United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today urged all sides involved in the conflict in the Gaza Strip to provide concrete guarantees that they will proceed with humanitarian ceasefires to begin a polio vaccine campaign in the Palestinian enclave.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, Guterres called for immediate assurances and warned that preventing and containing the spread of polio in the enclave would require a massive, coordinated and urgent effort.
“Let’s be clear: The ultimate vaccine for polio is peace and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” Guterres said. “But in any case, a pause to deal with polio is absolutely necessary. It is impossible to conduct a polio vaccination campaign with war raging everywhere,” he added.
Guterres said the UN was ready to launch a vaccination campaign in Gaza for children under 10, but said “the challenges are serious”. Given the devastation the Palestinian enclave has suffered, vaccination coverage of at least 95% will be needed in each of the two vaccination cycles to stop the spread and limit new cases. For the campaign to be successful there will need to be transport of vaccines and refrigeration machines at each stage, disease specialists to be in the pocket, reliable internet and telephone services and other elements.
Hamas agrees to cease fire
Hamas will support a UN call for seven-day humanitarian pauses to vaccinate children in Gaza, Izzat al-Risk, a member of its political office, said in a statement.
Gaza’s health ministry declared a polio outbreak in the Palestinian enclave last month, blaming Israel’s ongoing military operation.
Polio has been detected in sewage in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis provinces, according to Dr. Hamid Jafari, a WHO polio expert, who told a news conference earlier this month that the virus may have been circulating since September. Polio, which is transmitted mainly through the faecal and oral route, is a highly contagious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.
Children under 5 years of age are at greater risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under 2 years of age, as regular vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by the war.
Source: RES-MPE
#Gaza #Hamas #agrees #weeklong #truce #polio #vaccination
