UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a press conference in New York. UN Secretary-General announces preparations for a large-scale polio vaccination campaign in Gaza Health
The polio virus is already circulating in Gaza, meaning hundreds of thousands of children are in mortal danger, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said while speaking to the press at the UN headquarters in New York.
The UN chief said poliovirus had been detected in wastewater samples in Khan Younis and Deir al-Bahl in recent weeks. Preventing and containing the spread of polio, he stressed, will require a massive, coordinated and immediate effort. In this regard, the United Nations plans to launch a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza for more than 640,000 children under the age of 10 at the end of August.
“I call on all parties to immediately provide concrete guarantees establishing a humanitarian pause for the campaign,” Guterres said.
The World Health Organization has already approved the release of 1.6 million doses of polio vaccine, according to Antonio Guterres. UNICEF is coordinating the delivery of vaccines and equipment for their storage. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the largest provider of primary health care in Gaza, is training medical teams to deliver vaccines to the field.
“The challenges are serious,” the UN chief emphasized. “The health, water and sanitation systems in Gaza are destroyed. Most hospitals and primary health care facilities are not functioning. People are constantly on the run in search of safety. The conflict has seriously disrupted routine immunization, increasing the spread of other preventable diseases such as measles and hepatitis A.”
Antonio Guterres said 708 primary health care teams in health facilities and another 316 teams in the field would take part in the vaccination campaign.
“Security is paramount for the polio vaccination campaign to be successful,” the UN chief said. “It is essential for health workers to do their jobs, and for children and their families to be able to reach health facilities.”
The Secretary-General called on all parties to the conflict to provide health workers with security guarantees during the vaccination campaign. “But the most effective vaccine against polio is an immediate ceasefire and sustainable peace,” concluded António Guterres.