Polio stalks Gazans as ‘anarchy’ spreads, humanitarians warn

To add to the devastation of war and the complete breakdown of law and order, Gazans now have to contend with the threat of highly infectious polio disease linked to the disastrous sanitation situation created by the conflict, the UN health agency said on Friday.

In a statement, Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organisation (WHO), said that vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) had been identified at six locations in sewage samples collected on 23 June from Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.

To date, no one has been treated in Gaza for paralysis or other symptoms caused by poliovirus infection.

“It is important to note the virus has been isolated from the environment only at this time; no associated paralytic cases have been detected,” he told journalists in Geneva.

As part of the response efforts, WHO in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is already working with the local health authority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) and partners to assess how far poliovirus has spread.

This work will determine the measures needed to stop any further spread, “including prompt vaccination campaigns”, the WHO spokesperson explained.

White flags

Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OHCHR OPT) described evidence that the people of Gaza continue to suffer “immensely” with some “holding white flags” as they move in search of shelter.

“People are on the move from north to south, again, although they are making the journey knowing it is fraught with danger,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR OPT.

“I saw a motorbike and trailer loaded with personal possessions smouldering on the road. There was nobody. But it was clear no one could have survived the strike. On the same road, I saw a bloodied donkey cart also laden with personal belongings. It too was abandoned. Why and who carried out these attacks is not clear.”

The UN human rights officer described the impact of “Israel’s dismantling” of the enclave’s capacity to maintain public order and safety in Gaza.

“Our Office has documented alleged unlawful killings of local police and humanitarian workers, and the strangulation of supplies indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Anarchy is spreading.”

“The hostile environment due to the war and the breakdown in civil order also raises enormous challenges for any meaningful humanitarian response to the mammoth needs of the people.”

Polio eradication stymied

Wild poliovirus was eradicated more than 25 years ago from Gaza thanks to a comprehensive inoculation campaign; pre-war vaccination coverage was 95 per cent in 2022, according to WHO.

But more than nine months of war, repeated mass displacement and the “decimation of the health system, lack of security, access obstruction, constant population displacement, shortages of medical supplies, poor quality of water and weakened sanitation” have created the “perfect environment” for vaccine-preventable diseases to spread - with polio just one of them – the WHO’s Christian Lindmeier noted.

Today in Gaza, only 16 out of 36 hospitals are partially functional, and 45 of the 105 primary health care facilities are operational, according to the UN health agency officer, who insisted that only a ceasefire would allow the rapid scale-up of immunisation activities “to address gaps created by the ongoing war”.

From the WHO’s global Polio Eradication programme, Communications Officer Oliver Rosenbauer explained that poliovirus can emerge in areas where poor vaccination coverage allows the weakened form of the orally administered vaccine virus strain to mutate into a stronger version capable of causing paralysis.

“We have genetic markers to indicate when that happens. And so these isolates that were found…have genetically mutated to the point where they could cause paralysis,” he said. “It's not a wild (virus) but it's still a poliovirus in the sense that it can also cause the same paralysis.”

Funding boost

In a related development, the head of UNRWA welcomed the decision by the United Kingdom to resume funding of the agency “at a critical time as the Agency continues to come under harsh and unprecedented attacks”.

Sixteen countries pulled funding from the UN agency worth $450 million. Only the United States has yet to reverse its decision on funding UNRWA.

Friday’s online post by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini highlighted the “lifesaving and human development work” of the agency’s teams who represent the main aid provider for millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the region.