{"id":300406,"date":"2024-08-20T14:24:27","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=300406"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:29:02","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T18:29:02","slug":"gaza-aid-agencies-polio-20aug24","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/gaza-aid-agencies-polio-20aug24\/","title":{"rendered":"GAZA: Aid agencies and medical professionals warn of dangers of a mass polio outbreak without urgent action, endangering a generation of children (Non-UN Document)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is a non-Â鶹APP document. The Â鶹APP provides these documents only as a convenience for reference purposes, and the inclusion of a document does not imply the endorsement of its content by the Â鶹APP.<\/strong><\/p>\n

20 August 2024<\/p>\n

RAMALLAH – Aid agencies and medical professionals have joined forces to call urgently for a ceasefire to allow life-saving polio vaccinations to be administered to about 640,000 children aged under 10 following confirmation<\/a><\/em>\u00a0of the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years, with reports of other suspected cases emerging.<\/p>\n

At least 50,000\u00a0children<\/a><\/em>\u00a0born 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.<\/p>\n

Polio had been\u00a0eliminated<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in Gaza more than two decades ago, but last month the WHO\u00a0reported<\/a><\/em>\u00a0that 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\u2019s Ministry of Health in an unvaccinated 10-month-old child in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“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\u2019s Regional Director for the Middle East. “These children do not have the luxury of time.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Polio, a virus that\u00a0can cause irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours<\/a><\/em>,<\/u>\u00a0is particularly dangerous in Gaza, where high malnutrition rates and toxic stress levels make children more vulnerable to infection. With Ministry of Health\u00a0confirmations of polio<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in a 10-month-old in Deir Al-Balah, and\u00a0WHO report<\/a><\/em>s<\/a>\u00a0confirming the presence of\u00a0poliovirus in wastewater<\/a><\/em>, the situation is beyond alarming.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“The health system in Gaza was destroyed long ago,” said Nahed Abu Iyada, CARE West Bank and Gaza\u2019s Health Program Field Officer.<\/em><\/p>\n

“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.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0pause requested<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by 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\u2019 basic needs. All parties to conflict have an obligation to facilitate humanitarian access at all times, regardless of whether conflict is active or not.<\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n

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Notes to Editors:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Polio can cause total paralysis within hours and is especially dangerous for children under five.<\/p>\n

\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The World Health Organization has confirmed the presence of poliovirus in Gaza.<\/p>\n

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Signed:<\/u><\/h2>\n