European Union Calls For Humanitarian Pause In Gaza For Polio Vaccination

WFP team's car was bombarded with gunfire in Gaza/WFP

JAKARTA - The European Union (EU) calls for a humanitarian break in war-torn Gaza, to carry out polio vaccinations for children.

The EU expressed deep concern over the potential polio epidemic in Gaza, an area that has been polio-free for the past 25 years.

The EU joins the UN Secretary-General and the World Health Organization to call for an immediate humanitarian break in Gaza, to allow polio vaccination to take place, the EU's top representative office said.

The European Union has planned two rounds of vaccination in Gaza over the next few weeks, targeting more than 640,000 children, and stressed that "commitment to the humanitarian break by all parties will be critical to enabling the success and timely implementation of this urgent vaccination."

The urgency of this vaccination was confirmed by the latest announcement from the Gaza health ministry, which confirmed the region's first polio case in 25 years.

The case, which involved a 10-month-old baby in Deir al-Balah, highlighted the vulnerability of children who were not vaccinated against polio.

This disease mainly affects children under the age of five and can cause permanent paralysis in one in 200 cases.

About five percent to 10 percent of these cases resulted in respiratory deaths and failures, according to WHO.

Calls for a humanitarian break emerged amid rising violence in Gaza, where Israel continued its brutal attack following an attack by the Palestinian Hamas group on October 7.

The ongoing conflict, although the UN Security Council has issued a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, has resulted in more than 40,400 Palestinian deaths and more than 93,600 injuries.

In addition to Israeli intense attacks, Gazans are also facing food, clean water, and medicine crises.