Polio Vaccination Campaign Launches in Gaza Amid Conflict

Polio Vaccination Drive Begins in Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict

On Sunday, health workers were poised to launch a vital polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, aimed at curbing the potential spread of this highly contagious disease. This endeavor presents a formidable challenge in a region that has been devastated by ten months of intense warfare and is heavily reliant on the fragile commitments of the warring factions, Israel and Hamas, to adhere to promised “humanitarian pauses.”

In light of increasing international pressure to avert a broader outbreak of this debilitating illness, Israel has taken swift action to facilitate the efforts of United Nations agencies, in collaboration with local health authorities, to address the urgent health crisis in Gaza. This initiative follows Israel’s military response to a Hamas-led attack that occurred on October 7.

Although the vaccination campaign was officially scheduled to commence early Sunday morning, Gazan health officials took the proactive step of initiating the program on Saturday at the Nasser Hospital located in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to reports from Palestinian news outlets. Footage captured during the event showed doctors and healthcare workers administering droplets of the poliovirus vaccine to children receiving treatment at the facility.

“I learned about this vaccination campaign by chance, and I was terrified when I heard the word ‘polio,’” expressed Maysaa Abu Daqqa, a mother anxiously waiting for her 9-year-old son, Habib Nizam, at Nasser Hospital. “However, when I witnessed other mothers opting for the vaccinations for their children, I felt encouraged to follow suit,” she added.

Both Hamas and Israel have consented to temporary pauses in hostilities to facilitate the vaccination efforts; however, executing this campaign remains a complex undertaking. With much of Gaza’s infrastructure in ruins and approximately 90 percent of the enclave’s two million residents having repeatedly fled from Israeli airstrikes, ensuring that all of the estimated 640,000 children under the age of 10 receive immunization may prove to be an insurmountable task.

For families eager to vaccinate their children, the obstacles they face are numerous and daunting:

• Trusting that the temporary ceasefires will hold.
• Navigating through blocked and damaged roadways.
• Exposing themselves to potential danger and the pervasive lawlessness that has taken hold in the region.

As the vaccination drive unfolds, the resilience and determination of the Gazan people will be tested, all while they strive to protect their most vulnerable from the looming threat of polio.