Gaza: First polio case confirmed in war-shattered enclave

Head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed deep concern at the development and said that the infant, from Deir Al Balah, developed paralysis in the lower left leg but is now in a stable condition

He said that given the high risk of poliovirus spread in Gaza and the region, the Palestinian health authorities together with the WHO and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, “are working to implement two rounds of polio vaccination in the coming weeks to halt transmission”.

The UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, added that its medical teams will support the delivery of vaccines to its clinics and mobile health teams, in partnership with WHO and UNICEF

During August alone, Israeli forces “issued 12 evacuation orders, forcing almost 250,000 people to move yet again”, said Muhannad Hadi, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“If evacuation orders are meant to protect civilians, the fact is that they are leading to the exact opposite,” he insisted. “They are forcing families to flee again, often under fire and with the few belongings they can carry with them, into an ever-shrinking area that is overcrowded, polluted, with limited services and – like the rest of Gaza – unsafe.”

Because of being repeatedly uprooted, people are also unable to access services “essential for their survival, including medical facilities, shelters, water wells and humanitarian supplies”, Mr. Hadi continued