Help organizations are pressing for a pause in the ongoing conflict to allow them to redouble their efforts to stop polio in the Gaza Strip and stop it in its tracks. The virus was found in waste at six different areas in July after one confirmed case was reported, with several others suspected.
Despite being completely eradicated in Gaza 25 years ago, polio treatments have drastically decreased since the start of the war, turning the area into a breeding ground for the disease, according to support organizations. The situation is made worse by the tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees who are living in camp tents without access to clean water, soiled, and dispose of their trash.
In the upcoming months, over 600,000 children will be vaccinated by aid agencies. They point out, however, that a pause in Israel’s and Hamas ‘ battle is necessary to carry out these ambitious vaccination programs.
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) and UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, issued a joint statement on Friday, stating that a minimum of a seven-day pause is necessary to implement a mass vaccination plan. UN aims to bring 1.6 million doses of polio vaccine to Gaza, where sanitation and water systems have been destroyed, leaving open pits of animal waste in filled camp tents.
Families in these camps have restricted access to clean water and shampoo, making it challenging to keep up their health.
Polio, a very contagious disease that mainly spreads through contact with contaminated stool, water, or food, may cause difficulty breathing and inevitable paralysis, often in the feet. It mostly affects young children, and it can sometimes lead to fatalities. According to Mercy Corps, approximately 50 000 babies born since the start of the war have not been immunized against polio.
Health workers in Gaza are gearing up for a massive vaccination campaign that is scheduled to start at the end of August and run until September, with the goal of immunizing 640, 000 children under the age of 10 over two rounds, according to WHO. COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, has stated that it is “preparing to support a comprehensive vaccination campaign” and is collaborating with various organizations to increase the supply of vaccines in Gaza.
Hamas has expressed its support for a seven-day truce to facilitate the vaccinations, with cease-fire talks set to resume in Cairo next week.
The WHO first raised the issue of polio in July when it was revealed that sewage samples from six locations in Gaza had a positive test for a variant of the virus used in vaccines. According to WHO, this weak form of the virus can mutate into a stronger one and spread to areas where vaccination is insufficient.
The challenges in Gaza, where polio has n’t been seen in a quarter-century, include raising awareness among health workers to recognize symptoms, as the territory’s health care system has been devastated by the war, and workers are overwhelmed treating the wounded and patients with various ailments. Before the war, 99 % of Gaza’s population was vaccinated against polio, but that figure has now dropped to 86 %, according to WHO. The objective is to raise the rate of polio vaccination in Gaza to levels above 95 %.
