WHO leads polio vaccination campaign in Gaza to prevent potential outbreak

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The World Health Organization (WHO) launched an intensive nine-day polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, amid the ongoing fighting between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.

The UN agency's goal is to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza amid fears of a potential polio outbreak.

Concerns arose following the diagnosis of the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years. Although the disease seems to be contained for now, the WHO is worried there could potentially be hundreds of more cases among residents who have not yet shown any symptoms.

The polio vaccination campaign is being coordinated with the IDF's Southern Command and the army's COGAT unit (Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories) and is divided into three phases. Vaccinations will begin in central Gaza before continuing to the south and then the northern part of the coastal enclave. Hospitals in the center of Gaza, including Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat, confirmed that the vaccinations were already underway.

The polio vaccination initiative was agreed upon after Israel approved short humanitarian pauses in the ongoing conflict against Hamas.

“Israel sees the prevention of a polio outbreak in the Gaza Strip as an important mission in the humanitarian effort,” COGAT stated. It stressed that Israeli agencies “will work to ensure that the population can safely reach the medical centers where the vaccinations will be administered.”

COGAT confirmed it has “conducted joint assessments, including the import of vaccines, medical and logistical equipment, refrigeration units for vaccine storage and transportation, the entry of polio-specialized medical teams into the Gaza Strip, [and] marking vaccination areas in the operational systems.”

COGAT said it is in continuous dialogue “with all relevant health system authorities and the international community to monitor the medical situation in the Gaza Strip.”

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 90% of the population in the Gaza Strip was vaccinated against polio in the first quarter of 2024,” COGAT added.

In July, Israel Defense Forces began vaccinating its soldiers in Gaza amid fears of a polio outbreak in the coastal enclave.

In a letter to IDF Chief Medical Officer, Brig. Gen. Dr. Zivan Aviad-Bar, the acting head of the Health Ministry's Epidemiology Department Prof. Zohar Mor issued a call "to ensure that all soldiers are vaccinated against polio."

"It is recommended that even those vaccinated in the routine immunization program receive a booster dose due to potential exposure risk, especially in field conditions. Besides protecting the soldiers themselves, it is crucial to prevent them from getting infected and subsequently infecting others, as the virus is excreted in large quantities through the intestines," he said.

Due to Gaza’s proximity to Israel, Israeli health officials have expressed concerns that an outbreak in Gaza could potentially spread to border communities in Israel.

"It's a miracle that no diseases have spread there until now, and if that happens and everything falls apart, the world, through a UN Security Council resolution, might stop the conflict immediately. There are piles of garbage alongside running water in the displaced areas. We will bring in equipment, pumps and local contractors to address the issue," Israeli officials warned.