The most unfortunate injustice of war is the way children’s lives are demolished and destroyed due to the violence of adults who cannot workout their differences through dialogue. An example of this happening now in Northern Gaza is that the United Nations has been forced to pause polio vaccinations due to the intense bombardment of Israeli forces in the region.
The unfortunate reality is that there is only one solution for polio vaccines to begin again: Stop bombing the people of Northern Gaza.
According to the World Health Organization, “Humanitarian pauses are essential for its success, allowing partners to deliver vaccination supplies to health facilities, families to safely access vaccination sites and mobile teams of health workers to reach children in their communities,” WHO said.
But, due to the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza was forced to postpone the third and final phase of its campaign, which was set to begin today. (UN News).
I am very concerned about the postponement of the latest phase of the polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza as a result of escalating violence & a lack of access.
We must stop the polio outbreak before more children are paralyzed and poliovirus spreads further.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 23, 2024