It has been nearly 11 months since war broke out in the enclave following Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel. Today, more than nine out of 10 people have been forcibly displaced by the fighting, leaving them vulnerable to hunger, malnutrition and disease.
“So far we have been able to vaccinate 187,000 children and we have gone from tent to tent and from reception centre to reception centre,” said Louise Wateridge of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. UNRWA.
“The reality is that these vaccinations are taking place in the middle of a war zone, while many other diseases, such as hepatitis A, are spreading,” the UNRWA spokesperson explained.
“Most of the children I have seen suffer from skin diseases and rashesSo while we do everything we can to vaccinate against one disease, the inhumane conditions that cause and spread these diseases continue.”
Health risks
The UNRWA spokesman described the situation at a health centre where sewage had flooded the surrounding streets, forcing children to avoid the health risk in order to receive their polio vaccination.
“People need everything – in addition to polio vaccinations, medical supplies, hygiene products and clean water are absolutely essential to stop the spread of the disease,” Ms Waterridge insisted.
“What the people need most is a ceasefire, and they need it now.“
Wednesday is the last day of vaccinations in the Gaza Central Area. According to humanitarian organizations, the vaccination is a great success.
In addition to UNRWA, the operation is a joint effort between the UN and the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), partner NGOs and volunteers.
Despite the ever-present threat of strikes, families have taken their children to health centers and schools for the first of two vaccinations, a legacy of the enclave’s exceptionally strong support for vaccinations before the war.
For those who cannot move easily, aid teams have been reaching out to vulnerable families and children to ensure everyone under the age of 10 gets their dose.
“It’s very positive to see children coming out, by showing us their pinky finger with a colored marker to proudly show that they have received this vaccine“, said Mrs. Waterridge.
No rest for health teams
After four days of continuous work on the vaccination campaign in the Central Area, some 2,200 health workers will move to southern Gaza on Thursday morning to resume their work.
Once this is done, efforts will shift to the north, where the whole process will start again in four weeks, when the second vaccine will be administered to increase the level of protection.
The vaccination teams can do their work with a degree of safety, thanks to agreed humanitarian pauses with the Israeli army and Hamas fighters from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. – although the violence is far from over.
“The breaks are welcome, but the bombings and strikes have not stopped… our teams left to vaccinate, surrounded by the sound of strikes“, the UNWRA official explained.
“Although I cannot pinpoint the locations of the impacts, I can hear them around me in the central area, but it is alarming for children and families, as well as for the health workers distributing the polio vaccines.”
Child Tragedy
In a related development in Geneva, The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child heard Israeli representatives condemn Hamas for the “tragic” toll the war has taken on children.
Israel’s ambassador to Geneva, Daniel Meron, told the panel of independent human rights experts during a planned review of the country on Tuesday that Hamas is “embedded in the civilian population”, with tunnel shafts “in Gaza’s children’s rooms” and under schools, serving as “weapons arsenals and rocket launch sites”.
“Weapons have been found under cribs. Weapons have been found in teddy bears, in maternity wards, in hospitals.” he told the committee, which reports to the Human Rights Council and whose members are not UN staff.
