Polio vaccines arrive in Gaza after fresh case was reported in more than two decades

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced on Monday (August 26, 2024) the arrival of 1.2 million doses of vital polio vaccines in Gaza, amid urgent calls for humanitarian pauses to reach hundreds of thousands of at-risk children.

More than 640,000 children are targeted to receive the polio type two (nOPV) vaccines, UNICEF said in a post on X.

The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN’s main agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) and other partners aim to coordinate to reach the unvaccinated as the war grinds on against the backdrop of multiple civilian displacements.

The Israeli government agency COGAT said vaccine shipments had arrived in Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, adding that the vaccination campaign will be conducted in coordination with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) as part of “routine” humanitarian pauses.

Gaza has been in the grip of an ongoing war following the 7 October terror attacks last year by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel.

More than 40,000 people have lost their lives in the enclave, according to the Strip’s health ministry, and critical infrastructure, including schools-turned displacement shelters, hospitals and clinics has been destroyed.

Polio does not discriminate

A case of polio was confirmed in Gaza last week, in a 10-month-old child. It was the first such instance of the lifelong crippling disease in over 25 years. Though there is no cure, vaccines against the disease can protect a child for life.

The child had developed paralysis in the lower left leg and is reported to be in a stable condition.

“Polio will not make the distinction between Palestinian and Israeli children,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said last week, highlighting the need for urgent pause in fighting to mitigate the risk of spread of the disease.

He reiterated the call on Monday, stressing that UN agencies and partners “stand ready to vaccinate children, but need a humanitarian pause”.

Meanwhile, the plight of civilians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip continues unabated.

According to UNRWA, due to ongoing military operations in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza only three of the area’s 18 water wells remain functional, resulting in 85 per cent water shortfall.

“Not only are people in Gaza in constant fear for their lives, but they struggle to meet even their most basic needs,” the agency said.

Risk of other deadly infectious disease also remains high with water and sanitation systems disrupted across the enclave, including at hospitals, WHO warned.

Its effort to mitigate the threat continues. The agency recently provided hospitals in north and south Gaza with a range of critical medical supplies, including anaesthesia and analgesic drugs to cover the needs of around 44,500 patients.

Some 200 ICU beds were also delivered to Gaza and are expected to support at least five health facilities in expanding bed capacity, the agency added in a separate post.

Shrinking ‘humanitarian spaces’

Sam Rose, Senior Deputy Field Director for UNRWA in Gaza, said that the “humanitarian zone” declared by Israel in the enclave is shrinking.

“It is now about 11 per cent of the entire Gaza Strip,” he told journalists at the UN Headquarters, speaking from Deir Al-Balah via video link.

However, that area is not fit for people to live in or for services to be delivered, he emphasized.

“Really these are sand dunes, these are crowded areas where people are living cheek by jowl – doing whatever they can to get by. The streets are packed by people as they receive evacuation orders, and they are on the move.”

Challenging conditions for campaign

In response to a question, Rose explained that the polio vaccination campaign will be a very difficult operation and that its success will depend on the conditions on the ground.

“We and the rest of the system involved will do our absolute utmost to deliver the campaign because without it, the conditions will be much worse sadly…it is not guaranteed that it will be a success,” he said, noting that humanitarians estimate that about 95 per cent of the children targeted need to receive the vaccines.

He added that for those who do contract polio and get sick, the prospects are “incredibly bad”.

“If it is the sewage and the water conditions that led to them contracting polio, they need treatment in healthcare facilities and hospitals and clinics, many of which are only partially operating and have been for several months due to the conflict,” he said.

Never far from the frontline

Louise Wateridge, Senior Communications Officer for UNRWA, described to UN correspondents the extremely dire situation civilians face, with lack access to clean water, mounds of trash and sewage flowing through the streets.

“People are really, as always, hoping for a ceasefire,” she said, adding that they are “never very far away from the frontline”.

“People have nowhere to go and there is no way to find safety. There is very limited access to humanitarian resources, because the humanitarian operations are also being displaced within these evacuation orders,” she said.