Between fear and hope, thousands of Gaza parents line up to protect their children from polio — Global Issues

Wael al-Haj Mohammed’s daughter is a child of war. Born the day after the conflict in Gaza broke out between Hamas and Israeli forces that began last October, Mr. Mohammed has struggled to get medical care.

She is one of thousands of children benefiting from the mass polio vaccination campaign that started in central Gaza on September 1.

Mr Mohammed’s daughter receives oral vaccinations against polio type II in a UNRWA clinic in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza as part of the first phase of the campaign.

Nourhan Shamalakh, a young mother of two young sons and a baby daughter, left the simple tents they call home in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah to go to a health center where her children could get polio vaccinations. To get there, they traveled by donkey cart. She said her fears about the disease outweighed her worries about having to travel to the center.

In line at the Deir al-Balah health center, run by UNRWA, Mohammed Rajab waited for his daughter to receive her vaccination, which was administered orally. “Given the conditions we are living in and the diseases that are prevalent, vaccination is now very important for the survival of our children,” he said. “God willing, in these days of war, there will be peace for everyone.”

The parents who come to the health center know very well how important vaccinations are.

“The problem of polio in Gaza is serious,” said Muhammad Abu Jayab. “For decades, the disease did not exist in Gaza. And now, because of the war, it has returned. This is a threat to hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza, including my own children. This vaccination is a big step, despite the harsh humanitarian and security landscape in Gaza.”

Vaccination campaign is going according to plan

At the health centre, Agency spokeswoman Louise Wateridge monitored the vaccination process as hundreds of families arrived to wait their turn.

“Our staff here are ready to vaccinate as many children as possible over the next three days in this first phase of the vaccination campaign,” Wateridge said. “Doses are being stored in individual coolers to protect them from the heat of the day. So far, there seems to be calm in Gaza. The humanitarian ceasefire is holding so far, and that is what we need to carry out this campaign, and we will see how it goes in the coming days. So far, everything is going according to plan. Children are arriving, families are there, vaccinations are going well.”