Failure to address polio in Gaza could lead to mass disabilities: Save The Children

By Zuhal Demirci

LONDON (AA) – An official from Save The Children has warned that if the polio outbreak in Gaza is not addressed, it could lead to mass disabilities.

Alexandra Saieh, the head of Humanitarian Policy and Advocacy at the UK-based organization, highlighted to Anadolu the need for a widespread vaccination campaign and immediate cease-fire after the first polio case in 25 years was detected in Gaza on Aug. 16.

Saieh stressed that this is a direct result of Israel's systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid, preventing the delivery of critical supplies and causing severe infrastructure damage.

She said Israel's 10-month bombardment has devastated Gaza's infrastructure, leaving no clean water and forcing hundreds to share a single toilet.

Overcrowded shelters in Gaza have led to outbreaks of diseases, including Hepatitis A in recent months, with the latest being polio, she added.

- ‘Extremely urgent' situation

Saieh noted that while negotiations for polio vaccines to enter Gaza are ongoing, health workers cannot administer them due to the Israeli bombardments.

She said international aid organizations are calling for an "immediate cease-fire" to enable vaccination in Gaza.

She warned that further delays in the entry of vaccines could increase the risk of the virus spreading to more children.

"Gaza right now is a breeding ground for these sorts of diseases, and the response to polio is measured in hours. And every hour that these vaccines are delayed, we will see children at risk.

"The polio virus can cause total paralysis in a child in a matter of hours. It typically affects most acutely children under five. There are plans to vaccinate more than 600,000 children under 10 years old, who need it. But again, we need a cease-fire. We need to stop to the fighting, and we need the material to be able to store the vaccines in Gaza. And this is extremely, extremely urgent," she said.

Without these vaccines and proper aid, this could lead to widespread disabilities in children, she added.

Saieh pointed out that vaccinating children in Gaza is challenging due to families constantly fleeing for their lives, making it difficult to administer vaccines and reach the target numbers.

-Gaza aid blocked due to 'security issues' by Israel

Saieh highlighted that the primary challenge for international aid organizations in the region is "security issues," noting that there are no safe places for either civilians or aid workers in Gaza.

She added that more than 280 aid workers, mostly Palestinians, have been killed in Gaza in the past 10 months.

Critical supplies are systematically blocked and Save The Children has been waiting four months to deliver essential medical items for children, she said.

She stressed that equipment such as water purifiers, generators and X-ray machines has been denied at Israeli-controlled checkpoints in recent months, resulting in inadequate supplies entering Gaza.

-Child casualties from Israeli attacks 'horrifying'

Saieh said children in Gaza have faced horrific violence for the past 10 months amid the Israeli attacks.

"There are no words to describe the images that are coming through our screens," she said.

"I've never in my entire career seen the images of the injuries, of the harm that explosive weapons are doing to children's bodies like what we're seeing in Gaza, and I've worked all over the world. It's absolutely horrifying," she added.

"It's outrageous and that children are not even being killed, but they're being killed in the most horrific ways possible. They're being blown to pieces. Parents are having to collect the body parts of their children. It is horrific. And this is all being done through the use of foreign-supplied weapons.”

Saieh emphasized that many international organizations, including Save the Children, have called on governments to "end arms sales to Israel."

- First polio case detected in Gaza in 25 years

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the detection of the first polio case in the Gaza Strip in 25 years on Aug. 16.

Health Minister Maged Abu Ramadan said the discovery of one polio case in Gaza means there could be hundreds of other undetected cases.

The World Health Organization also expressed deep concern over the polio case and confirmed that genomic sequencing results link the virus to the Type 2 poliovirus found in environmental samples from Gaza's wastewater collected in June.