٠٠:٠٦:٠٨The Palestinian Ministry of Health held a press conference on Saturday to announce the launch of an emergency polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. The campaign will run from September 1 to 12, following the first recorded cases of the disease in the enclave in a quarter of a century.
Footage from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis shows the arrival of the doctors involved in the campaign.
Director of Preventive Medicine at the Palestinian Ministry of Health Majdi Zaheer explained the scope of the vaccination campaign.
"There will be field teams that will cover all neighbourhoods in Gaza, including the refugee camps in their current locations, and even in areas from which residents have fled but a few people remain. We will go through these areas and ensure the vaccine reaches all our children within the targeted age group. We are using a live vaccine which is administered orally to children in the form of two drops through a dropper. This vaccine is, of course, safe, effective, and approved by the World Health Organization," he said.
Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Health Yousef Abu Al-Rish called on the international community to help eradicate the inhumane conditions leading to the spread of disease in the enclave.
"My final message to the international community and international institutions is that it is unreasonable to abandon these people under these circumstances, where people are being forced into close proximity, where displaced individuals are being piled into places that are falsely labelled as humanitarian zones, yet lack any element of humanity. These places are for overcrowding the displaced," he explained.
"There is sewage flowing between these tents, and the available water is insufficient and often contaminated. Medical waste or waste generated by people accumulates around the tents, creating a significant threat to people's lives and public health. The time has come for a genuine effort to stop this catastrophe, to halt this genocide, and for the world to find its conscience and stand up for the basic human rights that must be afforded to every person around the world," Al-Rish noted.
On August 16, the health ministry confirmed the first case of polio in Gaza for a quarter of a century in an 11-month-old baby. This comes after the virus was detected in sewage samples taken from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah in July 2024.
The health ministry is collaborating with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to vaccinate an estimated 640,000 children under the age of ten in the strip over two rounds during September. The campaign aims to protect hundreds of thousands of young Gazan children from contracting poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2).
The WHO and UNICEF say two seven-day humanitarian pauses should be implemented to allow the vaccination campaign to be carried out safely and ensure access to health facilities for children and families.
Polio is a highly contagious virus that infects the nervous system and can lead to paralysis. It spreads mainly through the transmission of faecal material from an infected person to other people through contaminated water or food.
Earlier, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) announced it would launch a campaign to vaccinate its soldiers deployed in Gaza against the poliovirus.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza broke out on October 7 after the Palestinian group launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing 1,139 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 200, according to Israeli officials.
Israel launched a large-scale response of airstrikes and a ground incursion. Palestinian officials reported that 40,691 people had been killed and more than 94,060 injured at the time of publication.
Gaza Health Ministry, WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA launch emergency polio vaccination campaign with conference in Khan Younis
The Palestinian Ministry of Health held a press conference on Saturday to announce the launch of an emergency polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. The campaign will run from September 1 to 12, following the first recorded cases of the disease in the enclave in a quarter of a century.
Footage from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis shows the arrival of the doctors involved in the campaign.
Director of Preventive Medicine at the Palestinian Ministry of Health Majdi Zaheer explained the scope of the vaccination campaign.
"There will be field teams that will cover all neighbourhoods in Gaza, including the refugee camps in their current locations, and even in areas from which residents have fled but a few people remain. We will go through these areas and ensure the vaccine reaches all our children within the targeted age group. We are using a live vaccine which is administered orally to children in the form of two drops through a dropper. This vaccine is, of course, safe, effective, and approved by the World Health Organization," he said.
Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Health Yousef Abu Al-Rish called on the international community to help eradicate the inhumane conditions leading to the spread of disease in the enclave.
"My final message to the international community and international institutions is that it is unreasonable to abandon these people under these circumstances, where people are being forced into close proximity, where displaced individuals are being piled into places that are falsely labelled as humanitarian zones, yet lack any element of humanity. These places are for overcrowding the displaced," he explained.
"There is sewage flowing between these tents, and the available water is insufficient and often contaminated. Medical waste or waste generated by people accumulates around the tents, creating a significant threat to people's lives and public health. The time has come for a genuine effort to stop this catastrophe, to halt this genocide, and for the world to find its conscience and stand up for the basic human rights that must be afforded to every person around the world," Al-Rish noted.
On August 16, the health ministry confirmed the first case of polio in Gaza for a quarter of a century in an 11-month-old baby. This comes after the virus was detected in sewage samples taken from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah in July 2024.
The health ministry is collaborating with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to vaccinate an estimated 640,000 children under the age of ten in the strip over two rounds during September. The campaign aims to protect hundreds of thousands of young Gazan children from contracting poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2).
The WHO and UNICEF say two seven-day humanitarian pauses should be implemented to allow the vaccination campaign to be carried out safely and ensure access to health facilities for children and families.
Polio is a highly contagious virus that infects the nervous system and can lead to paralysis. It spreads mainly through the transmission of faecal material from an infected person to other people through contaminated water or food.
Earlier, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) announced it would launch a campaign to vaccinate its soldiers deployed in Gaza against the poliovirus.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza broke out on October 7 after the Palestinian group launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing 1,139 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 200, according to Israeli officials.
Israel launched a large-scale response of airstrikes and a ground incursion. Palestinian officials reported that 40,691 people had been killed and more than 94,060 injured at the time of publication.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health held a press conference on Saturday to announce the launch of an emergency polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. The campaign will run from September 1 to 12, following the first recorded cases of the disease in the enclave in a quarter of a century.
Footage from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis shows the arrival of the doctors involved in the campaign.
Director of Preventive Medicine at the Palestinian Ministry of Health Majdi Zaheer explained the scope of the vaccination campaign.
"There will be field teams that will cover all neighbourhoods in Gaza, including the refugee camps in their current locations, and even in areas from which residents have fled but a few people remain. We will go through these areas and ensure the vaccine reaches all our children within the targeted age group. We are using a live vaccine which is administered orally to children in the form of two drops through a dropper. This vaccine is, of course, safe, effective, and approved by the World Health Organization," he said.
Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Health Yousef Abu Al-Rish called on the international community to help eradicate the inhumane conditions leading to the spread of disease in the enclave.
"My final message to the international community and international institutions is that it is unreasonable to abandon these people under these circumstances, where people are being forced into close proximity, where displaced individuals are being piled into places that are falsely labelled as humanitarian zones, yet lack any element of humanity. These places are for overcrowding the displaced," he explained.
"There is sewage flowing between these tents, and the available water is insufficient and often contaminated. Medical waste or waste generated by people accumulates around the tents, creating a significant threat to people's lives and public health. The time has come for a genuine effort to stop this catastrophe, to halt this genocide, and for the world to find its conscience and stand up for the basic human rights that must be afforded to every person around the world," Al-Rish noted.
On August 16, the health ministry confirmed the first case of polio in Gaza for a quarter of a century in an 11-month-old baby. This comes after the virus was detected in sewage samples taken from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah in July 2024.
The health ministry is collaborating with UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to vaccinate an estimated 640,000 children under the age of ten in the strip over two rounds during September. The campaign aims to protect hundreds of thousands of young Gazan children from contracting poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2).
The WHO and UNICEF say two seven-day humanitarian pauses should be implemented to allow the vaccination campaign to be carried out safely and ensure access to health facilities for children and families.
Polio is a highly contagious virus that infects the nervous system and can lead to paralysis. It spreads mainly through the transmission of faecal material from an infected person to other people through contaminated water or food.
Earlier, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) announced it would launch a campaign to vaccinate its soldiers deployed in Gaza against the poliovirus.
The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza broke out on October 7 after the Palestinian group launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing 1,139 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 200, according to Israeli officials.
Israel launched a large-scale response of airstrikes and a ground incursion. Palestinian officials reported that 40,691 people had been killed and more than 94,060 injured at the time of publication.