First Children Receive Polio Drops in Besieged Gaza

APP

Islamabad: A first group of children received polio vaccinations in besieged Gaza on Saturday, ahead of the official start of a much-anticipated United Nations-led campaign set to begin Today (Sunday).

Children at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, located in central Gaza, were among the first to receive these vital vaccines on Saturday, as shown in footage aired on American television.

A UN official noted that the success of the vaccination operation depends on the “humanitarian pause” in the bombardments of the enclave, an agreement reached with Israel.

Following the initial vaccinations in central Gaza, the campaign will move to southern Gaza and subsequently to northern Gaza. The campaign, which requires two doses of the vaccine, aims to cover more than 640,000 children under the age of 10.

Michael Ryan, WHO Deputy Director-General, informed the UN Security Council this week that 1.26 million doses of the oral vaccine had already been delivered to Gaza, with an additional 400,000 doses still expected to arrive.

Earlier this month, the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry reported that tests conducted in Jordan confirmed a case of polio in an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby from central Gaza.

The WHO has warned that the intense heat in Gaza could exacerbate the health crisis for Palestinians, as poliovirus, which is highly infectious, is primarily spread through sewage and contaminated water—an increasingly common issue in Gaza as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues.

Polio mainly affects children under the age of five, leading to deformities, paralysis, and, in severe cases, death.

Israel’s military campaign has resulted in the deaths of at least 40,691 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office has reported that the majority of the dead are women and children.

The relentless Israeli bombardment has also triggered a major humanitarian crisis and severely impacted the health system in Gaza.