Sewage and garbage litter the devastated streets. The smell of fermented waste permeates the air. This situation is a breeding ground for disease, says Dr. Hanan Balkhy, regional director of the World Health Organization WHO. Populated by nearly. a
"
million inhabitants for an area of barely km², the Gaza Strip suffers from its hyperdensity. With the destruction of infrastructure, and housing destroyed in early May according to a UN report, and the concentration of military operations on urban centres – Gaza then Rafah – nearly.
million people have been displaced, finding refuge in makeshift camps. With the cessation of garbage collection, the phenomenon of mountains of waste appeared, commented on and analyzed in an article in the Financial Times at the end of May.
Visible from satellite images, they have been identified throughout the Gaza territory by the American media, supported in its task by the Dutch NGO X for Peace. Pollution from the conflict risks worsening the health crisis, warns the Dutch NGO X for the Peace, in a note published in July.
As it gets hotter, there are more problems. Beyond the stench, there is the risk of diseases and the proliferation of rodents or mosquitoes which further promote the spread of diseases, deplores Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNRWA. And now, polio…
Precisely, the Gaza Ministry of Health announced that it had detected, on Thursday, July, the presence of polio in wastewater, following tests carried out in coordination with UNICEF. This announcement is supported by the Israeli Ministry of Health.
In a statement, the Israeli government said samples tested in a WHO-approved Israeli lab found a poliovirus of the type, which is believed to have been eradicated since. In southern Gaza, there is no longer any sewage treatment since the Deir el-Balah pumping station stopped working due to a lack of fuel.
“So far, no cases of polio have been detected in the Gaza Strip,” the WHO said on Friday. But the discovery is considered extremely worrying by WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier. The UN agency, other UN agencies and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry are trying to determine the extent of the spread of the poliovirus, Lindmeier said.
“A rapid response is essential to prevent the spread of the virus,” he said, stressing the very difficult conditions on the ground. The amount of water available in Gaza has collapsed by % since the start of the conflict, according to an Oxfam report published in July.
The NGO accuses Netanyahu’s government of causing a deadly health disaster. The amount of water available to a Gazan is now only, litres per day, less than a third of the minimum quantity recommended in emergencies.
Polio is contracted in particular by the ingestion of contaminated water. Considered endemic in only two countries in the world – Pakistan and Afghanistan – the disease has been largely contained thanks to the vaccination policy led by the WHO.
Cases due to a wild poliovirus have decreased by more than % since, going from cases in more countries to six cases recorded in, presents the UN entity. Once infected by this viral disease, it is possible in some cases – if it migrates to the brain – to see some of its members paralyzed.
Described as a silent threat by the UN, the waste crisis could contribute to the projection of deaths anticipated by The Lancet and relayed by the British media The Guardian. The latter refers to the indirect victims of the war, caused by malnutrition, lack of medicines and unsanitary living conditions. Since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, people have died according to figures from the Hamas Health Ministry. Explore the Near and Middle East section
Discover more from AGENDAPEDIA
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
