centres for malnutrition, but did not think this would be enough. Its main concern was that patients in need were not in a position to obtain medical care. 

Figures on diarrhoea in Gaza were not clear, as WHO’s monitoring mechanisms were in peril. The situation was worsened by the fact that internet connections were completely down for more than 48 hours before the attack on Iran. Water quality was getting worse and worse, with an increase in faecal contamination, which increased the risk of acute watery diarrhoea. There had been no detection of cases of cholera in Gaza. It was important for health workers from countries where cholera was present to quarantine before entering Gaza.

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said that the UN had been saying repeatedly that the non-UN food distribution scheme in place was not a safe way to deliver aid. No one should be put in a position where they were risking their lives to get lifesaving aid. The world had seen what was happening. The fighting needed to stop immediately.

Mr. Gómez quoted an X post by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, in which he wrote that “Restrictions on bringing in aid from the UN, including UNRWA, continue despite an abundance of assistance ready to be moved into Gaza.”

DRC: Health System in Crisis in North and South Kivu

François Moreillon, Head of Delegation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said east Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had been affected for many years now by a double crisis. The region had experienced more than 30 years of armed conflict, which had led to a collapse of the main basic services to the population. There had also been a weakening of institutions, which made it extremely difficult to provide care to the populations facing this crisis, but also to prevent and respond to violations of international humanitarian law against the civilian populations in these regions, including increased sexual violence and recruitment of minors.

One extremely worrying figure was the increase in the number of civilian injuries, especially in the first quarter of 2025. The ICRC had provided care for nearly 2,350 wounded civilians and armed forces personnel in the north and south during this first quarter. In the space of three months, there had been as many injuries as in the whole of 2024, which already had a higher casualty number than in 2023. Some 60 per cent of the victims were civilian victims. The violence and indiscriminate fighting had a dramatic effect on civilian populations.

In the context of the structural crisis, certain basic services, and particularly those of the health sector, were today at risk of collapse. This is why the ICRC conducted a study of 109 health facilities in North and South Kivu in regions where the ICRC was operational.

The study revealed a health system at the end of its tether, with structures struggling to treat the most common pathologies, from malaria and respiratory infections to diarrhoea.  More than 70 per cent of these health structures suffered from stock shortages, and 40 per cent of them had been looted at different times during the crisis. Even painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen were in short supply. More serious was the total absence of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) kits, which were used to treat victims of sexual violence but needed to be administered within 48 hours after the act to be perfectly effective.

Compared to the same period last year, the number of consultations among children between zero and five years old had been halved, which was extremely worrying. Even more serious was the four-fold increase in the number of stillborn children. This needed to be further studied, but this was challenging due to technical limitations, the departure of some staff due to the insecurity, the lack of media, medicines and difficulties in accessing certain structures.

The number of mental health and psychosocial consultations provided in ICRC-supported facilities, including for victims of sexual violence, had increased by a factor of seven, which demonstrated the gravity of the situation and the need to resolve it quickly.

The DRC was one of the countries that was most affected by funding cuts, which were compounding the crisis. Investment in humanitarian aid for the year 2024 was around 1.4 billion United States dollars. This was projected to drop to around 500 million for the year 2025, although the situation required more resources. This was extremely worrying.

Basic humanitarian services were becoming the main line of defence for populations in the country against the challenges they were facing. Humanitarian actors were no longer in a position to be able to say that they could, on their own, respond to the needs, which were once again increasing day by day. This is why the ICRC was calling on the Government of the DRC and development partners to strengthen their engagement in fragile areas, to compensate for humanitarian actors’ lack of resources.

UN Women Releases 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index

Sophia Calltorp for United Nations Women (UN Women) said UN Women stood with every woman and girl whose life had been shattered by violence in Iran, in Israel, in Palestine, in Ukraine, in Sudan– and even in their homes. It was deeply alarmed by the rising civilian toll. No conflict, no ideology, and no line of defence could ever justify the killing of civilians.

It had been nearly four years since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. Since then, there had been a deliberate and unprecedented assault on the rights, dignity and very existence of Afghan women and girls. Yet, despite near-total restrictions on their lives, Afghan women were persevering. They continued to find ways to run businesses and advocate for their rights – and the rights of all Afghans. They served on the frontlines as humanitarians, journalists and community leaders. Their courage and resilience spanned generations. But we also needed to confront the devastating cost of the daily constraints they faced.

Today, UN Women was releasing the 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index – the most comprehensive assessment of women’s empowerment and gender equality in Afghanistan in the country since August 2021. The Index assessed Afghanistan’s progress against eight Sustainable Development Goals.

The report’s findings were stark. They revealed that Afghanistan now had the second-widest gender gap in the world, with a 76 per cent disparity between women’s and men’s achievements in health, education, financial inclusion, and decision-making. On average, Afghan women were realising only 17 per cent of their full potential to make choices and access opportunities - less than one-third of the global average for women. Nearly eight out of 10 young Afghan women were now excluded from education, employment, and training - almost four times the rate for young men.

The report also examined women’s participation in the workforce. It showed that Afghanistan had one of the largest gender gaps in labour force participation anywhere in the world. Just 24 per cent of women were participating in the workforce, compared to 89 per cent of men. Women’s employment fell by 25 per cent in the 18 months to the end of 2022 alone, according to data from other UN agencies. By comparison, men’s employment fell by seven per cent in the same period.

Now, overlapping economic, political, and humanitarian crises - all with women’s rights at their core - had pushed many households to the brink. In response – often out of sheer necessity - more women were entering the workforce. Many had no choice but to take whatever work they could find – even on the margins – just to help put food on the table. For those who did manage to work, it was often in lower-paid, less-secure, and informal roles. Women also took on an exponentially greater share of unpaid domestic work.

The findings were equally grim for women’s participation in decision-making. No women held positions in the de facto Cabinet or in sub-national governance structures – silencing their voices in decisions that directly shaped their lives. Yet, Afghan women continued to push forward. Some still found ways to raise their concerns with the de facto authorities, both nationally and at the local level - often at great personal cost.

UN Women – as part of the wider UN commitment in Afghanistan – stood alongside them. It continued to engage with the de facto authorities to negotiate exemptions and find ways to safeguard, support and empower Afghan women and women-led organizations.

This report would be a vital tool in those efforts - helping us to advocate for change, end harmful practices, and uphold and advance the rights of women and girls. It noted that the issue of gender inequality in Afghanistan did not start with the Taliban. Their institutionalised discrimination was layered on top of deep-rooted barriers that also held women back. The international community needed to respond with a long-term vision - addressing the current crisis while also tackling the systemic drivers of inequality.

Today, UN Women called on global partners to commit to strengthening women-led civil society organizations in Afghanistan, including through long-term, flexible funding; ensure that at least 30 per cent of all funding for Afghanistan supported initiatives that directly advanced gender equality and women’s rights; and facilitate the meaningful participation of Afghan women and girls in discussions that impacted their lives and the future of their country.

The choices made now would reveal what the global community stood for. If the world tolerated the erasure of Afghan women and girls, it sent a message that the rights of women and girls everywhere were fragile and expendable. This dangerous precedent should not be accepted. Afghan women and girls had not given up and UN Women would not give up on them.

In response to questions, Ms. Calltorp said Yemen scored worse than Afghanistan in UN Women’s gender index - these were the two worst countries for women in the world today, according to the index.

The index was the first comprehensive assessment of the situation for women and girls since 2021. UN Women hoped that the assessment would trigger engagement from the international community to address the situation. Civil society was pushing forward with its response and UN Women hoped that the report would encourage further support for its efforts.

Announcements

Pascal Sim for the Human Rights Council said the Human Rights Council opened its fifty-ninth session yesterday, hearing a global update from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. This morning, the Council was holding an interactive dialogue today with United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on his annual report. More than 115 States and 10 regional groups had registered to speak in the dialogue.

This afternoon, the Council would hold a dialogue with the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel on its latest report, to be followed by an oral presentation by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan.

Today, Tuesday 17 June 2025 at 2 p.m., the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan would hold a press briefing to provide an update on the situation in Sudan. Speaking would be Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, as well as Joy Ngozi Ezeilo and Mona Rishmawi, Expert Members of the Mission.

On Wednesday, 18 June at 1 p.m., the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel would hold a press briefing to launch its latest report. Speaking would be Navi Pillay, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry, and Commissioner Chris Sidoti.

Catherine Huissoud for United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said UNCTAD would publish on Thursday, 19 June at 10:30 a.m. (embargo until 12:30 a.m. Geneva time) its annual World Investment Report. Secretary General Rebeca Grynspan and Nan Li Collins would present the report’s analysis and recommendations related to investment in the digital economy.

Globally, foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by more than 10 per cent globally for the second consecutive year in 2024. The report would be published ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFC4), to be held in Spain at the end of the month, where world leaders would address the growing gap between capital flows and development needs. The findings underscore the urgency of reshaping investment and financing systems to support inclusive and sustainable growth.

One main press release and three regional ones on Asia, Africa and Latin America were being prepared and would be shared today. Translations into French, Spanish and Chinese were in the pipeline and would be posted in the virtual newsroom. UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan would be available after the press conference to provide additional comments.

Clare Nullis for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the WMO Executive Council was currently meeting this week for its annual session. A press release on the start of the session was sent late yesterday. A key part of the session was fine-tuning a WMO policy on artificial intelligence. WMO had standards for global weather forecasting models, many of which used artificial intelligence. It needed to ensure that artificial intelligence was used in a reliable, sustainable way. Yesterday, a forum was held on the topic with representatives from the private sector, including Google and Microsoft, and academia. A report on the forum would be released soon. This was technical work but was vital for the global economy and society.

Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres was currently in Canada for the G7 leaders’ summit. Whilst in Canada, he would hold a series of bilateral meetings on the margins and attend various events at the summit, including a session on energy security, diversification, technology and investment, and access and affordability in a changing world. He would meet with the Prime Minister of Canada, among other leaders, and read-outs of the meetings would be shared.

The Secretary-General issued an important statement yesterday expressing grave concerns about the decision of several Member States to withdraw from the Anti-Personnel Mine Convention, an indispensable safety mechanism, and calling on these States to reengage.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women started its 91st session yesterday (Palais des Nations, Room XXIII). The Committee would review the report of Mexico this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon. Other country reports to be reviewed his week were Thailand (19 June) and Ireland (20 June).

The Conference on Disarmament was holding a public meeting this morning (Tempus, 10 a.m.).

Today, the Security Council would be discussing the situation in the Middle East and Syria. The Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Ms. Najat Rochdi would brief the Security Council today at 10 a.m. New York/4 p.m. Geneva time. Her remarks would be circulated when she concluded.

Today was the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. In his message for the day, the Secretary-General said that humanity was degrading land at an alarming rate, costing the global economy nearly 880 billion United States dollars every year — far more than the investments needed to tackle the problem. He urged the international community to accelerate global action on shared global commitments for sustainable land use.

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