Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Press Conference by Julien Harneis, UN Senior Ebola Coordinator, and Carl Skau, Acting Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), on the Ebola response on the ground. They both briefed reporters virtually from Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“In the last 24 hours, 50 people have died of Ebola in Congo,” Julien Harneis said.

He said the number of cases is growing exponentially, doubling every 20 days, and that this growth is far faster than the growth in the response, widening the gap between the two.

“So, in support of the government, I’m calling that we step up, across the response, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, member states,” Harneis told reporters.

“We need to massively step up our response, be it in terms of supplies, specialized supplies like personal protective equipment, staff, specialized medical staff, and logistics as well.”

He called on member states to keep borders open so that staff can travel into Congo to respond and so that supplies can move in quickly and freely, and so that colleagues can return home when they come out.

Harneis said the epidemic is worsening an already difficult humanitarian situation in eastern DRC, with a deteriorating food security situation and medical services degraded by the outbreak.

Skau told the briefing the situation requires much greater attention, calling it the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded. He said 1,000 people have died in the past two months, compared with eight months for 1,000 deaths during the West Africa outbreak – a fourfold increase in the pace of deaths.

“You may think that it’s just about treating the identified patients, but now this requires, from all the experience, we have a broader set of tools, and that includes food,” Skau said. He said patients cannot be isolated without also being provided food, health workers cannot work around the clock in dangerous environments unless they are fed, and entire communities under lockdown also need to be fed.

Skau said WFP has served some 160,000 hot meals so far and delivered food parcels to some 20,000 affected families who have been closed off. “You cannot force people to choose between hunger and health,” he said.

He said some 10 million people – comparable to the population of Sweden, his home country – are acutely food insecure in eastern DRC, with 3 million of those in IPC Phase 4 emergency levels of food insecurity, one step from famine.

Skau said the region lacks basic health care, with about a thousand health care centers closed in the past couple of years due to funding shortfalls, and some 400,000 children malnourished. He said cholera has also been spreading in recent months, on top of the Ebola outbreak.

Harneis said about 60 per cent of recorded deaths are occurring in the community, which he said is concerning because viral load is highest just after death. He said many of those caring for the dead in the community – daughters, wives, mothers – are young women, driving transmission within communities, and that many children under five are dying of Ebola.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riF8wDlCweI

Source: United Nations (video statements)

UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited Cyprus to show his commitment to the Cyprus issue. There he met separately with Nikos Christodoulides, Leader of the Greek Cypriot Community, and with Tufan Erhürman, Leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community as part of his good offices mission.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8LXqx8cc24Q

Source: United Nations (video statements)

Noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:

– Secretary-General/Cyprus
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Haiti
– Central African Republic
– Security Council
– School Enrolment/Latin America
– Financial Contribution

SECRETARY-GENERAL/CYPRUS

The Secretary-General concluded his visit to Cyprus, and he is now on his way to New York.

Today, he held a meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader, Nikos Christodoulides, and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman. The meeting took place in the United Nations Good Offices Mission compound.

Following today’s meeting with the two leaders, the Secretary-General told journalists that the discussions, held separately and jointly, were frank and constructive.

He added that based on the discussions on the way forward, he decided that he, “would convene another 5+1 meeting, after adequate preparations on confidence building, methodology and substance, taking into account the convergences already achieved.”

Mr. Guterres stressed that the UN will work in consultation with the two sides and the guarantors, to create the conditions for the meeting’s success. 

In conclusion, Mr. Guterres said that the UN cannot impose peace. But it remains fully committed to supporting the people of Cyprus in this crucial moment for the island and the wider region.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that civilians in Gaza face major public health risks, adding to the insecurity and displacement. Widespread rodent and ectoparasite infestations were reported in 83 per cent of displacement sites assessed earlier this month, and that is alongside sewage in streets, stagnant water and poor sanitation conditions.

In response, UN humanitarian partners are scaling-up rodent control this week. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners are distributing nine metric tonnes of rodenticides every day, thanks to supplies brought into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates.

To reduce public health risks, sustained access to critical equipment and supplies such as spare parts and engine oil is urgently needed. It is also critical that partners managing solid waste in Gaza are permitted to reach landfills in areas where access is restricted by Israeli forces, that’s about 65 per cent of the Strip.

Access to water also remains a daily challenge for families. The UN and its partners are doing what we can to support hundreds of thousands of children and their families with access to essential water, sanitation and hygiene services.

In Khan Younis, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supporting the construction of a central water well that is expected to benefit some 7,000 people. In Gaza City, the agency is joining efforts to clean up the Sheikh Ajleen waste water treatment plant, which served some 700,000 people before it was damaged in the hostilities.

On the education front, the UN Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT) and partners estimated this week that about 430,000 kindergarten and school-aged children, about 56 per cent of the estimated student population, were enrolled in more than 600 temporary learning spaces across Gaza. In some of these learning spaces, programmes are underway to help children catch up ahead of the new school year.

However, nearly half of school-aged children still lack adequate access to learning opportunities.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-07-29

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G03tcTtynxg

Source: United Nations (video statements)

“The United Nations cannot impose peace. But let me be very clear: the United Nations remains fully committed to supporting the people of Cyprus in this crucial moment for the island and the wider region.”

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres delivered this message today after separate meetings with Nikos Christodoulides, Leader of the Greek Cypriot Community, and Tufan Erhürman, Leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community, followed by a joint meeting at the compound of the Good Offices Mission in Cyprus.

“As Secretary-General, from the earliest days of my mandate, acting in line with the United Nations parameters, I have sought, through my good offices, to assist Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in their efforts to reach a comprehensive, sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue,” Guterres said. “The United Nations has consistently worked toward this objective.”

“This is the moment when all efforts must be made to rebuild trust,” he continued. “To that end, it is essential to redouble efforts to define and implement confidence-building measures that can make a difference in the daily lives of all Cypriots. I appeal to the two leaders to intensify these efforts.”

“Both Mr. Erhürman and Mr. Christodoulides assured me of their determination to continue to work in earnest with my Personal Envoy,” the Secretary-General noted. “Based on our discussions on the way forward, I decided that I would convene another 5+1 meeting, after adequate preparations on confidence building, methodology and substance, taking into account the convergences already achieved. We will work in consultation with the two sides and the guarantors, to create the conditions for the meeting’s success.”

“I would like to emphasize the need to respect the mandated authority of the UN peacekeeping operation in Cyprus – UNFICYP – both in the buffer zone and the UN-delineated ceasefire lines,” Guterres stated. “For more than six decades, UNFICYP has helped maintain calm and stability in a sensitive environment. Its continued effectiveness depends on the cooperation of all sides.”

“The United Nations cannot impose peace,” he added. “But let me be very clear: the United Nations remains fully committed to supporting the people of Cyprus in this crucial moment for the island and the wider region.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTbh74eksh4