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STORY: WHO / HEALTH PRESSER
TRT: 07:25
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 27 JUNE 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, press room
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“WHO welcomes the ceasefire agreed between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we hope it holds. Iran has reported more than 600 deaths and 5000 injuries, and Israel has reported 28 deaths and more than 3200 injuries.”
3. Wide shot, press room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Between the 13th and 25th of June, WHO has documented 9 attacks on health in Israel and 5 attacks in Iran, impacting health services and causing deaths and injuries among health workers and patients. WHO will continue to work with Israel and Iran, including monitoring radiological and nuclear risks.”
5. Wide shot, press room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“In Gaza, the situation is beyond catastrophic. Only 17 hospitals are functioning even partially out of 36 across the Strip, with no hospitals operating in the North of Gaza or Rafah.
7. Wide shot, press room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“In the last two weeks, 500 people have been killed while seeking food aid at non-UN militarized food distribution sites and routes, resulting in a surge in injuries and taking a severe toll on hospitals in Gaza city, as fuel, water and medical supplies are depleting fast.”
9. Wide shot, press room
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Hunger stalks everyone, making them weaker, sicker and more vulnerable. Since the start of this year, an average of 112 children have been admitted every day for treatment of acute malnutrition.”
11. Wide shot, press room
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“This week, WHO delivered medical supplies for the first time since the 2nd of March, with nine trucks carrying essential medical supplies, including blood units. These supplies will be distributed to priority hospitals in the coming days and more are en route. But it’s only a drop in the ocean given the immense health needs.”
13. Wide shot, press room
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Since the conflict began, WHO has supported the evacuation of more than 7300 patients from the Gaza Strip. But since Israel's blockade began on the 18th of March, we have only been permitted to evacuate 294 patients - a tiny proportion of the more than 10,000 people who still need medical evacuation.”
15. Wide shot, press room
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“WHO calls for access for food, water, fuel, medical and other aid, at scale, through all possible routes.”
17. Wide shot, press room
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Now to Sudan, the forgotten crisis. The ongoing civil war means people are dying from a lack of access to health services and medicines. Ongoing fighting has displaced more people than in any other crisis in the world. Health facilities are either out of service or only providing limited care.”
19. Wide shot, press room
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Diseases are spreading fast. Cholera has spread to all but one state of Sudan, with a worrying spike in Khartoum State.”
21. Wide shot, press room
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“I urge the world: don’t forget the people of Sudan. Humanitarians and civilians must be protected at all times. We need urgent funding, and we need access to make sure people receive the health care they need. And above all, the people of Sudan need peace.”
23. Wide shot, press room
24. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“I was very encouraged that donors pledged more than 9 billion U.S. dollars to support Gavi’s work over the next five years. In addition, Gavi-implementing countries are investing a record 4 billion dollars in their national immunization programmes over the next five years. This is very positive news at a difficult time in global health, with drastic cuts in aid, and mis- and disinformation about vaccine safety.”
25. Wide shot, press room
26. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“It’s important that parents, educators, health workers and community leaders understand vaccine information clearly. When people know the facts, they can make better, more confident decisions. False claims and the distortion of scientific evidence are dangerous. For WHO, vaccine safety is central to our decision-making.”
27. Wide shot, press room
28. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Over the past five years, we have learned a lot about COVID-19, but there is one crucial question about the pandemic that we have not yet answered: how it started. Understanding how any outbreak, epidemic or pandemic starts is essential for preventing future outbreaks.”
29. Wide shot, press room
30. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Marietje Venter, Chair, WHO Scientific Advisory Group, Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO):
“While zoonotic origin with the spillover from animals to humans is currently considered the best supported hypothesis by the available scientific data, until further request for information are met or more scientific data becomes available. The origins of SARS-CoV-2 and how it entered the human population will remain inconclusive.”
31. Wide shot, press room
32. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO):
“As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak. We continue to appeal to China and any other country that has information about the origins of COVID-19 to share that information openly, in the interests of protecting the world from future pandemics.”
33. Wide shot, press room
34. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Director a.i., Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, World Health Organization (WHO):
“The work to understand the origins of COVID 19 is unfinished. There's more work that needs to be done. We at WHO recognise a significant amount of research that has been conducted in China and globally by incredible scientists from around the world, but we need more to be able to rule hypotheses in and rule hypotheses out. So, the work does remain unfinished. And as Doctor Tedros has said, and as Marietje has said, it's not just a technical exercise. There is a moral imperative here to really understand because we need to do much better, be much more precise at preventing epidemics and outbreaks into the future.”
35. Wide shot, press room
36. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, Health Emergencies Programme, World Health Organization (WHO):
“But certainly, we need to continue to, to look at origins and everything else. But if that's only been driven by political outcomes, if that's only been driven by the intent to hurt, if your intent to investigate is only to punish, you will never have justice. If you attempt to investigate is to be enlightened, then you will find justice through the process. And I think we have continually have to find that balance, in this. So, yes. Do we need to continue? Yes. Would I like to know what the origins of this virus are? Yes. Because we want to be able to shut the door, close the trap door so that viruses can never escape again.”
37. Wide shot, press room
World Health Organization (WHO) chief said, “In Gaza, the situation is beyond catastrophic.”
Addressing the press today (27 Jun), WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “WHO welcomes the ceasefire agreed between Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, and we hope it holds. Iran has reported more than 600 deaths and 5000 injuries, and Israel has reported 28 deaths and more than 3200 injuries.”
He continued “Between the 13th and 25th of June, WHO has documented 9 attacks on health in Israel and 5 attacks in Iran, impacting health services and causing deaths and injuries among health workers and patients. WHO will continue to work with Israel and Iran, including monitoring radiological and nuclear risks.”
He stated, “In Gaza, the situation is beyond catastrophic. Only 17 hospitals are functioning even partially out of 36 across the Strip, with no hospitals operating in the North of Gaza or Rafah.
He added, “In the last two weeks, 500 people have been killed while seeking food aid at non-UN militarized food distribution sites and routes, resulting in a surge in injuries and taking a severe toll on hospitals in Gaza city, as fuel, water and medical supplies are depleting fast.”
He also said, “Hunger stalks everyone, making them weaker, sicker and more vulnerable. Since the start of this year, an average of 112 children have been admitted every day for treatment of acute malnutrition.”
WHO chief said, “This week, WHO delivered medical supplies for the first time since the 2nd of March, with nine trucks carrying essential medical supplies, including blood units. These supplies will be distributed to priority hospitals in the coming days and more are en route. But it’s only a drop in the ocean given the immense health needs.”
He added, “Since the conflict began, WHO has supported the evacuation of more than 7300 patients from the Gaza Strip. But since Israel's blockade began on the 18th of March, we have only been permitted to evacuate 294 patients - a tiny proportion of the more than 10,000 people who still need medical evacuation.”
He said, “WHO calls for access for food, water, fuel, medical and other aid, at scale, through all possible routes.”
Regarding Sudan, he said, “Now to Sudan, the forgotten crisis. The ongoing civil war means people are dying from a lack of access to health services and medicines. Ongoing fighting has displaced more people than in any other crisis in the world. Health facilities are either out of service or only providing limited care.”
He added, “Diseases are spreading fast. Cholera has spread to all but one state of Sudan, with a worrying spike in Khartoum State.”
He stressed, “I urge the world: don’t forget the people of Sudan. Humanitarians and civilians must be protected at all times. We need urgent funding, and we need access to make sure people receive the health care they need. And above all, the people of Sudan need peace.”
Dr Tedros said, “I was very encouraged that donors pledged more than 9 billion U.S. dollars to support Gavi’s work over the next five years. In addition, Gavi-implementing countries are investing a record 4 billion dollars in their national immunization programmes over the next five years. This is very positive news at a difficult time in global health, with drastic cuts in aid, and mis- and disinformation about vaccine safety.”
He added, “It’s important that parents, educators, health workers and community leaders understand vaccine information clearly. When people know the facts, they can make better, more confident decisions. False claims and the distortion of scientific evidence are dangerous. For WHO, vaccine safety is central to our decision-making.”
He said, “Over the past five years, we have learned a lot about COVID-19, but there is one crucial question about the pandemic that we have not yet answered: how it started. Understanding how any outbreak, epidemic or pandemic starts is essential for preventing future outbreaks.”
Dr Marietje Venter, Chair, WHO Scientific Advisory Group, Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) also addressed the press and said, “While zoonotic origin with the spillover from animals to humans is currently considered the best supported hypothesis by the available scientific data, until further request for information are met or more scientific data becomes available. The origins of SARS-CoV-2 and how it entered the human population will remain inconclusive.”
Dr Tedros said, “As things stand, all hypotheses must remain on the table, including zoonotic spillover and lab leak. We continue to appeal to China and any other country that has information about the origins of COVID-19 to share that information openly, in the interests of protecting the world from future pandemics.”
Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Director a.i. of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention at WHO, said, “The work to understand the origins of COVID 19 is unfinished. There's more work that needs to be done. We at WHO recognise a significant amount of research that has been conducted in China and globally by incredible scientists from around the world, but we need more to be able to rule hypotheses in and rule hypotheses out. So, the work does remain unfinished. And as Doctor Tedros has said, and as Marietje has said, it's not just a technical exercise. There is a moral imperative here to really understand because we need to do much better, be much more precise at preventing epidemics and outbreaks into the future.”
Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme, said,“But certainly, we need to continue to, to look at origins and everything else. But if that's only been driven by political outcomes, if that's only been driven by the intent to hurt, if your intent to investigate is only to punish, you will never have justice. If you attempt to investigate is to be enlightened, then you will find justice through the process. And I think we have continually have to find that balance, in this. So, yes. Do we need to continue? Yes. Would I like to know what the origins of this virus are? Yes. Because we want to be able to shut the door, close the trap door so that viruses can never escape again.”
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