Polio Discovery in Gaza Water Underscores Massive Health Risks to Palestinian Civilians
Statement by Refugees International Senior Advocate for the Middle East Jesse Marks:
“Gaza is suffering a massive health crisis on top of an existing hunger and humanitarian food crisis across the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on July 19 the discovery of poliovirus in various locations in Gaza, including the densely populated so-called humanitarian zone. Polio was eradicated in Gaza more than 25 years ago, and is near eradication globally, making this re-emergence extremely troubling. Immunization rates against polio were an estimated 99 percent before the war, but the war has since disrupted routine immunization efforts. The WHO is expressing extreme worry about the potential for an outbreak. An outbreak not only affects Gaza but poses risks of further spread to Israel and Egypt.
Aid agencies must be able to safely and securely implement a comprehensive mass vaccination campaign to save lives in Gaza. But such a campaign will be near impossible without a ceasefire.
The destruction of sanitation and health systems, coupled with the mass displacement of 1.9 million people into densely packed and unsanitary environments, is fueling the resurgence of poliovirus and other harmful diseases in Gaza. Israel’s military operations have severely damaged Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure, making access to clean water unpredictable. Key facilities like sewage pumping stations, desalination plants, and water wells are partially functional or completely shut down due to destruction and limited capacity.
Critical materials needed to improve water access and rehabilitate facilities are routinely blocked or delayed from entering Gaza, designated as “dual use items.” UN agencies report receiving only a quarter of the necessary fuel supplies to operate hospitals, desalination plants, and water treatment facilities, with existing supplies running dangerously low. Meanwhile, harmful waste is accumulating where families are sheltering, increasing their exposure to infectious diseases. Most regions in Gaza cannot collect primary waste due to security issues, accessibility challenges, severe fuel shortages, and destruction of waste transportation vehicles.
President Biden, his administration, and members of Congress should use Israeli PM Netanyahu’s visit this week to push Israeli authorities to immediately end the war and create the conditions for such a campaign to become a reality. This includes taking active steps to improve internal security for aid workers, ending population displacement, allowing the entry of medical supplies, and improving the population’s access to water and sanitation.”
For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Etant Dupain at edupain@refugeesinternational.org.