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The World Health Organization (WHO) is in the process of carrying out a massive polio vaccination drive in the coming weeks in war-torn Gaza. The United Nations health agency is sending over one million doses to the area, said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The campaign was initiated after polio virus was isolated from wastewater samples mid-July from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, where around a million residents of Rafah have been moved to since May, according to Ghebreyesus.
"WHO considers there to be a high risk of spread of this strain within Gaza, and internationally," WHO had noted in a statement published July 19.
The global health body has asked for a ceasefire or at least some 'days of tranquility' to carry out the vaccination campaign safely. "We need absolute freedom of movement for health workers and medical equipment," WHO stated.
The organisation has planned the drive in two rounds, targeting 600,000 children under the age of eight.
The initiative is vital because since the beginning of the conflict with Israel, Gaza's vaccination coverage dropped to 86 per cent from 99 per cent. This, WHO noted, "is dangerous as this provides pockets of unvaccinated children, where the virus can circulate".
The threat is compounded by the damage caused to the healthcare facilities and wastewater treatment plants in Gaza.
"Only 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are functional – with reduced services – and less than half of the primary healthcare facilities are operational," WHO General-Director mentioned in a media report August 1, 2024. He added:
Meanwhile, 70 per cent of all sewage pumps in Gaza have been destroyed and not a single wastewater treatment plant is working. These conditions present the perfect breeding ground for disease to spread.
In the past, the infection has thrived with debilitating effects on children in war-hit nations, noted WHO. In Syria, for instance, a variant of the virus left 75 children paralysed in 2017, at the peak of conflicts. Similar tragedies plagued Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The immunisation drive, thus, needs to be carried out urgently to protect thousands of unvaccinated children in Gaza, said Ghebreyesus. WHO is also supporting routine immunization and disease surveillance, including for polio, the organisation noted.