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OPT_2024_ER-CXT_ER Pool Deployment2 © Action contre la Faim

Press release

Gaza

Dangers of a mass polio outbreak without urgent action

At least 50,000 children born during the past 10 months of hostilities are highly unlikely to have received any immunizations due to the collapsed health system, while older children among the one million children in Gaza will have had their regular vaccine schedules disrupted or halted by violence and displacement.

Polio had been eliminated in Gaza more than two decades ago, but last month the WHO reported that the virus had been found in sewage samples from sites in Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah. This month, one case was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health in an unvaccinated 10-month-old child in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The reemergence of the poliovirus in Gaza is a direct result of the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure, and the Government of Israel’s restrictions on repairs and supplies. Coupled with overcrowding, displacement, and a crippled healthcare system, these actions have created an environment ripe for the spread of the virus in Gaza.

A group of about 20 aid agencies and 20 medical professionals who have worked in Gaza said polio vaccines are in the region and ready to be distributed in August and September, but this requires full access for humanitarian supplies into Gaza from all border crossings, and safe, unhindered movement within the Strip. This can only be achieved with an immediate end to hostilities.

“Now polio is confirmed, the response needs to be measured in hours, not weeks. Without immediate action, an entire generation is at risk of infection, and hundreds of children face paralysis by a highly communicable disease that can be prevented with a simple vaccine,” said Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East. “These children do not have the luxury of time.” 

Polio, a virus that can cause irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours, is particularly dangerous in Gaza, where high malnutrition rates and toxic stress levels make children more vulnerable to infection. With Ministry of Health confirmations of polio in a 10-month-old in Deir Al-Balah, and WHO reports confirming the presence of poliovirus in wastewater, the situation is beyond alarming.

Humanitarian operations across Gaza are severely hindered by the ongoing bombardment and the obstruction of critical aid supplies and fuel at Israeli-controlled crossing points, and dangerous transit inside the Gaza Strip. Specialist refrigerated trucks needed to safely transport vaccines have been repeatedly rejected from entry, leaving thousands of children at risk.

“The health system in Gaza was destroyed long ago,” said Nahed Abu Iyada, CARE West Bank and Gaza’s Health Program Field Officer.

“Without an immediate ceasefire and access to vaccines and humanitarian aid across the Strip, the people of Gaza are facing a public health disaster that will spread and endanger children across the region and beyond.”

Humanitarian organisations urgently call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire to allow polio vaccinations to take place in Gaza. For a polio vaccination campaign to be effective, it must be able to reach at least 95% of targeted children, and this cannot happen in an active war zone. Any ceasefire or pause requested by the UN must be used to facilitate full humanitarian access, not just for vaccines but for the full range of assistance needed to sustain civilians’ basic needs. All parties to conflict have an obligation to facilitate humanitarian access at all times, regardless of whether conflict is active or not.


Signed:  

  • Islamic Relief Worldwide

  • MedGlobal

  • ActionAid

  • Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)

  • War Child

  • Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)

  • WeWorld

  • CARE

  • Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)

  • Humanity & Inclusion/ Handicap International (HI)

  • DanChurchAid

  • ChildFund Alliance

  • Plan International

  • Action contre la Faim

  • Médecins du Monde Espagne

  • Oxfam

  • International Rescue Committee

  • Mercy Corps

  • Children Not Numbers NGO

  • Save the Children

Doctors and medical professionals:

  • Feroze Sidhwa, MD, MPH, FACS, FICS
    Trauma, critical care, acute care, and General Surgeon
    Served at European Hospital, Khan Younis, March 25 – April 8, 2024
    French Camp, CA

  • Thaer Ahmad, MD
    Emergency Medicine Physician
    Served at Nasser Hospital, January 2024

  • John Kahler, MD, FAAP
    MedGlobal Cofounder
    Served in Tel al-Sultan, Rafah, Gaza, January, March 2024

  • Abdullah Ghali, MD
    Orthopedic Surgery Resident
    European Hospital in Khan Younis, April 3 – 8, 2024
    Houston, TX

  • Abeerah Muhammad MSN, RN, CEN
    Emergency and Critical Care Nurse
    European Hospital, May 2024

  • Yipeng Ge, MD, MPH, CCFP
    Primary Care Physician and Public Health Practitioner
    Tal Al Sultan Primary Health Care Center in Rafah, February 12-19, 2024
    Ottawa, Canada

  • Benjamin Thomson, MD, MSc, MPH(c), FRCPC
    Internal Medicine, Nephrology, Public Health
    Multiple sites in Rafah, Deir-el-balah
    March 2024
    Toronto, Canada

  • Noor Amin, MD, CCFP(SEM), FCFP
    Primary Care, Emergency and Sports Medicine physician
    Al Aqsa Hospital and European Gaza Hospital April 2024
    Mississauga, Canada

  • Ahmad Yousaf, MD
    Internal Medicine/Pediatrician
    Al-Aqsa Shushes Hospital, June 24- July 16, 2024

  • Nabeel Rana, MD
    Vascular Surgeon
    Served at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Deir al-Balah, June 20 – July 9, 2024

  • Hina Cheema, MD
    Obstetrician and Gynecologist
    Served in Al Emirati hospital, Rafah March 2024
    Served in Nassar hospital, Khan Younis, June-July, 2024

  • Ahmed Ebeid
    Anesthesia
    Served in European General Hospital, January – February 2024
    Served in Kamal Eledwan Hospital, March- April 2024

  • Bilal Piracha, MD
    Clinical Assistant Professor Emergency Medicine
    Served at Aqsa Hospital, DeirAl-Balah, March 7 -19 & July 19- 25, 2024
    Served at Al Ahli Hospital (Gaza City), July 26 – August 1, 2024

  • Professor Nick Maynard MS, FRCS, FRCSEd
    Consultant Surgeon (General and Thoracic Surgery)
    Oxford University Hospitals, Oxford, UK
    Served as member of Medical Aid for Palestinians Emergency Medical teams in Gaza:
    December 26, 2023 – January 8, 2024, Al Aqsa Hospital, Deir Al Balah, Gaza
    April 22– May 6, 2024, Al Aqsa Hospital, Deir Albalah, Gaza

  • Javid Abdelmoneim FRCP, DTMH
    Emergency Medicine Physician
    Nasser Medical Complex, Khan Younis June -July 2024

  • Khaled Dawas MD, FRCS (General Surgeon)
    Consultant Surgeon
    University College London Hospitals
    Member of Medial Aid for Palestinians Emergency Medical Teams in Gaza 2023/4

  • Dr. Trish Scanlan
    Paediatrician & Co-Medical Director
    Children Not Numbers

  • Dr James Smith MBBS, MA, MSc, MSc
    Emergency Physician, UK
    Lecturer in Humanitarian Policy and Practice, UCL, UK
    Served in Al Aqsa Hospital, December 16, 2023 – January 8, 2024
    Served in Al-Mawasi, Rafah, Al-Aqsa Hospital, & supported patient evacuations ins Gaza City, North Gaza)

  • Alia Kattan MD
    Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine
    Served in European General Hospital, Gaza, April 29 – May 17, 2024

  • Tanya Haj-Hassan, BMBCh, MSc
    Served in Gaza, March 11-25, 2024

 

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