WHO to roll out polio vaccination campaign in Gaza
The World Health Organisation (WHO) plans to launch a polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced at a press conference on Wednesday.
The WHO is sending more than 1 million polio vaccines to Gaza, which Ghebreyesus said "will be administered in the coming weeks". The organisation wants to protect young children in particular against the nerve infection that occurs in both children and adults, leading to paralysis that can become permanent.
Last month, the polio virus was found in wastewater in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-run Health ministry declared an epidemic in the area at the end of July. "The detection of polio in Gaza's wastewater is a telling sign that the virus has spread within the community, putting unvaccinated children at risk," Ghebreyesus said.
The WHO is calling for "absolute freedom of movement" for aid workers and medical equipment to safely complete the complex vaccination campaign. A ceasefire or a pause in the war in the Gaza Strip is therefore necessary to prepare and carry out the operation, Ghebreyesus said.
Due to the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza following the Hamas attack in Israel on 7 October, access to clean water, sanitation infrastructure and healthcare in Gaza is severely limited.
In addition, there is a build-up of waste and food can often no longer be stored hygienically, Hamas says. This has led to a resurgence of polio, according to the Palestinian extremist organisation. The disease spreads through faeces, contaminated food and drinking water, physical contact and the air.
Palestinian children receive vaccinations at a health centre in the Gaza Strip, 25 July 2024. © PHOTO OMAR ASHTAWY/APA IMAGES
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