Statement from Palestinian Health Minister on Polio
Palestinian Health Minister Majid Abu Ramadan held an important press conference today following the detection of a polio case in the Gaza Strip yesterday. Abu Ramadan said, “The detection of a polio case in the Gaza Strip means that there may be hundreds of cases that have not yet been detected.”
The minister stated that based on scientific data, one in every 200 cases infected with the virus shows symptoms of polio, while other cases usually have milder symptoms such as a runny nose or simple fever. Abu Ramadan stated that they plan to organize a large-scale vaccination campaign for children under the age of 10 in the Gaza Strip and emphasized that they will cooperate with the United Nations (UN) Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations in this process.
Abu Ramadan stated that 200 thousand doses of vaccines were procured in coordination with UNICEF, but the vaccines have not yet reached Gaza due to security problems and the closure of airports, and that work is continuing to procure an additional 400 thousand doses of vaccines.
Minister Abu Ramadan stated that Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip have caused a major health crisis under the observation of international organizations. Emphasizing that the virus came to Gaza from outside and was most likely carried by Israeli soldiers, Abu Ramadan listed the urgent actions that need to be taken in the field of health as follows:
- Ensuring the safe transportation of health teams to Gaza who will work at vaccination centers,
- Rebuilding clean water and sewer systems,
- I call on international institutions and organizations to take urgent action on issues such as medical and solid waste treatment.
Abu Ramadan stressed that in addition to the fuel input for clean water to be pumped into the Gaza Strip, the input of medical supplies, medicines and hygiene products is also of “vital” importance. Abu Ramadan stated that thousands of health workers will participate in the polio vaccination campaign to be carried out in more than 400 centers in the Gaza Strip, and also expressed the need to ensure the safety of vaccines and health workers.
The Minister stated that Palestine was proud to be the first country in the region to defeat polio, and that polio was eradicated in Gaza in 1984 and in the West Bank in 1988. Abu Ramadan stated that there was no evidence of polio in the West Bank , but added that the Ministry was taking this issue seriously and making all necessary preparations.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed yesterday that a 10-month-old baby who had not been previously vaccinated had been diagnosed with the polio virus in the Deir al-Balah region of the southern Gaza Strip.
