The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has warned that a delayed humanitarian pause in Gaza could cause a Polio outbreak among children. Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini emphasised on social media platform yesterday that bringing vaccines into Gaza and maintaining the cold chain is insufficient.

On the 16th of August, the Palestinian health ministry reported that a 10-month-old child in Gaza tested positive for a vaccine-derived poliovirus strain. The next day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that the UN plans to launch a two-phase vaccination campaign at the end of the month to immunize more than six lakh 40 thousand children in Gaza under the age of 10.

Meanwhile, Hamas has agreed to the UN’s call for a truce to enable the vaccination efforts. The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that Gaza had been polio-free for 25 years before the conflict began in October last year. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects children under five. According to the WHO, it spreads person-to-person, mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less commonly, through contaminated water or food.