The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Northern Gaza-bound UN convoy stopped ahead of polio vaccination campaign in the area – WHO
Safe and sustained access is essential for the success of the polio vaccination campaign in Northern Gaza and UN humanitarians will try again to reach the area with fuel following an attempt blocked by the Israeli military, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
A UN convoy on its way to the north of the Strip was stopped on Monday by Israeli forces and “after waiting for eight hours, this mission had to be aborted,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told reporters in Geneva.
The convoy was composed of two missions, Mr. Jašarević explained. One was bringing fuel and vehicles for the third phase of the polio campaign starting on Tuesday in the north of the Strip, following the vaccination of more than 446,000 children in central and southern Gaza earlier this month. Another WHO team was trying to bring desperately needed fuel to Gaza City’s embattled Al-Shifa hospital. The enclave’s largest medical centre reopened its emergency department in early September after its destruction in an Israeli raid in November 2023 following claims that Palestinian armed groups were using the site for military purposes.
“This is not an isolated incident,” according to Mr. Jašarević, who deplored the lack of a “functioning deconfliction mechanism,” 11 months into the conflict. Between 7 and 10 September, UN health agency teams tried to reach Al-Shifa hospital four times with no success. “But we will try again today,” the WHO spokesperson said. “We really do our best, but this is a pattern: in August the number of denied requests for access doubled compared to previous months,” he insisted.
Access is required for some 200,000 children to receive their first dose of the oral polio vaccine by 12 September in parts of northern Gaza in which humanitarian pauses have been agreed. WHO confirmed that vaccines, cold chain equipment and finger markers were delivered to the area on Monday.
Medical staff are proceeding with the administration of vaccines despite the dire need for fuel for the movement of vehicles for vaccination teams.
But the health needs in Gaza “are immense and go well beyond polio,” Mr. Jašarević said. The little fuel that is available is desperately needed not only by hospitals, but also by bakeries and desalination plants. Northern Gaza’s Indonesian hospital has had to shut down some of its services in order to prolong the working hours of other departments, according to WHO. “Health workers have been faced with this challenge on how best to use the little fuel they have,” Mr. Jašarević emphasized. “These are choices that health workers should never be making. They should have all necessary conditions to perform lifesaving activities.”
Once the first round of the polio vaccination campaign wraps up in northern Gaza, a second dose will need to be administered four weeks later. The campaign was launched on 1 September, following the confirmation that a baby had been partially paralyzed by type 2 polio virus last month, the first case detected in the territory in 25 years.
Routine immunizations and other vital health services have been impeded by Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’ attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage. The resulting war in Gaza has killed more than 40,900 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health authorities.
Ends -
Story: “Gaza: UN convoy blocked – WHO” – 10 September 2024
Speaker: Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO)
TRT: 02’20”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 10 September 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
- Wide shot of the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “This convoy was composed of two missions: one mission was to bring fuel and vehicles for (the) polio campaign. But there was also at the same place, at the same moment, there was another team of WHO that was trying to get to Al-Shifa hospital to bring fuel to them. Well, this mission, after waiting for eight hours, had to be aborted.”
- Wide shot of the press conference room and control room at the back.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): "This is not isolated. It's like, as I said, we have been trying to get to Al-Shifa hospital between 7 and 10 September for four times. And we were unable, but we’ll try again today. So, we do really our best, but this is a pattern and, as I said, in August, the number of denied requests for access doubled comparing to previous months.”
- Medium shot: journalists at the press conference room taking notes.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “We do our best and we will try again today to bring fuel, both for Al-Shifa hospital that you will remember somehow resumed its activities from late July, and for the polio vaccination campaign. But for that again, we need the access.”
- Medium shot: back of the podium and TV screen in the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “Whether you use your fuel to make bakeries functioning, or use (it) for desalination plants so you get a clean water or you use (it) in hospitals and then, you know, hospitals quite often, health workers, have been faced with this challenge on how best to use the little fuel they have.”
- Medium shot of the podium with speakers and press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Tarik Jašarević, spokesperson, UN World Health Organization (WHO): “These are choices that health workers should never be making. Health workers should have all necessary conditions to perform lifesaving activities they do.”
- Medium and close shots of journalists taking notes.
- Medium shot of camera and control room from the press conference room.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNHCR
Main road connecting Lebanon to Syria closed to vehicles after Israeli strike, says UN refugee agency
The major road connecting Lebanon to Syria was hit by Israeli airstrikes overnight near the key Masnaa border crossing where tens of thousands have been fleeing Lebanon into Syria in the past two weeks, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday published its latest report on Ukraine. It covers key human rights developments from 1 June to 31 August 2024, during which civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure increased significantly.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR
Amid the start of a reported Israeli ground offensive against the Hezbollah armed group in southern Lebanon and fears of more civilian suffering, the UN launched an urgent humanitarian appeal on Tuesday to support those most in need in the country.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press briefingUN Human Rights spokeperson Liz Throssell made the following comments on hostilities in the Middle East.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
"No more lives should be lost to this senseless criminality" - A UN Human Rights Office report on Friday called on the Haitian authorities and the international community to step up efforts to stem the gang violence that has blighted the Caribbean nation.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR
The sudden and massive escalation between Israel and the Hezbollah armed group in Lebanon has created widespread fear that even worse is to come, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday voiced alarm at the loss of life as a result of the escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNICEF , WHO
As Lebanon mourns the victims of a wave of Israeli airstrikes believed to have left hundreds dead, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday against a return to the “dark days of 2006” when full-scale war broke out, calling for an urgent de-escalation and the protection of civilians.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif on Tuesday highlighted the continued appalling human rights situation in Myanmar.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
The UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, issued an urgent appeal for nearly $59 million on Friday to halt the rapid spread of mpox in six African countries including Burundi, where youngsters have been impacted the most.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
Climate crisis: New technologies offer hope for global action, says UN weather agency
Amid renewed warnings from leading climate scientists that global warming could reach 3°C above pre-industrial levels this century, the head of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) insisted on Wednesday that new technologies and AI offer the opportunity to implement the drastic action needed to resist the existential crisis.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday published its latest report on the human rights situation in Myanmar, detailing a range of serious violations that continue to underscore the deepening crisis and lack of rule of law throughout the country.