“We cannot do it when there’s fighting, airstrikes, and no roads that can even be traveled safely.”
More than one million polio vaccines have arrived in Gaza, but the vaccination campaign can only commence once the safety of healthcare workers and access to all parts of the region is ensured, according to a World Health Organization official.
“We don’t have the security and the guarantee of access… We’ve been asking for at least pauses in the fighting so that we can do this,” Dr Margaret Harris, the WHO spokesperson, told the Anadolu news agency.
Harris explained that the vaccination campaign, which could be completed in two or three rounds, was initially planned to start at the end of August.
But she added, “We cannot do it when there’s fighting, airstrikes, and no roads that can even be traveled safely.”
First Confirmed Case
On Friday, the WHO said a 10-month-old child from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza had developed paralysis after contracting the Type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
Harris said the re-emergence of polio in Gaza was primarily due to the collapse of the health system and widespread environmental destruction.
“You’ve got wastewater all over the place. People have a lack of access to any of the basic water and sanitation systems that will normally keep people healthy,” Harris emphasized.
‘WHO Gravely Concerned’ – Gaza Baby Suffers Paralysis after Contracting Polio
According to Harris, before the start of the recent conflict, Gaza boasted one of the highest child immunization rates globally, with more than 95% of children vaccinated against polio.
“It still would have stayed out of Gaza if Gaza had stayed a stable system with a strong health system and good water and sanitation,” Harris stated, adding that the conflict has led to the current “terrible state.”
Plea to ‘Israel’s Partners’
She also highlighted the severe risks posed by polio, particularly to children, who are more likely to suffer from paralysis or even death.
“It can affect anyone, but children tend to have the worst outcomes,” Harris said, stressing the urgency of vaccinating the approximately 640,000 children at risk.
‘Lift Blockade Immediately’ – HRW Warns Israeli Onslaught Fueling Polio Crisis in Gaza
Human Rights Watch warned on Monday that“If the Israeli government continues to block urgent aid and destroy water and waste management infrastructure, it will facilitate the spread of a disease that has been nearly eradicated globally.
Julia Bleckner, senior health and human rights researcher at HRW, said “Israel’s partners should press the government to lift the blockade immediately and ensure unfettered humanitarian access in Gaza to enable the timely distribution of vaccines to contain the unfolding polio outbreak.”
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 40,534 Palestinians have been killed, and 93,778 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
16 Israeli Evacuation Orders in August Alone – Only 11% of Gaza Spared
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(PC, Anadolu)
I find any talk of ceasefires or humanitarian pauses repugnant and reprehensible. The necessity of war, if such a thing exists, makes these concepts ridiculous. Here of course we have anything but a war, we have Israel enacting an entirely voluntary and self-perpetuated genocide against a largely defenceless civilian population. If they CAN stop, they must stop. If they wont stop, they must BE stopped. WHO, UN, ICJ – if these entities cannot perform these tasks then we are being duped into believing their stated purpose at all. And hence they are complicit.
Simon, I agree. But, “Israel’s Partners” is USA. Kamala/Donald will accelerate and defend the extermination of Palestinians. USA, “Israel”, 5 Eyes, NATO, and EU: the Axis. China, Russia, Iran, BRICS+: the Allies. It is no longer a “regional” conflict. It is already a world war. Kamala/Donald can stop Zionist genocide: stop sending weapons, send the sitting duck air carriers home, drive out “Israel” from the UN due to refusal to address Resolutions 181 and 194 and grant Palestine in the UN, full. UNSC: enforce. But they won’t. USA’s collapsing hegemony is on the line (not “Israel”, not Zionism; “Israel” is just another proxy force, easily disposed of).