UPDATE - WHO chief urges immediate application of UN resolution for Gaza cease-fire

ADDS REMARKS BY WHO CHIEF

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday welcomed a recent UN Security Council resolution that calls for a full and immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, and he urged all parties to take necessary steps immediate implementation.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke at a news conference on global health issues and touched on the dire situation in the Palestinian enclave where more than 37,200 victims have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7.

On the Security Council resolution passed Monday, Tedros urged action on all sides for it to be "immediately" implemented to bring a permanent end to the suffering of millions.

He said despite reports of increased food delivery into Gaza, a significant part of the population was still facing catastrophic hunger and famine-like conditions, while no evidence currently showed that those who need the food aid the most are receiving it in sufficient quantity and quality.

"Our inability to provide health services safely, combined with the lack of clean water and sanitation significantly increase the risks of malnourished children that have already been 72 deaths attributed to malnutrition, including 28 among children under 5 years old," he said.

Tedros also noted the worsening situation in the occupied West Bank, where he said attacks on health care and restrictions on movement were obstructing access to health services.

"In most areas of the West Bank, clinics are only operating two days a week and hospitals are operating at about 70% capacity," he said, stressing that the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements was affecting access to health services.

He noted that the WHO has documented 480 attacks on the health care system in the West Bank since Oct. 7, resulting in numerous injuries.

"In the West Bank, as in Gaza the only solution is peace,” he said. “Again, the best medicine is peace.”

- 'World's largest humanitarian crisis'

Turing to Sudan, Ghebreyesus said more than 70% of hospitals in conflict-affected states and 45% of health facilities in five other states are not working.

He said the world "had either forgotten or ignored," the war in Sudan which is "the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with 12 million people displaced, 10 million internally, while 2 million have fled to neighboring countries."

"People are dying from a lack of access to essential services and medicines while there is a very real risk of mass starvation in some regions. Critical services, including maternal and child health care, the management of severe acute malnutrition and the treatment of patients with chronic conditions have been discontinued in many areas," he said.

Ghebreyesus stressed that disruptions to telecommunications are affecting disease surveillance and reporting, as well as the WHO's ability to verify attacks on health care workers.

"We call for a swift restoration of telecommunication access across all of Sudan," he noted, adding the situation continues to decline.

He underlined that although the WHO provides expert advice, training and oversight to health operations, insecurity and operational hurdles continue to pose a challenge in the timely delivery of supplies and services.

"We ask you, the world's media, to continue drawing attention to Sudan and not to allow our world to forget it," added Ghebreyesus.