As Far as Anyone in Gaza Knew, No One Here Had Contracted Polio in a Quarter-Century. Until Abdelrahman.
The latest on polio in Gaza
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Abdelrahman was born in September 2023. The Gaza escalation displaced him and his family from the north of Gaza to Deir Al-Balah, then to Rafah, and then back to Deir Al-Balah again, where he now lives with his family and nine siblings in a makeshift tent made of nylon sheets.
Last month, Abdelrahman’s temperature spiked, followed by vomiting and extreme lethargy. Worried this was not an ordinary illness, his mother worked with health officials to get a stool sample sent to Jordan for testing, and when it came back, the Health Ministry told her that her son was sick with polio. He was the first person to contract polio in Gaza in twenty-five years.
A uniquely deadly virus in a uniquely vulnerable place
The polio virus can cause irreversible paralysis within hours, and it poses a severe threat in Gaza, where high malnutrition rates and toxic stress levels increase children’s vulnerability to infection.
Humanitarian operations across the region are severely hindered by bombardments and the obstruction of critical aid supplies at Israeli-controlled crossing points. Essential refrigerated trucks needed to transport vaccines have repeatedly been denied entry.
Aid agencies and medical professionals are now urgently calling for a humanitarian pause in the conflict to enable the administration of life-saving vaccinations to approximately 640,000 vulnerable children under the age of 10. The appeal follows the Gaza Ministry of Health’s confirmation of Abdelrahman’s case, with additional suspected cases now emerging.
(Update: On Thursday, August 29, CNN reported, “Israel has agreed to a series of pauses in fighting in Gaza in September to allow young children in the enclave to be vaccinated for polio, according to United Nations and Israeli officials.”)
After Abdelrahman’s test came back positive, his mother immediately isolated him from his siblings, who later received the vaccine. But isolating in a tent in an overcrowded displacement site is near impossible.
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed last month that the poliovirus was also detected in sewage samples from Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah, and health officials are raising alarms about the potentially catastrophic consequences if a vaccination campaign cannot be carried out immediately.
Nahed Abu Iyada, CARE West Bank and Gaza’s Health Program Field Officer, warned of the impending disaster: “Without an immediate ceasefire and access to vaccines and humanitarian aid, Gaza faces a public health disaster that will endanger children across the region and beyond.”
The health system in Gaza, already severely damaged by ongoing hostilities, is struggling to provide even basic care, leaving many children unvaccinated. At least 50,000 children born during the last 10 months of conflict are unlikely to have received any immunizations, while older children’s vaccine schedules have been disrupted by violence and displacement.
Over a million doses of the nOPV2 vaccine and 500 vaccine carriers have been delivered to the cold chain room in Deir Al-Balah, and the first-round vaccination campaign is planned to be rolled-out starting on August 31. The second phase will start in September, but the ongoing conflict presents significant challenges to the distribution process.
Health officials say the campaign’s success hinges on authorities allowing the swift entry of vaccines and cold chain equipment into Gaza.
Hours, not weeks to save lives
CARE’s primary health center in Deir Al-Balah, which first opened its doors on July 10, 2024. The clinic offers prenatal and postnatal healthcare, women’s sexual and reproductive health services, nutrition for children under five years, primary health for communicable and non-communicable diseases, psychological support, and the provision of primary care medications.
The resurgence of polio in Gaza is attributed to the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure , coupled with the restrictions on repairs and supplies, which have exacerbated the situation.
Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, emphasized the urgency: “Now that polio is confirmed, the response needs to be measured in hours, not weeks. Without immediate action, an entire generation is at risk of infection, and hundreds of children face paralysis from a highly communicable disease that can be prevented with a simple vaccine.”
Officials have said there will be 11 distribution centers, most of which are concentrated in the middle area of Gaza, Deir Al-Balah, where the vaccines will be stored. If any health facility participating in the campaign faces any shortages, they will be able to contact and procure more vaccines from the distribution points.
A group of 20 aid agencies and medical professionals stressed that the vaccine distribution requires full humanitarian access into Gaza from all border crossings and safe, unhindered movement within the Strip —something only achievable with an immediate end to hostilities.
“Polio can cause total paralysis within hours, and in Gaza, where only about 1,400 hospital beds are available for two million people, the stakes couldn’t be higher,” Stoner said. “These children do not have the luxury of time.”
CARE continues to call for an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages, and the passage of unfettered humanitarian aid into Gaza. Click below to find out how you can help.
