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.

In an online post, Tedros added that the UN health agency had confirmed via genomic sequencing that the boy’s infection was linked to the poliovirus type 2 variant, detected in environmental samples collected in June from Gaza wastewater.

High risk of spread

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.

UNRWA is the largest aid agency in the Gaza Strip and remains a major actor in the health sector, providing health services across 10 primary health centres and up to 100 mobile medical points.

The development comes as the UN’s top aid official in the Occupied Palestinian Territory warned that mass evacuations in Gaza “choke (people’s) survival” and continue to severely constrain aid operations.

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.

Running into danger

“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.

Evacuation orders continue

WHO has procured more than $400,000 worth of infection prevention and control supplies, including chlorine tablets, hygiene products, and gloves. These items have already been delivered to five hospitals, with plans to reach two others in the coming weeks, the UN Spokesperson told correspondents on Friday in New York.

“However, we keep sounding the alarm that repeated evacuation orders continue to severely disrupt aid operations in Gaza”, said Stéphane Dujarric.

Meanwhile, the amount of food assistance that has entered southern Gaza in July was one of the lowest recorded in the past 10 months, according to aid partners.

“They warn that active hostilities, damaged roads, access constraints, and a lack of public order and safety have led to critical food shortages.”

Acute malnutrition soars

The number of children in northern Gaza who were diagnosed with acute malnutrition soared by over 300 per cent last month compared to May – and by more than 150 per cent in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said as of a week ago, the agency had reached some 370,000 people with partial food parcels and wheat flour this month, Mr. Dujarric continued. However, distribution in Rafah is “unfortunately rare” as a result of fighting between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces.

WFP also distributed more than 4.4 million hot meals across Gaza so far this month, through around 60 community kitchens.

The humanitarian affairs agency OCHA also reported on Friday that in July, the percentage of humanitarian movements denied by Israeli authorities more than doubled from seven to 15 per cent, severely hampering aid efforts.

“This is despite the overall number of humanitarian missions coordinated by the Israeli authorities increasing from 414 in June to more than 540 in July.”

OCHA said 43 per cent of nearly 150 planned humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by Israeli authorities this month. The rest were either denied, impeded or cancelled.