Israel-Palestine crisis: WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hails ‘massive success’ of polio campaign amid tragic reality in Gaza

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted that it had been “a massive success amidst a tragic daily reality of life” for more than two million Gazans who have been caught up in the intense fighting since last October’s terror attacks by Hamas unleashed the war in Gaza.

In three phases over twelve days, from 1 to 12 September, UN agencies and partners provided novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to some 558,963 children, reaching families living in shelters, tents and camps for the displaced.

Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the occupied Palestinian territory applauded the “incredible resilience” of health and community workers in conducting the campaign “at an unprecedented scale and speed under the toughest conditions” in the war-battered enclave.

“Swift action by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – from the moment the virus was detected to the launch of the vaccination campaign – speaks to the effectiveness of the polio programme”, he said.

Moments of calm

For each of the phases – central, southern and northern Gaza – an area-specific humanitarian pause of nine hours each day was agreed to ensure the safety of communities and health workers and enable vaccination efforts.

“In areas where humanitarian pauses took place, the campaign brought not just vaccines, but moments of calm,” Dr. Peeperkorn said.

“As we prepare for the next round in four weeks, we’re hopeful these pauses will hold, because this campaign has clearly shown the world what’s possible when peace is given a chance,” he added.

The second round will provide a second dose of the nOPV2 to children in Gaza to stop the outbreak and prevent its international spread.

Though the programme faced challenges such as destroyed roads and health facilities, access issues, limited fuel, a shortage of trained health workers, and constant population movements, these were addressed in a timely manner with support of the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

Unfinished business

Jean Gough, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Palestine, welcomed the progress made in the first round, highlighting that the “job is far from done”.

“We are poised to finish the task and call on all involved to ensure we can do so in the next round in four weeks' time, for the sake of children everywhere,” she said.

To reach enough children, and successfully stop further transmission of the poliovirus, WHO, UNICEF and UNRWA urged all parties to the conflict to commit to another round of humanitarian pauses, with unimpeded access to children in areas that need special coordination.

Original target

WHO noted that the original target for the campaign – 640 000 children – was estimated without an accurate survey and may have been an over-estimate, due to displacement and ongoing hostilities.

The agency added that an additional 65 independent monitors are being deployed to cross-check the proportion of children vaccinated across the Gaza Strip to independently assess the level of coverage achieved in the first round.

They need safe, unimpeded access so they can visit households, markets, transit points, and health facilities to check children for the prominent purple dye marked on their little finger when they are vaccinated, it added.

These efforts will provide an independent measure of the percentage of vaccination coverage achieved, and how any children were missed.

UNRWA staff member killed in the West Bank

The ongoing conflict, however, continues to claim in civilian lives, displace thousands, and destroy homes and civilian infrastructure. The United Nations also lost more than 220 UNRWA staff – killed during Israel’s offensive following the 7 October terror attacks by Hamas and other militants.

On Thursday, UNRWA lost another staff member, who was killed in the El Far’a Camp, in northern West Bank – the first such killing in that region in more than ten years.

According to the agency, the staff member, a sanitation worker, was shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper during an overnight Israeli military operation in the early morning. He is survived by his wife and five children.

“This marks the first time an UNRWA staff member has been killed in the West Bank in more than ten years. It comes as the West Bank is experiencing unprecedented levels of violence, placing communities at risk,” Roland Friedrich, Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank said in a statement.

He noted that protracted Israeli military operations, affecting especially the camps of El Far’a, Tulkarm, Nur Shams and Jenin, have forced UNRWA to suspend services to refugees “because of the unacceptable risk to staff and beneficiaries during these operations”.

Friedrich also expressed concern over the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by Palestinian armed actors.