Vithanage Erandi Kawshalya Madhushani Jade Times Staff
V.E.K. Madhushani is a Jadetimes news reporter covering Israel - Gaza war.
Local Ceasefires Enable Critical Immunization Efforts for Over 600,000 Children
The United Nations reports that the initial phase of a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, targeting 640,000 children, has begun successfully. The effort hinges on localized pauses in hostilities between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters, with the first three day window starting on Sunday.
Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for UNICEF, expressed optimism about the campaign's progress, stating, "So far, it's going well, and the turnaround is really good." The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the need to immunize at least 90% of children under 10 within a short period to effectively combat the virus. This initiative follows the first confirmed case of polio in Gaza in 25 years.
The WHO recently announced an agreement with Israel to allow limited humanitarian pauses in the ongoing conflict to facilitate the vaccination program. UNICEF has already transported approximately 1.3 million doses of the vaccine through the Kerem Shalom checkpoint, with an additional 400,000 doses expected soon. Maintaining the vaccines' effectiveness has required careful cold storage in UNICEF's facilities.
On the campaign's first day, vaccinations were administered at three health centers in central Gaza, with plans to expand the effort to northern and southern regions. At the Deir el Balah clinic alone, nearly 2,000 children received vaccinations, according to UN spokesperson Louise Wateridge.
Among those participating was Ghadir Hajji, a mother of five, who shared her sense of urgency: "They absolutely have to be vaccinated." She, like many others, responded immediately to text alerts from the local health ministry.
Each humanitarian pause is scheduled to last from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM over three days, with the possibility of extending for an additional day if needed. UNICEF's Jonathan Crickx highlighted the importance of these truces holding firm, noting that a vaccination campaign is unmanageable in an active conflict zone. "Families need to feel safe bringing their children for vaccination, and healthcare workers must be able to reach communities safely," Crickx stated.
Dr. Mohammed Salha, one of the doctors involved in the campaign, underscored the operational challenges, including fuel shortages that jeopardize hospital functionality and cold storage for the vaccines. He also expressed concerns that even with agreed-upon humanitarian pauses, some people might still be too afraid to leave their shelters.
With health services severely strained and most children missing regular immunizations, many are vulnerable to infections like polio. A particularly poignant case is that of Abdulrahman Abu Judyan, a one year old who has been left partially paralyzed by the disease. His mother, Niveen, expressed deep concern: "I wasn’t expecting this. Now he may not be able to crawl or walk, and he was left without proper medical care."
Due to ongoing conflict, Abdulrahman missed a routine vaccination scheduled on October 7, the day of a significant attack on southern Israel. Since then, the family has been displaced multiple times across Gaza. Niveen feels guilty that her son missed his vaccination but explained, "I couldn’t give it to him because of our circumstances." She holds out hope that her son can receive treatment outside Gaza, adding, "He wants to live and walk like other children."
The deteriorating conditions in Gaza, including scarce clean water and open sewage, provide a breeding ground for diseases like polio. In response to the detection of the virus in wastewater samples in June, UN agencies have quickly mobilized a mass vaccination program involving over 2,000 workers, primarily locals. Plans include more than 400 fixed vaccination sites and 230 outreach locations.
To break the virus's transmission cycle, each child must receive two doses of the oral polio vaccine, with the second dose administered four weeks after the first. The polio strain responsible for the outbreak is a mutated form of the vaccine derived virus, which can occasionally cause new infections.
Testing for potential polio cases is being conducted at a WHO approved laboratory in Jordan. Dr. Hamid Jafari, WHO Director of Polio Eradication for the Eastern Mediterranean, warned of the risks if the outbreak is not contained: "There could be more cases of paralytic polio until this outbreak is stopped, and this virus will paralyze more children." He noted the broader regional threat, including possible spillover into Israel, the West Bank, and neighboring countries.
For now, efforts remain focused on Gaza, where children constitute nearly half of the 2.3 million population. Amid ongoing conflict and uncertainty, the goal is to at least eliminate one source of suffering through this critical vaccination campaign.
