Director General of health care at the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Dr. Mousa Abed, confirmed Wednesday that the Gaza Strip is in desperate need for 1.3 million vaccines to control poliomyelitis which is dramatically spreading in multiple areas across the Gaza enclave.
Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Dr. Abed highlighted that any delay in supplying these vaccines would exacerbate the already worsening situation and leave dangerous impacts on the health of kids and vulnerable segments, primarily the elderly and sick people.
He gave heads-up about the fact that the risk of epidemics in the Strip still exists, given the ongoing Israeli aggression and denying the Gazans of public hygiene essentials, creating a fertile ground for the outbreak of epidemics.
He clarified that with facilities bursting at the seams and spread of sewage effluents in the streets due to the devastation of infrastructure, shortages of cleaning materials in markets, as well as elevated temperatures, these factors, he con
firmed, will trigger the rapid spread of bacteria and viruses, pointing out that the Ministry of Health faces significant troubles after the depletion of medicines and medical essentials.
Dr. Mousa Abed stressed the importance of concerted efforts to halt the aggression and allow the flow of medical and hygienic supplies to the enclave, in addition to providing drinking water utilized in personal hygiene to combat diseases and outbreak of epidemics.
He confirmed that if the situation remained without any international intervention on the part of professional bodies, it would portend a sheer disaster engulfing the entire Strip.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) reported that it will send over million polio vaccines to the Gaza Strip today, after the virus had been detected in drainage water.
Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, affirmed that the organization will send over million vaccines in the coming weeks. (QNA)
Source: Qatar News Agency