Polio Returns to Gaza After Over Two Decades

On August 16, the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed that a 10-month-old baby in Gaza had been infected with polio. This announcement, though heartwrenching, was not unexpected given that the polio virus had been detected in Gaza’s wastewaters shortly before. Public health experts had long warned that without an immediate ceasefire and the entry of essential supplies, infectious diseases could kill even more children than Israeli bombs already have.

“The news of polio in Gaza should be an alarm bell that more infectious diseases are on the way,” stated Jude Senkungu from the International Rescue Committee after the first polio case in over 20 years was confirmed in Gaza.

Health volunteers and humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza estimate that some 50,000 children born since October 7, 2023, have missed necessary immunizations due to the collapse of the public health system under relentless Israeli attacks. Before the latest escalation, immunization rates in Gaza were stable, but the destruction of testing capacities, cold chain infrastructure, and the obstruction of medical supplies have caused a sharp decline. Polio vaccination coverage, once at 99% at the end of 2022, has fallen to below 90%, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned.

While Israeli officials brag that “about 90%” of Gaza’s population was vaccinated against polio earlier this year, they omit to say that polio immunization programs generally require 95% coverage to be considered effective. Meanwhile, as Israeli attacks have blocked thousands of Palestinian children from receiving life-saving vaccinations, Israeli combatants have been provided with polio booster doses on-demand.

UN agencies are planning targeted polio vaccination campaigns to address the crisis. “Now that polio is confirmed, the response needs to be measured in hours, not weeks,” warned Jeremy Stoner from Save the Children. The UN is ready to begin immunization efforts by the end of August, with supplies and personnel prepared. However, these efforts depend on the end of attacks. International organizations are calling for “humanitarian pauses” to enable vaccine distribution, but display little hope that these might actually take place.

Given the ongoing assaults on Gaza’s healthcare system, it is likely these calls will go unheeded. Israel’s blockade on supplies, including fuel provided by the WHO and other UN agencies, continues to push the health system to the brink of collapse. Hospitals like Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan have scaled down operations to ration fuel, while shortages have severely impacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), which, due to fuel scarcity and attacks, could reportedly only operate 2 of its 8 ambulances in northern Gaza in the week of August 18.

Parallel to these attacks on the health sector, Israeli forces continue to target hundreds of people. At a press conference held back-to-back with the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, a group of health workers who recently returned from missions in Gaza described the unimaginable suffering they witnessed and called for an arms embargo on Israel.

“Every single child is in need of psychological care that they are not going to be able to get for a very long time,” said emergency doctor Tammy Abughnaim. Other physicians recounted how children and adults in Gaza are deliberately targeted, often shot in the head or chest. After witnessing dozens of such cases, the health workers have little doubt that these acts are deliberate. “That’s murder,” said Feroze Sidwha, a trauma surgeon who was on a mission in Gaza in April.

The situation in Gaza’s hospitals and health centers cannot be separated from the broader public health crisis, including the polio outbreak. Following standard protocols for polio, such as isolating patients and providing separate sanitation facilities, is impossible in Gaza, said Tanya Haj-Hassan at the press conference. “Everyone is clustering in refugee camps without vaccines for at least the past nine months, including children who would have been vaccinated for polio and adults who should receive boosters, including healthcare workers,” she said.

People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch. For more articles and to subscribe to People’s Health Dispatch, click here.