The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that it would send more than a million polio vaccines to the Gaza Strip, as a strain of the virus was detected in sewage samples.
“WHO is sending over 1 million polio vaccines to be administered in the coming weeks. The detection of polio in Gaza’s sewage is a telltale sign that the virus has circulated within the community, putting unvaccinated children at risk.“, said the head of the organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, during a press briefing from its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The main objective of this campaign will be to protect young children against this highly contagious disease caused by the poliovirus. This invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours. UNICEF and UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, will notably help organize this vaccination campaign, specified the WHO, confirming a “logistical challenge“. She asked for a “complete freedom of movement“for humanitarian workers and the distribution of medical equipment to carry out this vaccination campaign.”A ceasefire is necessary“For this operation to go well,” said Dr. Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The Hamas government’s health ministry for the Gaza Strip has declared the territory “Palestinian.”polio outbreak area“, while the WHO expressed its concerns about this epidemic at the end of July, and the territory has been affected by a serious health crisis since the start of the war between Hamas and the Israeli army, almost ten months ago.
