Kazem Abu Khalaf, spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), warned of the risks of polio and monkeypox outbreaks due to the deteriorating health situation in Gaza, simultaneously holding the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the spread of epidemics and diseases due to its continued targeting of infrastructure and the health system in the sector.
In an exclusive interview with Cairo’s news channel, Abu Khalaf said, “The outbreak of the polio epidemic in Gaza during the current period is a natural result of the long months of war, unceasing bombing, and the Israeli occupation’s targeting of infrastructure, schools, hospitals, health centers, United Nations teams, and ambulances. Consequently, it is natural for drinking water to be contaminated with sewage due to all this brutal aggression.”
Abu Khalaf continued, “The spread of the polio epidemic in the Gaza Strip, after decades of absence, is an expected result because the routine vaccination in Gaza, which was being conducted meticulously with more than 95% precision, was significantly impacted after the war, resulting in the emergence of a more dangerous ‘second strain’ of this virus.”
He mentioned that specialized and humanitarian institutions currently operating in Gaza are now racing to implement a polio vaccination campaign to reach the largest number of children in the sector. He confirmed that this campaign, which began last Sunday, was initiated due to the spread of the virus and the epidemic in several areas.
The UNICEF spokesperson emphasized that if the polio vaccination campaigns in the Gaza Strip can achieve a coverage rate of 90% or higher for 640,000 children under the age of ten, it can be considered a success in eradicating this virus. Without such coverage, it would be difficult to claim success.
He also highlighted the organization’s efforts to bring in another shipment containing 350,000 additional doses of the polio vaccine to the sector, while simultaneously calling on the international community to intervene to stop the firing in Gaza so that relief teams and institutions can respond to the humanitarian needs across the sector.
