Wael al-Haj Mohammed's daughter is a child of war. Born the day after the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israeli forces that began last October, Mohammed has had difficulty obtaining medical care.
She is one of thousands of children benefiting from the mass polio vaccination campaign, which began on September 1 in central Gaza.
Mr Mohammed's daughter is receiving oral polio vaccines against type II at a UNRWA clinic in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, as part of the first phase of the campaign.
Nourhan Shamalakh, a young mother of two young sons and a toddler, left the simple tents of her home in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah to go to a health center where her children could receive polio vaccinations. To get there, they traveled by donkey cart. She said her fears of the disease outweighed her worries about having to travel to the center.
Mohammed Rajab was waiting in line at the UNRWA-run health centre in Deir al-Balah for his daughter to receive the vaccine, which is administered orally. “Considering the conditions we live in and the diseases that prevail, vaccination is now of great importance for the survival of our children,” he said. “God willing, in these days of war, peace will prevail for all.”
Parents who have come to the health center are very aware of the importance of vaccinations.
“The polio problem in Gaza is serious,” says Muhammad Abu Jayab. “For decades, the disease did not exist in Gaza, and now, because of the war, it has returned. It is a threat to hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza, including my own. This vaccination is a big step despite the dire humanitarian and security situation in Gaza.”
The vaccination campaign is progressing as planned
Inside the health centre, agency spokeswoman Louise Wateridge followed the vaccination process as hundreds of families arrived to wait their turn.
“Our staff here are prepared to vaccinate as many children as possible over the next three days in this first phase of the vaccination campaign,” Wateridge said. “Doses are kept in individual coolers to protect them from the heat of the day. So far, it seems calm in the Gaza Strip. The humanitarian truce is holding so far, and that is what we need to implement this campaign, and we will see how things go in the next few days. So far, everything is going according to plan. Children are arriving, families are here, vaccinations are going well.”
