2024-08-17 09:23:19
While the Hamas health ministry announced the first case of polio in Gaza, some associations and world organizations are calling for an Israeli-led ceasefire in the war to allow for a vaccination campaign.
Published on 08/17/2024 11:20 Updated on 08/17/2024 11:23
Reading time: 2 minutes On August 14, garbage piled up on the streets of the Palestinian refugee camp of Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip. illustration. (Omar Khattaa/AFP)
Ten months after the war between Israel and Hamas broke out, the United Nations, World Health Organization and Unicef called on Friday 16 August for a seven-day humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip. The goal is to vaccinate more than 640,000 children against polio. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the discovery of the first confirmed case of the highly contagious and deadly disease. Even before NGOs confirm this information, one thing is certain: living conditions in Gaza are conducive to the spread of these infectious diseases.
Like thousands of other Gazans, Nabil Diab and his family lived and slept for months in tents set up in the town of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, the journalist reported , where the youngest children especially have nothing: “There is a lack of food, medicine… The children live in tents in very poor conditions, especially the heat and humidity, and there is a lack of drinking water. Some people bathe in water mixed with sewage, so many diseases occur. “ Health issues seen up close by Nabil Diab: “I’m also a father, I have three children. My granddaughter has asthma, which creates a lot of problems for me taking ventolin when I’m least able to do it.”
according to a A report released by the Dutch NGO PAX last JulyHundreds of thousands of tons of garbage pile up on the streets of Gaza, often close to tents in camps for displaced persons. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) explains that this waste attracts rodents and insects, which can spread infectious diseases. “Today, at the health centers supported by MSF, we see one in two patients coming in with skin infections, and many Patients, especially children, develop respiratory tract infections and diarrheal diseases.””, explains Julie Faucon, who coordinates operations in the Palestinian territories from Jerusalem.
Julie Faucon continues: Not only are drugs and vaccines needed, but surgeries are needed: “It is true that a large number of children have been killed and injured, and many children need very important care, but it is no longer accessible to them in Gaza. For example, pediatric cases requiring reconstructive surgery are no longer available. They are cared for in Gaza”.
“A ceasefire is absolutely necessary in order to care for these patients.”
Julie Faucon, Coordinator, Médecins Sans Frontières
French Information Network
Therefore, treatment and vaccination are urgently needed. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Friday, August 16, that a 10-month-old baby was infected with the polio virus. A polio vaccination campaign is planned for late August and September to prevent the spread of the highly contagious and deadly variant of the virus currently circulating in the Palestinian enclave.
Gaza’s health: Report by Jules Breraz
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