Polio threatens all children in Gaza: EU foreign policy chief
ATHENS (AA) – EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has stressed the need for a cease-fire in Gaza to allow children to be vaccinated against poliovirus.
“The quick spread of polio threatens all children in Gaza, already weakened by displacement, deprivation & malnourishment,” he stated on X.
Urging an immediate three-day cease-fire, independent of wider negotiations, to enable WHO and UNICEF to conduct vaccinations, Borrell said, “Our humanity demands it.”
On August 16, Gaza’s Health Ministry announced the first confirmed case of polio in the Gaza Strip in 25 years, in the city of Deir al-Balah. The case involved a 10-month-old baby who had not received any doses of the polio vaccine.
The disease primarily affects children under the age of five, with one in 200 infections leading to irreversible paralysis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 5% and 10% of those paralyzed die due to the failure of their respiratory muscles to function.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since October 7, resulting in over 40,400 Palestinian deaths involving mostly women and children, and over 93,600 injuries, according to local health authorities.
The blockade of Gaza by Israel has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
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