ANKARA: The European Union on Thursday called for humanitarian pauses in the war-torn Gaza to allow for a critical vaccination campaign against poliovirus, according to a statement from the EU High Representative’s office.
The EU expressed deep concern over the potential for a polio epidemic in Gaza, a region that has been polio-free for the past 25 years. The call for action aligns with the appeals made by the UN secretary-general and the World Health Organisation, urging immediate pauses in the war to ensure the vaccination campaign can proceed.
“The EU joins the call by the United Nations Secretary-General and the World Health Organisation for immediate humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow for the polio vaccination campaign to take place,” Anadolu Agency reported the statement read.
The EU has planned two rounds of vaccinations in Gaza over the next few weeks, targeting over 640,000 children, and stressed that “commitment to the humanitarian pauses by all parties will be crucial to allow the successful and timely implementation of these urgent campaigns.”
The urgency of the campaign was underscored by the recent announcement from Gaza’s Health Ministry, which confirmed the first polio case in the region in 25 years.
The case, involving a 10-month-old baby in Deir al-Balah, highlighted the vulnerability of unvaccinated children to the disease, which primarily affects those under five years old.
The disease primarily affects children under the age of five and can cause irreversible paralysis in one in 200 infections, with a significant percentage of these cases (between 5 per cent and 10 per cent) resulting in death due to respiratory failure, according to WHO.
The call for humanitarian pauses comes amid escalating violence in Gaza, where Israel has continued its brutal offensive which resulted in more than 40,400 Palestinian deaths and over 93,600 injuries since OCt 7.
– Bernama, Anadolu Agency
