YouSaid · the spoken record

Nabarro

lines on the record: 52
first: 2003-05-22
most recent: 2015-08-13
sittings or episodes: 5
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It needs our collective and continued engagement, and that is why I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to brief the Security Council this morning.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“That means that the security of humankind depends upon being able to anticipate such outbreaks, to react quickly, to curtail the spread of disease and to prevent people's suffering. To get that kind of response in place depends upon the whole of society everywhere being meaningfully engaged, with ring- fenced support for strong basic health systems and for community resilience, together with proven capacities for surveillance, analysis, early warning and rapid reaction. Societies that collectively recognize those threats to health, proactively address the challenges and engage with their health systems in the response will be at the heart of secure nations and a safer world in the future. Reducing the risk of health crises does contribute to a peaceful and a more secure future for everyone around the world.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“The contribution is greatest if all those different stakeholders are helped to align their activities and coordinate their work with one another. Strong engagement by all actors is necessary until the outbreak is brought to an end, and as recovery is advanced. Countries need help to comply with the International Health Regulations and to ensure their people's health security. Looking ahead, that means predictable funding for accessible and effective health systems, as well as predictable support when a health emergency is suspected. I would go a bit further in that regard: the coming years will see unexpected new outbreaks of disease; we just do not know where, when or how they will strike.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“The thousands of people who have survived Ebola need dedicated support, because the longer-term consequences of living through Ebola area becoming more apparent every day. Far too often, the survivors face stigma. Their convalescence is often painful and debilitating: loss of eyesight, severe joint pain, headaches and extreme fatigue. It is really a serious issue. Many survivors now need access to dedicated health care, as well as help to rebuild their lives. Only then are they able to contribute fully to their families, to society and to the economy. Let us now look at the nature of the response. The importance ofanall-of-societyresponsetothe emergency is necessary. That means different actors - from local leaders to mining companies - contributing their specialty knowledge and expertise.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“On ocassions, however, we have seen that the response has not consistently prioritized community ownership. As we move forward, it is now always been seen as an essential and vital ingredient of the response. I now turn to my third point, namely, working together in long-term solidarity. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is not over. Doctor Chan has briefed us on the remaining work to be done. She has also pointed out the need for technical, operational and financial solidarity with the thousands of people who are hard at work in the affected countries, who are stemming the tide of the current outbreak and who remain vigilant and ready to respond. They cannot afford to let up on the response, and they need our collective solidarity. But there is more.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“What we seen is that the implementation of the response has gone well when people whose health is at risk have felt in control of their own lives, as well as their deaths, and when they have been able to shape the response to suit their interests. People's concerns and fears are more easily addressed, important cultural practices can be made both safe and dignified, and concerns are more easily addressed. Transmission chains are identified more quickly, contacts are traced more readily and the outbreak ends more rapidly if communities own the response. The response works really well when community leaders are part of its direction. Therefore, when people themselves define the support they require, and when their leaders help them to access the assistance they need quickly, when they need it, challenges and obstacles are swiftly overcome.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“On 10 July, the Secretary-General convened the International Ebola Recovery Conference. Together with partners, the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the World Bank and the African Development Bank worked to generate more than $3.4 billion in new financing. The significant pledges are catalysing national and regional Ebola recovery efforts. But I must stress that that work is not cheap, and the response and the recovery need continued solidarity and support from Member States. Moving on to the second of my three points, I should like to say a little about the response. I want to stress something that we have come to recognize in recent months. The response works best when it is owned by the affected communities.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“UNMEER closed on 31 July 2015, having achieved its core objective and contributed to a scaled-up response and improved coordination. The World Health Organization has now taken on the stewardship of the collective response of the United Nations system and will continue to encourage everyone to work effectively together. The past 12 months of the response have been financed from multiple sources. One example is the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund, where 40 Member States have joined together with private businesses, charities and individuals to contribute funding to the Ebola response that can be used where it was most needed. That is going to support logistics and air travel, clinics and staff, as well as the necessary elements to ensure community ownership.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“Sam Kutesa, Foreign Minister of Uganda, as one of his first acts as President of the General Assembly. UNMEER incorporated enhanced action from many United Nations entities, and deployed to the region just 10 days later. At the same time, the Secretary-General also established the multi-partner Global Ebola Response Coalition. It has become an integrated platform that engages Governments, non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental groups and academic, philanthropic and private-sector organizations in weekly meetings. Forty such meetings have taken place thus far, wich serve as a venue for high-level strategic coordination and for identifying challenges, enabling collective and timely adjustments to strategy and encouraging continued innovative research, along with incorporating scientific advances.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“At the global level, world leaders have showed extraordinary initiative and commitment. They have mounted massive, rapid and coordinated support to help affected countries take the heat out of the epidemic. For example, in September, the Secretary- General called for the whole of the United Nations system to step up its support to the Ebola response. That followed a request from the Presidents of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone that the Organization help them to coordinate the international response. To that end, the Secretary-General proposed the first-ever United Nations emergency health mission. Known as the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), the Mission was endorsed by the General Assembly at the end of September 2014 under the presidency of Mr.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“ASEOWA deployed more than 850 medical workers from several African countries, and recruited over 4,000 local volunteers, including people who had survived Ebola. I am sure that we will hear more about that from Mr. Antonio. The African Union Chairperson, Ms. Dlamini-Zuma, stimulated a private-sector fundraising drive in November 2014, which engaged senior African businesspeople and mobilized more than $32 million. On 20 July 2015, the African Union Health Ministers adopted the statute for the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, during the International Conference on the theme "Africa Helping Africans", held in Malabo. The Mano River Union and the Economic Community of West African States have worked intensively on inter-country issues and reinforced national systems for prevention and response.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“The leaders of countries that have been affected by the outbreak have taken charge, articulated clear visions, provided strategic direction and enabled a massive response to unfold. The Governments of the affected countries created mechanisms to engage all the necessary stakeholders. Local and national health actors have been playing an essential role alongside other government sectors, civil society, private enterprises, scientific institutions and the media. Regional and subregional organizations have been instrumental in channelling attention and fostering action from the start. This has really been an extraordinary, collective response. The African Union established its support to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) in September 2014.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“Dr. Nabarro: I would like to thank the Security Council, especially the Nigerian presidency, for this initiative. I should also like to thank the Director- General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, for her leadership. I also greet all the others who have been invited to offer briefings today, and who have really played very key roles in the global response to the Ebola outbreak. I should like to focus on three components of the Ebola response. The first is the impact of decisive and powerful leadership. The second is the importance of community ownership of the response. The third is the value of working together in long-term solidarity First, with respect to powerful and decisive leadership, national Governments, regional organizations and global leaders have stepped up to the challenge of Ebola like never before.”
2015-08-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7502 (2015) · source
“First, we must mitigate the risk Ebola presents to health, development, peace and security by ending the outbreak as soon as possible. Secondly, we must ensure that essential services can be maintained and that stability can be preserved. Thirdly, we must start to look at recovery and consider what it will involve. As the Council knows well, strong systems and institutions are the foundation of peace and prosperity. Let us do our utmost to ensure that there are no more outbreaks like this one ever again.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“Another immediate priority is for self-sufficient, staffed and equipped international responders. Again, Governments from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe have been generous, but more skilled health personnel are needed to provide assistance wherever it is most required - especially in remote districts - because there is a need to chase this virus down and root it out from its last hiding place. That will require breaking the chains of transmission by identifying and treating all cases and tracing their contacts so that everyone in West Africa and beyond is safe. The longer the Ebola outbreak continues, the greater the impact will be on the affected countries and the greater will be the chance of its spreading to other countries. That will require a continued, urgent response from the international community.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“We have met our initial short-term target for the Secretary-General's Ebola Multi-Partner Trust Fund of $100 million dollars. We thank all who have so generously contributed. The money committed is being disbursed quickly to fund critical programmes. But by the end of the year, we would like to see much more in the Fund in order to cover the cost of unfunded priorities. Looking at it more broadly, we estimate that the United Nations system will need $1.5 billion through to March 2015 in order to play its part in ending the outbreak. Much has been committed, but there is a shortfall of over $600 million dollars. I am sure that we will meet that shortfall. The affected countries will also need support in order to enable the recovery of their economic, social and health-care systems.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“Ebola and the fear and stigma that it creates have affected health-care provision, education, food security, trade and economic well-being. We encourage all engaged in the response to align their support so that authorities can promote resilience, repair damage and hasten recovery. That recovery starts now, even during the outbreak, beginning particularly with the restoration of essential services. In the longer term, we must all work with the countries concerned so that they can build back better and be able to prevent future health crises of this kind. The members of the Council and United Nations States Members have already shown solidarity and generosity by providing material and financial assistance to the affected countries. But winning the battle is going to require considerably more resources and effort.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“Social mobilization has been the key to success - from the safe burial of those who have died and caring for the sick to limiting physical contact and improving hygiene. Good medical care is also critical. That means Ebola treatment units and community care centres that are staffed by health personnel who know how to treat Ebola. It means quicker identification of cases as well as rapid contact-tracing and follow-up. Where those ingredients are present, the rate of transmission slows. But where they are absent, communities remain vulnerable. And the fact is that too many communities remain vulnerable. As the Council has emphasized, Ebola is not simply an urgent public health crisis, it is a complex emergency.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“The curve is bending in enough places to give us the hope I described at the beginning. Because transmission is still intense and rapid in many locations and because the outbreak has spread geographically, we realize that we still have a lot more to do. We see hot spots in northern Guinea and western Sierra Leone, and new transmissions in Mali. We must remain vigilant and persevere with a flexible and well-adapted response. If we take our eye off the ball, case numbers will climb again, and we will all count the cost. The outbreak and the threat that it poses to the region and the world will not be over until the last case is identified, isolated and under treatment. The primary credit for progress in the fight against Ebola goes to the communities that have made difficult decisions to abandon generations of traditional practices.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“The response capacities available to national and local authorities have expanded substantially. The United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response is coordinating support for what national Governments are doing, and it is strengthening capacity in districts, counties and prefectures. The degree to which societies are engaged in the response has deepened. When societies take responsibility for responding and partners align their support, the authorities are able to react rapidly and effectively. We are seeing that where the response strategy is being implemented fully, transmission is decreasing. While the total number of cases continues to rise, the overall rate of increase really has begun to slow. That is a good sign. But the results are uneven among and within the affected countries, and we are seeing quite a lot of variation.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“Mr. Nabarro: I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak to the Security Council today. Two months ago, the Council adopted resolution 2177 (2014). It was a memorable day, for two reasons. At that time, we were aware that the outbreak was advancing very rapidly. We were also clear that a major and intense response was needed. On that day, a resolution was adopted with enormous support. Today for me is also memorable. The reasons today are a combination of hope and fear. There is hope, because the signs are good, particularly in Liberia. But there is also fear, because the virus is unforgiving. Any complacency and it will punish us. I wish to thank the Security Council for its continued attention to the current Ebola outbreak and its consequences. Much has happened since we last met.”
2014-11-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7318 (2014) · source
“Finally, I simply feel that present stage of its consideration of the item on its everyone here wants us all to get going and do more, so agenda. With that I Will shut up and get on. The meeiing rose at 7.50pm.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“But what I saw today was an extraordinary outpouring of support, big and small, from all over the world - a real global coalition. I also heard Governments saying that they were willing to be coordinated and expressing trust in the capacity of the United Nations to act as the coordinating body. As the Senior United Nations System Coordinator for Ebola, that is really refreshing for me to hear. I noted widespread support from virtually all speakers for the historic plan of the Secretary-General and the Director-General of WHO to establish an exceptional The President: There are no more speakers on public-health mission, the United Nations Mission for the list. The Security Council has thus concluded the Emergency Ebola Response.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“We see increased signs of willingness to open or maintain air links and other trading links, and strong indications of solidarity among African nations and between Africa and the rest of the world. Thirdly, I am personally gratified to see how the work of the various parts of the United Nations system is recognized, with a valuation not only of the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) as the world's health leader but also of other United Nations agencies, as Ms. Chan identified just now. Several Governments used today's meeting as an opportunity to offer generous commitments. Some of those are from within Africa, offering significant contributions to the international response. Others are more traditional donors.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“Dr. Nabarro: As for Ms. Chan, it is a privilege for me to be here on this historic occasion. I will give my quick feedback on the messages in the many remarks I have heard today that I am taking home, as we go on with our important tasks. First, all those who spoke, in their different ways, really appreciate the seriousness of this challenge as a major public-health crisis that has multiple other impacts with the potential for wider effects regionally and internationally. Secondly, this was a demonstration of powerful solidarity with the countries that are currently affected, with an appreciation for what they are doing through their civil society groups, Governments and their partnerships with others.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“There needs to be a strong backbone of support that enables all its different providers to work in synergy and in a very clear direction so that the assistance provided supports people, communities and Governments to respond effectively. As one President said to me on Saturday, "We want people to come work with our nation and its citizens, and not just to come to get rid of the virus". Lastly, a very big tent is absolutely vital, because this requires the whole world to come in behind the countries and behind their people to achieve a rapid outcome.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“First, there was a strong announcement on Monday in Brussels by the European Union about its collective commitment. On Tuesday, we heard the powerful statement of support by the United States, along the lines that the Secretary-General identified. A further major set of commitments was outlined at an event in Geneva chaired by Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos. On Wednesday, there was a strong statement from the British Government. Offers began coming in from Cuba, from China and from other Governments. But the challenge is to make sure that all those different offers are coordinated effectively, with a very powerful platform that enables everybody to work safely in the region and not in turn become infected with the virus.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“There is also a lot of work to be done to restore basic services - health care for pregnant women, and food for people who at the moment are finding it hard to ensure that they and their families get nutrition, or even income support, because so many households, as a result of this outbreak, have experienced huge drops in their income. So an effective, efficient and massively scaled-up response is vital for the affected countries. It is also vital for the rest of Africa and, as I think Dr. Margaret Chan will say in a minute, it is vital for the world. I am convinced that if it is properly organized, the massive scale-up can happen in the coming weeks and could in fact achieve a rapid end to the outbreak. And I am delighted that, since I returned from Conakry on Sunday afternoon, there has been incredible progress.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“Increasing the scale-up at that rate would be challenging enough if this were a straightforward medical problem for which the solution involved were, perhaps, a vaccine or the administration of a particular therapy. But this disease is a bit more complicated, and there are in fact about 12 different critical actions that have to be put in place for control to be properly effected. The Secretary-General outlined the five elements of the strategy, and I do not want to waste time by repeating them. But the medical part is one important element.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“What that means is that the outbreak is accelerating away from the control effort, and the longer it does that, the harder it is to get it under control and, most importantly, to enable the people of the countries affected to return to the prosperity and development they have been enjoying so much in the past 10 years. So, given the acceleration of the outbreak and the difficulty in catching up with it, there is an increased likelihood of societal and economic challenges for the people affected. I estimate that to get ahead of the outbreak, the level of the response has to be about 20 times greater than what it is at the moment. That calculation is based on an assessment of the rate at which it is extending, but also on the recognition that any scale-up takes between one and two months to put in place.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“When the incidence is plotted on a graph, it shows a curve ofrapid upward acceleration. We heard from the Secretary- General that most believe that the doubling speed is about every three weeks. That means that the outbreak has doubled in extent since I was appointed. The response is also increasing, and we heard from the Secretary-General that not only are Governments themselves doing a great deal, but many excellent intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are also putting in additional resources. But the response is increasing at more like a linear speed; its graph would look like a straight line.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“Dr. Nabarro: I thank the Security Council for the opportunity to be here this afternoon to talk about the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa. I had the honour to be appointed the Secretary-General's Senior Coordinator for Ebola on 12 August, just over a month ago. Since then, I have visited the countries most affected twice, and I have also travelled to a number of capitals to describe my findings. I have had many meetings with the Secretary-General and his senior team, and I have also had the opportunity to brief the President of the World Bank and other agency chiefs, particularly the President of the African Development Bank. My findings are as follows. This is a disease outbreak that is advancing in an exponential fashion. To be precise, that means it is doubling at a particular time interval.”
2014-09-18 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7268 (2014) · source
“We will have in place a system that delivers services to people in the way they need them well before the end of the year. We will continue to provide regular briefings on the health situation on the WHO web site. I hope that this will enable members of the Council to keep up to date with what is happening. I am sorry for rushing those words. Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“We are also quite anxious about how we will then be able to make the transition to the new mechanism and get the best out of it before the end of December deadline. I hope that the Council will look at the oil-for-food changeover operation and, if it looks like it needs more time, the Council will say so. In conclusion, this is an alarming situation, as some members of the Council have stated. It is very challenging, but it is fast-moving. Now it looks as though, with the resolution, we have got solidarity with the people of Iraq and convergence, together with a strong commitment from the Authority, expressed here and in Iraq. There is good consensus on issues and approaches. We personally, in the World Health Organization, predict that because of so many positive factors, things will greatly improve in the foreseeable future.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“I would like to give you a quick insight as to what it is like from the health side. The oil for food pipeline has been used to bring at least 20,000 different items of medicines and medical goods into Iraq during the period from 1996 to the present. They were a mix of urgently needed and lower priority goods. What we have done is try to tie it down to a small number of priorities, approximately a thousand. We have also tried within the short time available to increase the number of things coming through that pipeline. But I want to stress that it is not easy trying to keep a pipeline going and make it effective in a situation where the mechanism is being turned on, turned off and changed at quite regular intervals. We are very anxious about how we can take full advantage of the oil for food programme before the 3 June deadline.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“We have a single work programme under the Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq (UNOHCI), and we are very much being encouraged by the Deputy Secretary-General to stick to that. We were asked what our relationship to the Authority was like. All I would say is that it has been quite challenging, and it evolves. But it is utterly different now from what it was like a week ago. I would like to publicly state that I think there is a really new and exciting spirit of working together, in Baghdad and in other places. That is something on which we can all build. I believe that with the resolution that has been passed today, we will be able to do more. Moving to my fifth heading, Syria asked about the situation with the oil for food pipeline, what it was like and how had we been working on it.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“But it has one disadvantage: it is sometimes difficult to get everybody to work according to common principles, whether those are common principles on how we will work with Iraqis or on how we handle different problems. That leads to a degree of unevenness in the way in which services are being provided. So, as we have these multiple actors involved, let us also emphasize the importance of working together and making coordination effective. That is where the role of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, which is working with different elements of the Government of Iraq, is so important. I think that compared with other settings, the United Nations is doing well, as has already been said.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“Thirdly, with respect to salaries - thank goodness we are going to get salaries paid shortly. That is going to make such a difference. I heard it said it was to be in Baghdad. I hope it will be more than Baghdad as quickly as possible. Fourthly, with respect to communications, particularly telecommunications, governorates being able to talk to Baghdad matters so much. My fourth heading is coordination. I want to stress that there have been lots of very valuable contributions from Governments to the health sector. Bulgaria, China and Spain described their contributions. The United States and the United Kingdom are making many contributions. It is great that we have many actors involved in the health sector. It means that there is a lot of innovation and new ideas.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“Predictability of life, and confidence in that predictability, matters. That brings me to my third heading: restarting the work of the public service. Many members of the Council have commented on how that can best be done. I agree that involving Iraqis in the response is critical. Secondly, as was said by Mexico, there is the need to restore institutions that are already there - as Mark Malloch Brown just said - and are already strong. But restoring their self-confidence to work again is so important. That is where I would like to pay tribute to the role of the Authority, particularly in recent days, which has explicitly been working hard to let the Iraqi institutions feel empowered again and to encourage links between the United Nations and those institutions.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“While it has been possible to negotiate a military escort for distribution on certain occasions, there are other priorities facing the military, and regular escorts have been hard to establish. But there is no doubt that if the services are back and are working and if there is an element of security, then this phenomenon of taking over hospitals and other institutions - which was identified by Germany, Chile and France - is not so likely. We have seen this particularly in smaller institutions in Baghdad. The phenomenon does not seem to have spread too widely, and our view is that the more quickly we can get the systems back and working again as they should, equitably accessible to all, the less likely we are to have sections of the community taking over and running institutions according to their rules.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“My second heading is the possible stabilizing influences that we can try to put in place in order to keep things a bit more under control. Most importantly, we feel - as has been said by others - that it is important to restore normality for the time being, to get the system working again. That means that there has to be some visible authority, legitimacy and, of course, security in localities. We were asked, again by Cameroon, about the impact of insecurity in the health sector. Basra is one example. Although it is possible to distribute supplies inside the city, going out to the more isolated parts of the governorate is difficult without a military escort.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“Our experience is the extraordinary phenomenon of Government staff who work in the hospitals: they are absolutely not those who are looting, even though they have the best opportunity to do so. In fact, many of them stayed in their hospitals and themselves stood guard. They went and pleaded with soldiers to come and put their tanks or other defences outside the hospitals. They have also been working for many weeks without pay, and yet they have been turning up to work. So, we must recognize that if there has been looting, it has rarely been the Government workers themselves who have looted; it is others. I am afraid we ourselves in the World Health Organization (WHO) are still quite unable to explain why it has been happening.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“Mr. Nabarro: I do not apologize for repeating some of what Mr. James Morris said at the beginning. This interest is extraordinary for us, and I wish all our staff could have been here to witness it. I shall try to convey to them much of what I have heard. I would like to comment under six headings. First, I felt that it was Mexico that fingered the key issue of the complete vacuum in authority and the breakdown of the State. Cameroon asked to what extent there is a problem of leadership in the hospitals. I would reply that it is not so much that leadership is lacking but that leaders of the hospitals are not sure who they are working for. That sense of slight confusion has caused some problems in these early weeks. Again in relation to this vacuum of authority, Germany asked why people were looting.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762Resumption1 (2003) · source
“We now look forward to moving ahead - working with the new authorities and coordinating the various actors who are involved in health care on the ground - to restart health services in all governorates so that the people of Iraq can access the medical care and public health they not only need, but also deserve.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762 (2003) · source
“We hope that, as the new Development Fund and systems that have been agreed upon this morning are put in place, a proportion of those funds can be made available for the essential running costs of basic services during the transition, and that that can be done in a way that does not unduly drain the available international funds for the huge number of health crises already under way in other parts of the world. Of course, in the long term we expect that the country of Iraq will be able to afford a good-quality, equitable health service without external assistance.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762 (2003) · source
“We have made an effort to match available supplies to needs, identifying 115 oil for food contracts at a value of $130 million, speeding them up so that they are delivered where they are needed, and adding another 30 additional contracts for essential goods under resolutions 1472 (2003) and 1476 (2003), so that we can bridge the gap until new systems are established. There will be a need for funds to get essential services back even to their pre-war level. An amount of about $20 million a month is needed to get them in place. Although we have received some very generous contributions for health in Iraq from some of the countries that have already been mentioned, it is not enough. Frankly, it is much less than what will be needed for the eventual budget for a functioning health service in Iraq.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762 (2003) · source
“We have given priority to restarting essential hospital services, disease surveillance, medicine distribution systems and the capacity to run the services within individual governorates. Together with national counterparts, we have been working out What funds are needed for staff supplies and basic utilities, looking at a six-month period of transition. We have been finding ways to move these monies to the hospitals and to ensure that the funds are properly used. We have joined together the emerging mechanisms for coordinating actors for health in different parts of the country so that all the different contributions that the actors are making are well used and can build on national capacities, whether in the south, in Baghdad, in the centre or in the north.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762 (2003) · source
“Public health systems are not working as they should, and the threat of cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, leishmaniasis, measles and, now, whooping cough, is always there. For some weeks now we have made strenuous efforts to catalyse a restarting of the health services. We have been working through WHO national staff in Iraq, who continued operating throughout the war. We have also been working in close cooperation with our colleagues in the International Committee of the Red Cross, to whom I would like to pay tribute again today, as well as many other non-governmental organizations and other parts of the United Nations system, especially the United Nations Children's Fund. We have worked in support of national authorities in Baghdad and in the governorates. We have really quite a complicated and decentralized operation.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762 (2003) · source
“Indeed, in some places we have the problem of hospitals being taken over by neighbourhood groups and not really functioning in the way that they are designed to do. The absolute lack of cash to meet the running costs of services - particularly food for patients, cleaning services, refuse disposal from the hospitals, and to enable staff to receive the remuneration they need - undermines the capacity of all institutions to offer essential health care to people who need it. As a result, therefore, Iraqis are unable to access the health care services that they need for the treatment of chronic conditions, as well as acute needs. Services, in our judgement, are running at between 20 per cent and 40 per cent of their pre-war capacity.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762 (2003) · source
“But daily reports to the World Health Organization's headquarters from many parts of Iraq now give cause for concern, particularly as this is an important time of transition for that country. As has been said by others, in terms of risks to people, property and movement, the security situation hampers access to and provision of all basic services - water, sanitation and electricity, and, of course, medical and public health. But even in situations that are secure, the power vacuum means that Government workers in hospitals and health centres who really want to work do not know who should direct them. They do not know what is expected of them; they do not know whether they have any likelihood of long-term employment.”
2003-05-22 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4762 (2003) · source