International groups have expressed their concerned after a first case of polio confirmed and others suspected in Gaza.
ADVERTISEMENTAid groups and international organisations are calling for a humanitarian pause in fighting in Gaza to allow for a mass polio vaccination campaign.
One case of polio has been confirmed in Gaza with others suspected, and the virus was detected in wastewater in six samples in July.
"I am appealing to all parties to provide concrete assurances right away guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for the campaign," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week.
"Let’s be clear: The ultimate vaccine for polio is peace and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. But in any case, a Polio Pause is a must," he added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF said in a joint statement on Friday that they expected to launch two rounds of a polio vaccination campaign at the end of August and September.
The international agencies said a humanitarian pause of seven days was needed to carry out the campaign.
"We are anticipating and preparing for the worst-case scenario of a polio outbreak in the coming weeks or month," Francis Hughes, the Gaza response director at CARE International, told The Associated Press.
Vaccine coverage against polio drops in Gaza
Polio was eradicated in Gaza 25 years ago, but vaccine coverage has dropped since the war began 10 months ago.
According to the WHO, vaccine coverage of two doses against polio went from 99 per cent in 2022 to less than 90 per cent in early 2024.
Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are crowded into tent camps lacking clean water or proper disposal of sewage and garbage.
Polio is highly contagious and transmits mainly through contact with contaminated faeces, water, or food. It can cause difficulty breathing and irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs. It strikes young children in particular and is sometimes fatal.
To avert a widespread outbreak, more than 1.6 million oral doses of polio vaccine are set to be delivered to Gaza, and aid groups are preparing to vaccinate more than 600,000 children in the coming weeks.
The aid group Mercy Corps estimates some 50,000 babies born since the war began have not been immunised against polio.
"This is very concerning," UNICEF spokesperson Ammar Ammar said on Saturday.
"It is impossible to carry out the vaccination in an active war zone and the alternative would be unconscionable for the children in Gaza and the whole region".
ADVERTISEMENTAid workers anticipate the number of suspected cases will rise, and worry that the disease could be hard to contain without urgent intervention.
Only about a third of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and 40 per cent of its primary healthcare facilities are functioning, according to the UN.
But the WHO and UNICEF say their vaccination campaign will be carried out in every municipality in Gaza, with help from 2,700 workers.
