Israeli restrictions on Gaza aid exacerbating polio outbreak, HRW warns

The Israeli military is obstructing urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza and inflaming the polio outbreak, rights groups and Gaza’s health ministry have said.

In a statement on Monday, Human Right Watch (HRW) said Israeli military attacks on healthcare infrastructure and water supplies, coupled with its blocking of aid are significantly contributing to a potentially catastrophic polio outbreak.

The latest warning comes after the Palestinian health ministry confirmed the territory’s first case of the disease in a quarter-century.  

Discovered in the city of Deir el-Balah, the case involved a 10-month-old baby who was left paralysed, as they had not been vaccinated. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) additionally reported on the same date that three children showed symptoms of acute flaccid paralysis, which raised alarms that the virus could spread among Gaza’s children. 

HRW warned that the spread of such diseases risks the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, as the challenge posed by the ongoing conflict and unrest has also severely hindered humanitarian efforts during more than ten months of war. 

"If the Israeli government continues to block urgent aid and destroy water and waste management infrastructure, it will facilitate the spread of a disease that has been nearly eradicated globally," Julia Bleckner, HRW’s senior health and human rights researcher, said in a statement.  

"Israel’s partners should press the government to lift the blockade immediately and ensure unfettered humanitarian access in Gaza to enable the timely distribution of vaccines to contain the unfolding polio outbreak."

Gaza’s health ministry also released a statement on Monday to highlight the effects of the Israeli blockade, with 60 percent of necessary medicines currently unavailable.

Munir al-Barash, the Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told Saudi state-owned news channel Al-Arabiya TV that Israel continues to block the entry of medicines and fuel through the border crossings, resulting in a severe shortage of essential medical supplies. 

He emphasised the urgent need for a ceasefire to enable the vaccination of children in Gaza, warning that the spread of epidemics, particularly polio, poses a significant threat to neighbouring countries as well. 

On late Sunday, the health ministry announced that it received 1.26 million doses of polio vaccine. 

"A total of 1.26 million doses of the OPV2 polio vaccine have arrived, along with 500 vaccine coolers," the ministry said in a statement.   

It added that "preparations are underway to launch the (vaccine) campaign in coordination with partners", which include aid agencies such as World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). 

However, it was not elaborated how and how quickly it will be achieved. 

Today, @UNICEF is bringing 1.2 million doses of polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV) to #Gaza. With @WHO, @UNRWA and other partners, we plan to vaccinate more than 640,000 children. #ForEveryChild, Health. pic.twitter.com/NtbnzReUXI

— UNICEF Palestine (@UNICEFpalestine) August 25, 2024

Further cases of polio are suspected across the largely devastated region, following the detection of the virus in wastewater at six separate locations in July.  

In response, aid organisations have outlined plans to vaccinate more than 600,000 children under the age of 10, urgently calling for a cessation of hostilities to facilitate this vital vaccination drive. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have stressed the need for at least a seven-day pause in the conflict to ensure effective immunisation. 

The United Nations has set a target to deliver 1.6 million doses of the polio vaccine to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in overcrowded tent camps, often without access to clean water or adequate sanitation.  

In such dire conditions, families are sometimes forced to use wastewater for drinking or cleaning purposes, exacerbating the risk of disease spread. 

Polio, a highly contagious disease, is primarily transmitted through contact with contaminated faeces, water, or food.  

It can lead to severe respiratory issues and irreversible paralysis, most commonly in the legs, and is particularly dangerous for young children, with the potential to be fatal. 

Since the onset of the conflict in early October, over 282,000 vials of the polio vaccine have been delivered to Gaza.  

However, the territory's healthcare infrastructure has been severely damaged, leaving medical workers overwhelmed.  

According to the United Nations, only around a third of Gaza’s 36 hospitals and 40% of its primary healthcare facilities remain operational.  

Nevertheless, the WHO and UNICEF stated that they are committed to conducting their vaccination campaign across every municipality in Gaza, supported by a workforce of 2,700 individuals. 

Prior to the outbreak of war, 99% of Gaza’s population had been vaccinated against polio. However, this figure has now dropped to 86%, according to WHO estimates.