The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has announced that it will begin vaccinating Gaza’s children at the end of the month.

This news comes after Gaza recorded its first case of polio last week, causing fears of an outbreak of a disease that had long been brought under control.

Polio vaccinations in Gaza plunged after the war began on October 7, 2023 and the territory has become a breeding ground for the virus.

UNRWA stated that it is equipped to carry out this vaccination drive as Gaza’s largest primary healthcare provider and that it will use both its healthcare centres and mobile clinics.

Philippe Lazzarini, the Head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA emphasized that to stop polio from spreading, it is crucial that the UN’s upcoming vaccination drive covers all young children,

“It is not enough to bring the vaccines into Gaza and protect the cold chain,” Lazzarini noted in a post on X.

He added, “To have an impact, the vaccines must end up in the mouths of every child under the age of 10.”

Lazzarini warned that polio could spread among children, even outside the territory, without a quick humanitarian response.

“Polio will not make the distinction between Palestinian and Israeli children,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus disclosed that a Palestinian infant who has contracted polio, the first case in Gaza in a quarter-century, has developed partial paralysis.

He said in a post on X that the 10-month-old developed paralysis in the lower left leg and is in stable condition.

“I am gravely concerned,” he said.

Samples from the infected child were tested by the WHO and confirmed to be linked to the variant found in Gaza’s wastewater.

Given the high risk of its spread, the Geneva-based WHO is working with the Palestinian Health Ministry and UNICEF to launch two rounds of vaccinations; one at the end of August and the other in September.

Separately, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said in a statement that a ceasefire is necessary for polio vaccination campaign to succeed

“The vaccination campaign alone will not be effective in the absence of clean water, personal hygiene supplies, the spread of sewage among the tents of the displaced, and the absence of a healthy environment,” the ministry added.

WHO Sends Chlorine Tablets, Hygiene Supplies To Gaza Hospitals

As Israeli bombs continue to devastate Gaza’s infrastructure and force Palestinians into increasingly cramped areas, access to clean water and sanitation is becoming even more scarce, including in health facilities.

To help improve health conditions and reduce the risk of disease spreading, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it has sent hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of chlorine tablets, gloves and hygiene products to five of Gaza’s hospitals.

It plans to deliver additional supplies to two more facilities this week, it says.

The Israeli Defence Ministry agency that oversees the occupied Palestinian territory has claimed that 234 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza yesterday, Thursday, August 22, 2024.

The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that 206 trucks arrived through the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing in southern Gaza and 28 through the Beit Hanoon (Erez) crossing in the north.

“Trucks arrived from Israel, Egypt and the Ashdod port,” it said.

COGAT also claimed that of the 105 truckloads of goods that were collected from the Gaza side of Karem Abu Salem, 100 were retrieved by the private sector and only five by UN agencies.

It added that about 490 truckloads of goods are waiting to be collected, 420 of which are for UN aid.

The UN and other international organisations, however, continue to report Israeli restrictions on aid delivery to Gaza.