The World Health Organization has announced the completion of the first phase of its polio vaccination campaign in central Gaza, having administered first doses to 187,000 children.
Today, Wednesday, September 4, 2024, was the fourth day of the vaccination campaign in Deir el-Balah.
During the first three days, 161,000 Palestinian children were inoculated, according to the WHO and local health officials.
The campaign has been extended to reach all children in the central areas.
WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus disclosed in a post on X that this effort exceeded its target of 156,000 children for the area.
However, he added that “to ensure no child is missed”, medical teams will continue to offer vaccinations at “four fixed sites” in central Gaza for three more days.
“We are grateful for the dedication of all the families, health workers and vaccinators who made this part of the campaign a success despite the dire conditions in the Gaza Strip.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
The vaccination campaign will now move to southern Gaza.
Tomorrow, the second phase is expected to begin in Khan Younis. It will last for four days. And then will move to the north of Gaza in order to reach that marginalised part of the territory.
Despite the vaccination campaign, Israel’s bombardment is still continuing in the north, central and far south of the territory.
Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman, the first child confirmed to have contracted polio in Gaza in 25 years, has gotten worse.
The once-vibrant child, who turned one on September 1, is now bedridden.
His mother, 35-year-old Nevin Abu al-Jidyan said inside a tent near az-Zawayda town in central Gaza,“Not long ago, my son was constantly moving.”
“He was so active that his father bought him a small plastic cart to ride. He was so restless he broke it from all his … playing,” she stated.
“Now he can’t move at all. My heart is shattered. I can hardly believe this is happening,” Nevin said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Polio can spread quickly in unhygienic conditions through contact with excrement, or in less common cases, through sneezing or coughing.
It can lead to mild, flu-like symptoms but in some cases can affect the brain and nerves, leading to irreversible paralysis and sometimes death.
The poliovirus present in Gaza is believed to be vaccine-derived, that is, weakened viruses from oral vaccines have mutated to cause infections and spread due to Israel’s destruction of sanitation infrastructure. Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children below the age of five are most at risk. There is no cure for polio.
To curb the spread, the United Nations, along with Gaza health authorities, has begun a vaccination campaign to give oral polio vaccines to about 640,000 children.
Polio Vaccination Campaign In Gaza Deemed One Of The Most ‘Dangerous’
The UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said that the recently concluded three-day campaign was a “rare bright spot” for the coastal enclave.
“After almost a year of families experiencing horrors no man, woman or child should ever have to endure, this week we saw what can be achieved with simple will,” Adele Khodr said in a statement.
Khodr said that the risk of polio spreading in Gaza and beyond “remains high”, adding “area-specific humanitarian pauses” must continue to implement the remaining two phases of the vaccination campaign.
“This is among the most dangerous and difficult vaccination campaigns on the planet,” she said.
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