Ms Isabel Simpson:

I thank the Chairman. I lost the connection a little bit during the final questions but between us we will manage to answer.

I will start with the question around climate change and how we see that affecting out programmes. We have expertise in many things at MSF but climate change is one that is still as steep learning curve for us and I do not profess to have all the answers for that. I might use some of our programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa as an example, such as those in places like Mozambique and South Sudan. We see climate change affecting the communities we work with there in many different ways. That can be affecting people's harvests which leads to poor food security and malnutrition. It can be a source of conflict over precious resources like water. It can also be in changing disease patterns because obviously climate change affects different vectors like mosquitos with malaria. Thus, we see different trends emerging in disease patterns and it leads us to look at things like vector control in different ways than before. Off the top of my head, I do not have any figures or data to illustrate the changes in disease but we see it very much. Of course, it can also be a driver of conflict as well. Many of the countries we work in are prone to civil conflict in any event. When there is an economic downturn and competition for resources like food and water, it very often leads to greater conflict within these societies. Similarly, we see changes in other countries we are working in such as ones in Asia and the Middle East. If members would like more information on that, I can consult colleagues and send it on as soon as possible.

I move to Covid and Covid technologies. MSF, through our access to medicines campaign, has been doing much work lobby globally, but also within Ireland and with other civil society groups in Ireland, on the TRIPS waiver regarding how we can scale up global production of vaccines. It does not just include vaccines but, as I said, also treatments and other technologies. By other technologies we mean PCR and antigen tests, as well as basic things like how to produce reliable and adequate quantities of PPE when needed for epidemic outbreaks. I do not want to be negative but while we may at this point have a feeling that the situation with Covid is improving, the future is still uncertain.

We still need to ensure that, globally and in many of the countries in which we work, authorities have access to adequate vaccine supplies and to antigen tests, diagnostics and sufficient protective wear during outbreaks.

I will talk a little about our role in search and rescue in the Mediterranean. Ms Ossig might address that one too. Our role is simply to save lives. In the Mediterranean, we see overcrowded rubber dinghies that the majority of us involved in the meeting today would not even consider getting into in a swimming pool, let alone getting into one with 60 to 100 other people in order to cross the Mediterranean, particularly in view of unpredictable weather conditions and so on. As we speak, our ship, the Geo Barents, has rescued 439 people over the past few days. These people are still on board having being turned away from Malta twice. They are now trying to find a safe port of disembarkation in Italy. This is the situation that teams on the Geo Barentsface every day. The 439 people are from seven different rescue operations. That will give the committee an idea of scale in the context of how many people are rescued during each operation.

We have at times been accused of being a pull factor and told that we are encouraging people to cross the Mediterranean because they think MSF will rescue them. One cannot imagine the desperation of these people to put their wives and children in a rubber dinghy on the high seas because they think MSF will rescue them. We are not the pull factor. The push factor is the terrible conditions that they are fleeing from and the detention centres in Libya where many of them end up when they are rescued by the Libyan coast guard. I will hand over to Ms Ossig, who may have something more to add.