Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, has announced the teams have kicked off today with the polio vaccine campaign in northern Gaza, saying it would last until September 12.
This took place after the polio vaccination campaign in southern Gaza had concluded with over 446,000 children being vaccinated since the start of the campaign on 1st September.
Ghebreyesus thanked the families for their cooperation, and to all vaccinators and health workers for their dedication, adding that other five health facilities will continue offering polio vaccination in the south to make sure no child is missed.
However, the campaign in the north of Gaza wasn’t far reaching from Israeli war machinary assaults.
Stark Warning
The Government Media Office has urgently alerted the public to Israel’s perilous attempts to undermine the polio vaccination initiative throughout the Gaza Strip. These measures, according to the office, present a grave threat to public health and could precipitate a looming humanitarian crisis.
The Israeli military persists in obstructing substantial quantities of fuel essential for sustaining the vaccination campaign. This fuel is vital for operating vehicles that facilitate the movement of both stationary and mobile medical teams throughout the Gaza Strip, the office added.
The continued blockade threatens to derail the vaccination initiative, endangering the effort to safeguard thousands of children from polio.
The ongoing fuel blockade also threatens to shut down hospitals and medical centers in Gaza within the next 24 hours, including the Indonesian Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
These facilities are home to numerous critical patients, including children in intensive care and neonatal units, and cannot function without electricity, according to Al Jazeera’s Anas Al-Sharif.
The office has asserted that Israel is purposefully impeding both the vaccination campaign and the broader healthcare infrastructure in Gaza. This deliberate obstruction jeopardizes the effectiveness of the campaign, which is being managed by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and UNRWA.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor further reported that 50% of essential medicines in Gaza are now unavailable. In addition, primary healthcare centers are running critically low on supplies, including insulin.
Routine vaccines like Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), used to protect children from tuberculosis, and DTP vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough, are nearly exhausted, putting newborns at serious risk.
Israel, US to Be Blamed
The Government Media Office has unequivocally attributed the potential spread of polio to both Israel and the United States, accusing them of actively obstructing vaccination efforts and undermining the broader healthcare system in Gaza.
The office has urged the international community and humanitarian organizations to exert pressure on Israel to exempt the healthcare sector from its military actions and to safeguard the success of the vaccination campaign.
Muhannad Hadi, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the United Nations and humanitarian organizations face “continuous obstruction and insecurity in their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the devastated population in Gaza.”
He cited an incident took place Monday Sep.8th, in which a team of twelve UN staff members, whose movement was coordinated with the Israeli military, was stopped on its way to North Gaza to support the third phase of the Gaza Strip-wide polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza.
Israeli soldiers pointed their weapons towards the convoy personnel. Then, they fired live shots, and tanks and bulldozers damaged UN vehicles, “endangering the lives of UN staff inside the vehicles”, according to Hadi.
“Despite daily coordination of humanitarian movements with the Israeli [military], our staff and assets were not provided with sufficient protection, hindering our work. Under international humanitarian law, such protection is mandatory,” he said.
After seven and a half hours at the checkpoint, the convoy returned to base without being able to fulfil its humanitarian mission to support the polio campaign, Hadi added.
“This incident highlights the ongoing dangers and obstacles humanitarian personnel face in Gaza.”
Gaza Children Deserve More Than Vaccines
Despite all challenges that affect the health system, the polio vaccination campaign officially launched Tuseday Sep.9, with 230 medical teams operating across 177 fixed centers in Gaza and northern Gaza.
The campaign aims to vaccinate approximately 14,000 children aged one day to ten years. Mobile teams are also traveling to remote areas to ensure all children have access to the vaccine.
Preliminary reports indicate a robust public response to the vaccination campaign, marked by substantial attendance at vaccination centers.
Teams comprising vaccinators, health educators, and registrars are collaboratively ensuring the program’s efficacy and safety.
Additionally, an extensive public health awareness initiative is underway, aimed at informing families about the vaccine’s critical importance and safety.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed on X that “Vaccines, finger markers and cold chain equipment were delivered to the north yesterday.”
He added that “Our team is trying to deliver more fuel to ensure vehicles used by vaccinators to reach the children remain functional, and hospitals can be resupplied to maintain essential services.”
Ghebreyesus also called for maintaining humanitarian pauses and respecting the safety of health workers, saying the children in Gaza deserve lasting peace, not just polio vaccines.
Palestinain Ministry of Health also said that there are no cure or vaccine could help Gaza children unless there is a full ceasefire and halt for Israeli assaults.
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