UN chief seeks Gaza pause, as first polio case is confirmed in baby
- A ceasefire would allow a vaccination campaign to be conducted, amid fears that the disease could spread outside the Palestinian enclave
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for parties to the conflict in Gaza to provide concrete assurances guaranteeing humanitarian pauses in order for a polio vaccine campaign to be conducted.
Guterres, speaking to reporters at the United Nations, appealed for assurances to be provided right away as he warned that preventing and containing the spread of polio in the enclave would take a massive coordinated and urgent effort.
“Let’s be clear: the ultimate vaccine for polio is peace and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” Guterres said.
“But in any case, a polio pause is a must. It is impossible to conduct a polio vaccination campaign with war raging all over.”
The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement on Friday that it has detected the first confirmed case of polio in the Gaza Strip in the city of Deir Al-Balah for a 10-month-old baby who had not received any polio vaccination dose.
Guterres said the UN is poised to launch a polio vaccine campaign in Gaza for children under the age of 10, but said the “challenges are grave”.
