Polio Vaccination Campaign in Gaza Misses Thousands of Children – Global Issues
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 08 (IPS) – On November 6, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the second round of polio vaccinations in the Gaza Strip has been completed. A total of 556,744 children under ten years of age received the mOPV2 vaccine and a dose of vitamin A to ensure immunization. However, due to rampant clashes from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the campaign was not entirely successful, leading humanitarian organizations to fear that the herd’s immunity has not been achieved.
During a United Nations (UN) press conference, Secretary-General’s Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric informed reporters that despite the many access challenges faced by aid workers, the campaign has been relatively successful. About 103 percent of children in central Gaza are immunized, which means more children in the region have been reached than expected. 91 percent of children in southern Gaza receive vaccines.
However, northern Gaza has been a major concern for aid groups due to ongoing access challenges and hostilities since September. Preliminary data from the UN suggest that only 88 percent of children in the region have received the vaccine.
Statistics from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) show that there are approximately 7,000-10,000 children who have not been vaccinated in the districts of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun.
According to a press release from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, at least 90 percent vaccination coverage during each round of the campaign is needed to successfully contain the outbreak in Gaza and prevent the resurgence of polio worldwide. Due to Gaza’s poor health, water, and sanitation systems, residents are at high risk of disease spread.
The increase in hostilities in the Gaza Strip in the days leading up to the completion of the second round of vaccination has seriously hampered the vaccination efforts. Despite the campaigns in central and southern Gaza going relatively well, clashes in northern Gaza in the days leading up to the completion of the second round of vaccinations have severely hampered vaccination efforts.
On November 2, the IDF launched an airstrike on a health center in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City. The WHO reported that the attack resulted in the injury of six civilians, including four children.
“This attack, during aid breaks, threatens the sanctity of children’s health protection and may prevent parents from bringing their children to be vaccinated. These important aid breaks must be fully respected,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, in a statement released on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Attacks on the Gaza Strip continued after a temporary suspension of aid to the vaccination campaign. The latest bills passed by the Knesset exacerbate the suffering of the people in Gaza as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) can no longer play its important role in providing aid.
Israel’s ongoing air campaign in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, destroyed entire neighborhoods, and rendered the northern areas, such as Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun almost uninhabitable.
In a press release from the WHO, the situation in northern Gaza was described as “apocalyptic”. It added that dozens of shelters that have been turned into schools have been targeted by the IDF or evacuated. Tents were set on fire and refugees were shot. Injured civilians are being taken to nearly defunct health care facilities, where life-saving services have been disrupted and critical supplies and equipment have been destroyed.
Additionally, millions have been driven from their homes, and Gaza is one of the world’s biggest displacement problems. On October 5, Brigadier-General Itzik Cohen of the IDF informed reporters that residents of northern Gaza will not be allowed to return to their homes. Cohen noted that the military has entered two areas, such as the Jabalia camp, and therefore, allowing Gazans to return there would complicate security efforts. He added that the delivery of general aid will be allowed in the southern and central areas of Gaza, but not in the north, because, as he said, “there are no more civilians left.”
The absence of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip is expected to be felt more strongly by the approximately two million people who are struggling to survive.
“The decision (Israel’s ban on UNRWA) will further undermine the international community’s ability to provide adequate humanitarian aid and save lives in any safe, independent and impartial manner. Israel has bombed Palestinians, maimed them, and starved them to death.” , and now freeing them from their huge call for help, Israel dismantles Gaza as an independent and habitable state Palestinians,” said Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
On November 6, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini addressed the UN General Assembly, urging the UN to block the implementation of two recent Israeli laws.
“Without the intervention of member states, UNRWA will collapse, plunging millions of Palestinians into chaos,” Lazzarini said. “First, I ask that Member States take action to prevent the implementation of the law against UNRWA. Second, I ask that Member States ensure that any plan for political reform defines the role of UNRWA. Finally, I ask that Member States maintain UNRWA’s funding, and not withhold or divert funds on the assumption that the Agency will no longer be able to function.”
Lazzarini reminded the General Assembly of the price paid by UNRWA and its staff during the crisis. 239 UNRWA workers were killed, and more than two-thirds of UNRWA facilities were damaged or destroyed. Lazzarini called for an investigation into this violation of international humanitarian law.
It is estimated that the cost of providing funding to UNRWA in this transition period will be significant. However, disbanding UNRWA would be very expensive as well. Through its urgent appeal, the UN is seeking more than 1.2 billion dollars to help more than 1.7 million people facing dire situations. Due to the recent UNRWA ban, these costs are estimated to be much higher. It is important that donor contributions continue as humanitarian aid continues to be blocked in northern Gaza. Conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate as the harsh winter season approaches.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
