Inside a tent near the town of az-Zawayda in central Gaza, Nevin Abu al-Jidyan, 35, sits on the floor next to her youngest child, Abdul Rahman, who lies in a plastic baby chair. Rahman looks pale as his mother gently touches his face and fans him with a piece of cardboard.
She was sleeping after crying. Nevin’s eight other children sat quietly in the small room equipped with several mattresses, cooking utensils, and other items in the corner.
Rahman, a once-vibrant child who had just taken his first steps, used to play and run around the campsite with full energy. But now he is bedridden.
Rahman, whose birthday is Sept. 1, is the first child confirmed to have polio in Gaza in 25 years. “Not long ago, my son was constantly moving,” Nevin said through tears.
“He was so active that his dad bought him a little plastic cart to ride on. He was so restless that he ruined his games,” she said.
Her voice cracked as she continued, gently rocking Abdul Rahman. “Now he can’t move at all. My heart is broken. I can hardly believe this is happening,” she lamented.
Read also: Polio Outbreak Threat Amid Gaza’s Crippled Health System
The world is falling apart
Table of Contents
About two months ago, Abdul Rahman developed a high fever and was vomiting continuously. Worried, Nevin took him to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the last functioning medical facility in central Gaza, without ever imagining how serious his illness was.
For two weeks, he could barely get up and did not breastfeed as usual. He was fed through an IV.
After spending two weeks in hospital, Nevin took her son, who had started eating but was still having difficulty, back to the refugee camp. Doctors suspected a serious illness and sent samples to Jordan for testing.
Read also: Israeli Public Health Experts Urge Ceasefire to Stop Polio in Gaza
A month later, Nevin received the devastating news over the phone that Abdul Rahman had polio. “It felt like the world was crumbling around me,” he recalls.
“I couldn’t believe it. The doctors confirmed the diagnosis and asked me to immediately prepare all my children for vaccination,” she said.
She was stunned and although she could barely understand what was happening, she remembered how scared the other children were of the same disease. A few hours later, a medical team arrived to vaccinate her children and their neighbors, fearing the virus would spread in the crowded tents.
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Questions ran through her mind. “My child has polio? Will he be paralyzed? What can I do? How can I protect my nine children?” she asked herself to Al-Jazeera.
Overdue vaccinations
Since Abdul Rahman fell ill, he has been unable to stand or move his legs and sometimes suffers from seizures. He also has difficulty moving his left arm. At first Nevin thought this was due to fatigue from the illness.
Now knowing polio has left both of his legs paralyzed, Nevin fled northern Gaza with his family after Israel ordered them to evacuate.
Since then, he and his family have faced one upheaval after another in the past 11 months since Israel began bombing Gaza and killing more than 40,800 Palestinians.
The family of 11 has been forced to move five times. The constant displacement, he said, prevented Abdul Rahman from getting critical vaccinations, leading to him contracting polio.
“This virus has hit my son really hard,” Nevin said. “When we evacuated, he was only a month old and missed his vaccinations. We are constantly on the move and that is a challenge,” she said.
He also believes poor living conditions contributed to his illness. “It was the dirty water and lack of nutritious food that made Abdul Rahman sick. I think contaminated water, the kind of water they distributed to us, was the main cause of the spread of polio,” he said.
Polio can spread quickly in unhygienic conditions through contact with feces or, in rare cases, through sneezing or coughing. It can cause mild flu-like symptoms, but in some cases it can affect the brain and nerves, causing permanent paralysis and sometimes death.
The UN, together with Gaza health authorities, has begun a vaccination campaign to provide oral polio vaccine to some 640,000 children. The polio virus in Gaza is believed to be vaccine-derived, a weakened form of the oral vaccine that mutated to cause infections and spread due to Israel’s destruction of sanitation infrastructure.
Children under the age of five who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated are at greatest risk of contracting the disease. There is no cure for polio.
The condition is getting worse
It saddened Nevin to see how tired and listless her once cheerful son was. Now he barely smiled when she played with him.
Nevin’s only hope now is to get her son out of Gaza for treatment. “My husband and I dream of going abroad when the Rafah crossing reopens,” she said. “Abdul Rahman needs supplements but his condition is getting worse,” she said.
Nevin spent her days by her son’s side, nursing him. He cried often and the family grieved. Still, Nevin did what she could, massaging his feet every day, hoping they would respond and feed her despite his lack of appetite.
But living in poverty and displacement, Nevin struggles to meet the most basic needs. “My child needs clean, filtered water, but with my large family, I can’t afford to buy bottled water regularly,” she said.
Crying, Nevin hopes only for her child to recover, either through treatment abroad or Gaza. “But it seems like no one cares at the moment and I am helpless as a mother. All I can do is hope that he can regain his health,” she concluded. (Z-2)
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The Rise of Polio in Gaza: A Mother’s Heartbreaking Story and the Urgent Need for Vaccinations
!Mother’s Suffering in Gaza as Her Baby Suffers from Polio
Caption: A child in Gaza receiving a polio vaccination. (Al-Jazeera Doc)
In a tent situated near az-Zawayda, central Gaza, the air is thick with despair as Nevin Abu al-Jidyan, 35, struggles to comfort her bedridden son, Abdul Rahman. Just days after celebrating his birthday, the once-vibrant child now lies incapacitated in a plastic baby chair, a stark reminder of the devastating impact of a polio outbreak in a region already grappling with a crumbling healthcare system.
Abdul Rahman’s Journey: From Playful Child to Polio Victim
Nevin’s heart breaks as she watches her 18-month-old son decline. Once filled with energy, Rahman was known for his playful nature, often racing around the camp with his new toy cart. But within a matter of weeks, his condition changed dramatically. After suffering through high fevers and unrelenting vomiting, Nevin rushed him to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital—the last functioning medical facility in central Gaza. Unfortunately, doctors confirmed her worst fear: Abdul Rahman had contracted polio, the first known case in Gaza in twenty-five years.
“My son was so active,” Nevin recalls, tears streaming down her face. “Now he can’t move at all.”
The Health Crisis in Gaza: Factors Contributing to the Polio Outbreak
Despite the existence of a vaccination program, Abdul Rahman’s plight is indicative of a more significant public health crisis in Gaza. Displacement, caused by ongoing conflict, has left families in dire living conditions and disrupted access to basic healthcare services, including essential vaccinations. Nevin’s family has moved five times in the past eleven months due to airstrikes, forcing them into cramped, unhygienic quarters that lack proper sanitation and clean water.
Contaminated water and poor living conditions have been linked to the resurgence of polio, which can spread rapidly in such environments. The UN estimates that the polio virus in Gaza may be derived from a weakened form of the oral vaccine, which has mutated under dire living circumstances.
The Urgent Need for Vaccination
The United Nations, alongside Gaza health authorities, is mobilizing efforts to curb the outbreak by launching a vaccination campaign aimed at immunizing approximately 640,000 children across the region. The risk for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children under five is exceptionally high.
“Abdul Rahman needs supplements, but his condition is getting worse,” Nevin says, desperately hoping for a solution. Unfortunately, despite the urgency, the lack of stability and resources in Gaza complicates vaccination efforts.
A Mother’s Despair: The Emotional Toll
Each day is a battle for Nevin, who devotes her time to nursing her son. The stark contrast of his previous lively spirit now weighs heavily on her heart. Caregivers, medical professionals, and social workers must now step in to provide the emotional and medical support needed for families like Nevin’s.
For this mother, her world has changed irrevocably. “I just want my son to be healthy again,” she laments. “When the Rafah crossing reopens, I dream of going abroad for treatment for him.”
Conclusion: A Call to Action
The story of Abdul Rahman is not just an isolated case; it is a symbol of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The international community must respond with urgency to provide vaccinations and medical assistance to prevent further tragedies and protect vulnerable children from the devastating impact of diseases like polio.
This tragedy serves as a reminder of the importance of immunization and the pressing need to support healthcare initiatives worldwide, especially in conflict zones. As Nevin hopes for her son’s recovery, the collective responsibility to safeguard health and well-being remains critical.
The world watches, and it is vital that we act—because every child deserves a healthy future, free from preventable diseases.
