The challenges in containing a looming polio outbreak in Gaza

The challenges in containing a looming polio outbreak in Gaza

Children’s lives in Gaza are riddled with uncertainty. They don’t know when the next bomb will fall, where their next meal will come from or even if their families and friends are still alive.

Now, another variable poses a grave risk to Gaza’s children: polio. The first case was confirmed after a 10-month-old baby tested positive for the virus in mid-August. At least two others are suspected to have been infected.

Poliovirus can be extremely dangerous, affecting nerve function and causing irreversible paralysis. Since the war began last October, inoculations have fallen in Gaza, leaving thousands of children unvaccinated. Doctors and aid workers have been warning for months that the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the enclave would fuel the spread of disease. Now, 25 years after the virus was eradicated in Palestine, unheeded warnings are proving true.

The World Health Organisation, along with the UN children’s fund, Unicef and other aid groups, has called for a ceasefire or at least a pause in the fighting to be able to administer at least 1.2 million vaccines.

But will it happen?

On Beyond the Headlines this week, host Nada AlTaher discusses the gravity of Gaza’s looming polio outbreak with Dr Zaher Sahloul, president of the medical NGO MedGlobal, and speaks to Unicef’s Jonathan Crickx about vaccine co-ordination efforts.

Episoder(492)

What happens if Iranian Kurdish groups enter the conflict?

What happens if Iranian Kurdish groups enter the conflict?

Conflicting reports have circulated in recent days about Iranian Kurdish groups possibly being armed by the US to launch a ground offensive in Iran. Many of these factions have long been exiled to the...

6 Mar 18min

How far will the conflict expand across the Middle East?

How far will the conflict expand across the Middle East?

Israel has begun a wave of strikes on Lebanon after warning residents in the south of the country to flee north of the Litani River on Wednesday. The forced displacement order impacts about 250,000 pe...

5 Mar 5min

What’s the goal of America's war on Iran?

What’s the goal of America's war on Iran?

Almost 2,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US in the first four days of the war. US Central Command says it has severely degraded the country's air defences and destroyed hundreds of ballistic ...

4 Mar 6min

How much longer could the Iran conflict last?

How much longer could the Iran conflict last?

As the war on Iran enters its fourth day, Tehran’s retaliatory attacks on US assets in Arab countries ramp up, testing the limits of their patience. Recent remarks from US officials suggest a limited ...

3 Mar 6min

Where does an isolated Iran go from here?

Where does an isolated Iran go from here?

It has been a matter of days since the US and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, and already the impact has rippled across the Middle East.  Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and doz...

2 Mar 22min

What will happen to the thousands formerly held in Syria’s Al Hol camp?

What will happen to the thousands formerly held in Syria’s Al Hol camp?

The notorious Al Hol camp in north-east Syria finally closed its doors this week. Thousands of alleged ISIS members and their families had been held there for years in inhumane conditions and without ...

27 Feb 17min

What does the US want from a deal with Iran?

What does the US want from a deal with Iran?

The US and Iran are facing off in a battle for concessions once more, as they resume nuclear talks against the backdrop of military threats. Officials said good progress was made at the latest round o...

19 Feb 18min

Will there be a 'red line' for Israel's annexation of the West Bank?

Will there be a 'red line' for Israel's annexation of the West Bank?

Israel’s recent change of land-buying policies in the occupied West Bank has been condemned by the international community and the UN. The measures have been designed to make it easier for settlers to...

13 Feb 24min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
stopp-verden
popradet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
det-store-bildet
nokon-ma-ga
rss-gukild-johaug
fotballpodden-2
dine-penger-pengeradet
aftenbla-bla
rss-ness
rss-espen-lee-usensurert
hanna-de-heldige
rss-dannet-uten-piano
e24-podden
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk