NEW YORK/JERUSALEM, September 2, 2024 — Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams are providing logistical and organizational support for the ongoing large-scale polio vaccination campaign across Gaza. MSF is supporting the Ministry of Health (MoH) and United Nations' campaign in five health facilities across Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Gaza had been polio-free for the last 25 years until poliovirus was detected in July in environmental samples from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah. One confirmed case and several suspected cases have since been reported.
The resurgence of polio in Gaza is a consequence of the continuous destruction of the infrastructure and health system by Israeli forces. The war has destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, forced people into unhygienic and appalling living conditions, and disrupted routine vaccinations—perfect conditions for diseases like polio to spread.
The vaccination campaign, which is targeting approximately 640,000 children under 10 years old, is a positive step. However, it is still a drop in the ocean compared to people's critical medical humanitarian needs.
The only solution is an immediate and sustained ceasefire to ensure people in Gaza have proper access to aid and health care.
The campaign and announcement of military pauses during the vaccination campaign should not divert attention from the relentless violence and its impact on the delivery of humanitarian aid. Fewer than half of the hospitals in Gaza (16 of 36) are operational while people’s medical needs are greater than ever.
During the vaccination campaign, MSF will host teams from the MoH and provide health promotion, logistical, and organizational support at four primary health care centers in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, as well as MSF's new field hospital in Deir al-Balah. Teams will also ensure there are adequate spaces to store cold chain equipment in a primary health care center in Al-Mawasi, which will serve as a distribution point for 11 vaccination centers. Additionally, MSF health promoters will work to inform the community about the campaign and direct families and children to their nearest vaccination points. At MSF-supported vaccination points, staff will help manage the large crowds that are expected.
