Polio Vaccination Campaign launched in the Gaza Strip

The following statement was issued by the Gaza Strip Government Media Office and published by Resistance News Network on Aug. 31, 2024.

The Polio Vaccination Campaign in the Gaza Strip necessitates an immediate ceasefire. The ongoing genocidal war poses a real threat to civilians. The polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip will begin on Sunday, September 1, 2024, amid the ongoing environmental, health and humanitarian disaster caused by the “israeli” occupation, which has persisted for 330 days without interruption. 

The vaccination campaign will be supervised by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees. 

The campaign targets children from 1 day old to 10 years old, and involves administering two drops of the vaccine orally. This vaccine is approved by the World Health Organization, and over 1.2 billion doses have been produced worldwide so far. 

According to the plan to be implemented, 640,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip are expected to receive this vaccination, representing over 95% of children aged from 1 day old to 10 years old. 

A comprehensive plan has been finalized to ensure the success of this campaign in all governorates and neighborhoods of the Gaza Strip. The campaign will start in the Central Governorate from September 1 to 4, 2024, then move to the Khan Younis and Rafah governorates from September 5 to 8, 2024, and finally to the Gaza and North Gaza governorates from September 9 to 12, 2024. 

Dozens of field teams will participate in the vaccination campaign, covering all neighborhoods, alleys and centers in the Gaza Strip, as well as displacement and shelter camps and all locations where children are present in the Gaza Strip. The vaccination campaign is crucial and requires a ceasefire – so that these health teams can perform their duties effectively. 

It is also essential to ensure that children and their families are not endangered while traveling from their homes to the vaccination centers and to protect these teams from the constant threat of bombardment by the “israeli” occupation, which continues its genocidal war against our Palestinian people without pause. 

The “israeli” occupation is responsible for the spread of polio and the emergence of the first cases in the Gaza Strip, by creating a hazardous environment conducive to this dangerous disease and other severe diseases and epidemics. 

The occupation has deliberately destroyed sewage and water networks, imposed a hazardous environmental reality that has led to widespread filth and waste and intentionally allowed garbage to accumulate in staggering amounts among displaced persons and civilians. The occupation has also halted garbage removal by creating a dangerous security situation, targeting these networks and municipal vehicles, taking control of landfills and preventing municipalities from accessing them. 

We condemn the continued genocidal war by the “israeli” occupation on the Gaza Strip, and we condemn the creation of this dangerous environment that has led to the outbreak of polio in the Gaza Strip. 

We call on all health ministries around the world and all international and U.N. health institutions to condemn this heinous crime committed by the occupation to this day. 

We hold the “israeli” occupation and the U.S. administration fully responsible for the dire conditions experienced by children in the Gaza Strip, for the severe environmental degradation in the Gaza Strip and for any attempts to sabotage or thwart this health campaign targeting children in the Gaza Strip. 

We urge the international community and all international and U.N. health organizations to pressure the occupation to stop this dangerous bloodshed against children in the Gaza Strip, against the Palestinian environment and against everything in the Gaza Strip. We demand an immediate ceasefire to ensure the success of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip.