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WHO Director-General's remarks at media briefing 8 February 2023

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,

I want to start by expressing my deepest condolences to those affected by the earthquakes that hit Türkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic in the early hours of Monday morning.

So far almost 8,000 people have died, many thousands more are injured and we know these numbers will climb.

With the weather conditions and ongoing aftershocks, we’re in a race against time to save lives.

People need shelter, food, clean water and medical care, for injuries resulting from the earthquake, but also for other health needs.

WHO has released US$3 million from the Contingency Fund for Emergencies for the response in both countries.

WHO is providing medical supplies, supporting both countries to respond and working with partners to provide specialised medical care.

One flight is currently on the way to Istanbul, carrying medical supplies and surgical trauma kits from our logistics hub in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

Another flight to Damascus is almost ready for departure, and a third flight is being planned.

We are also sending a high-level delegation to coordinate our response.

In addition, 77 national and 13 international Emergency Medical Teams are deploying to both countries. Emergency Medical Teams are made up of health professionals from around the world who are trained to provide life-saving care in emergency situations.

Today we’re joined by WHO representatives from both countries, to tell us more about the situation on the ground and the needs they are facing.

First to our WHO representative in the Syrian Arab Republic, Dr Iman Shankiti. Dr Shankiti, you have the floor.

[DR SHANKITI ADDRESSED THE MEDIA]

Thank you, Dr Shankiti.

Now to our WHO representative in Türkiye, Dr Batyr Berdyklychev. Dr Berdyklychev, you have the floor.

[DR BERDYKLYCHEV ADDRESSED THE MEDIA]

Thank you, Dr Berdyklychev.

As Dr Shankiti said, the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic is compounded by years of conflict and outbreaks of measles and cholera, which were already posing a huge challenge to the fragile health system.

Since late August, about 85,000 cholera cases have been reported from the Syrian Arab Republic.

But it’s just one of 30 countries that reported cholera outbreaks last year.

Around the world, we estimate that more people died from cholera last year than in the previous five years put together.

Currently, 23 countries are experiencing cholera outbreaks, and a further 20 countries that share land borders with affected countries are at risk.

In total, more than 1 billion people around the world are directly at risk of cholera.

Cholera spreads through contaminated water, so clean water is needed urgently wherever there is an acute outbreak, to prevent transmission.

WHO also strongly recommends countries at risk of cholera outbreaks to scale up surveillance so cases can be identified and managed as quickly as possible.

There are effective vaccines for cholera, but with supply very limited, the International Coordinating Group that manages the global cholera vaccine stockpile last year suspended the standard two-dose regimen, recommending instead a single-dose approach to extend supply.

In the medium- to long-term it remains important that global vaccine production is increased. In the meantime, we must rely on other measures to stop outbreaks and save lives.

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Over the past few weeks there have been several reports of mammals including minks, otters, foxes and sea lions having been infected with H5N1 avian influenza.

H5N1 has spread widely in wild birds and poultry for 25 years, but the recent spillover to mammals needs to be monitored closely.

For the moment, WHO assesses the risk to humans as low.

Since H5N1 first emerged in 1996 we have only seen rare and non-sustained transmission of H5N1 to and between humans.

But we cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo.

As always, people are advised not to touch or collect dead or sick wild animals, but to report them to the local authorities.

WHO is working with national authorities and partners to monitor the situation closely, and to study cases of H5N1 infection in humans when they occur.

WHO’s global laboratory network, the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, identifies and monitors strains of circulating influenza viruses, and provides advice to countries on their risk to human health and available treatment or control measures.

WHO recommends countries strengthen surveillance in settings where humans and farmed or wild animals interact.

WHO is also continuing to engage with manufacturers to make sure that if needed, supplies of vaccines and antivirals would be available for global use.

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Finally, new research has found that less than half of children are breastfed exclusively for the first six months of life, which is WHO’s recommendation.

Many women lack the support they need to breastfeed, with over half a billion working women globally lacking adequate maternity protections.

Meanwhile, misleading formula milk marketing claims undermine breastfeeding at every turn.

Almost every country has signed the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, which restricts marketing of formula milk.

However, regulations are largely unenforced.

WHO is calling on governments and policy makers to promote breastfeeding by ensuring all women have adequate maternity protections – ideally at least six months paid maternity leave, as well as time off for breastfeeding when they return to work.

We also continue to call on governments to end exploitative marketing of formula milk, and increase health sector support for breastfeeding so that all families have access to reliable information and advice before and after birth.

Christian, back to you.

LINKS: WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing – 8 February 2023

Full file of press briefing: 51mins: link https://who.canto.global/b/GBT29

Audio file from today's presser: https://who.canto.global/b/P5NQP

Audio Weblink: https://terrance.who.int/mediacentre/presser/WHO-AUDIO_Emergencies_Press_Conference_08FEB2023.mp3

H5N1 topic: Avian and other zoonotic influenza (who.int)

Breastfeeding: Experts call for clampdowns on exploitative formula milk marketing in new Lancet series (who.int)

EURO site: Türkiye and Syria earthquakes (who.int)

EMRO site: WHO EMRO | EMRO home page | Landing | Front page

Additional resources:

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