WHO to resume mass Polio vaccination in Gaza

The WHO will resume mass polio vaccinations in Gaza on 22 February, aiming to immunise over 591,000 children under 10 after the virus was detected in wastewater. The campaign, delayed since November due to conflict, comes amid worsening humanitarian conditions and rising health risks.

In a statement released by the Director-General of the organization,Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, he said that the important vaccines will be provided to over 591,000 children under the age of 10 living in the strip. 

He further explained that “This campaign follows the recent detection of poliovirus in wastewater samples, signaling circulation in the environment, which is putting children at risk”. 

The five day campaign which was previously suspended in November 2024 was postponed due to “intense bombardments, mass displacements, lack of assured humanitarian pauses and access” according to the WHO.

WHO has also said that current conditions in the strip including overcrowding in shelters, and severely damaged water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, which facilitates fecal-oral transmission, create ideal conditions for further spread of the virus.. 

Thousands of displaced Palestinians have continued to make the return trip home since the first phase of the ceasefire deal was finalized with Israel on January 19. 

In a bid to help rebuilding and humanitarian efforts across the region, Egypt and Qatar have also dispatched construction equipment to the strip to establish a container city and clear debris from buildings destroyed by the Israeli attacks. 

Quick look at the polio virus 

• Poliomyelitis is caused by a virus “poliovirus” which invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours.
• Initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs
• Polio mainly affects children under 5 years of age.
• There is no cure for polio, it can  only be prevented.
• One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those paralysed, 5–10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.
• Cases due to wild poliovirus have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350 000 cases in more than 125 endemic countries, to just two endemic countries.
• As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio.
• In most countries, the global effort has expanded capacities to tackle other infectious diseases by building effective surveillance and immunization systems.

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