“Sewage and garbage litter the devastated streets. The smell of fermenting waste permeates the air. This situation is a breeding ground for diseases,” says Dr. Hanan Balkhy, regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO). With a population of nearly 2.4 million and an area of just 360 km², the Gaza Strip suffers from its hyperdensity. With the destruction of infrastructure, 370,000 homes destroyed At the beginning of May, according to a UN report, and the concentration of military operations on urban areas – Gaza and then Rafah – nearly 1.9 million people were displaced, finding refuge in makeshift camps.
With the cessation of garbage collection, the phenomenon of “waste mountains” appeared, commented on and analyzed in an article from Financial Timesend of May. Visible from satellite images, 140 of them have been identified across the entire Gaza territory by the American media, supported in its task by the Dutch NGO PAX for Peace.
“Pollution from the conflict” risks “worsening the health crisis”, warns the Dutch NGO PAX for the Peace, in a note published on July 18“As it gets warmer, there are more problems. Beyond the stench, there is the risk of disease and the proliferation of rodents or mosquitoes which further promote the spread of disease,” laments Louise Wateridge, spokeswoman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
And now, polio…
Indeed, the Hamas Ministry of Health announced that it had detected, on Thursday, July 18, the presence of polio in “waste water”, following tests carried out “in coordination with UNICEF”. This announcement is supported by the Israeli Ministry of Health. In a statement, the administration of the Hebrew country affirmed that samples were “tested in an Israeli laboratory approved by the WHO” and revealed the presence of a “type 2” polio virus, supposedly eradicated since 1999. In southern Gaza, there is no longer any waste water treatment since the Deir el-Balah pumping station stopped working due to lack of fuel. For the time being, no cases of polio have been detected in the Gaza Strip. GazaWHO said Friday. But the discovery is considered “extremely concerning” by WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier. The UN agency, other UN agencies and the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza 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, noting the very difficult conditions on the ground.
The amount of water available in Gaza has collapsed by “94%” since the start of the conflict, according to an Oxfam reportpublished in July. The NGO accuses Netanyahu’s government of causing “a deadly health catastrophe.” The amount of water available to a Gazan is now only 4.74 liters per day, or “less than a third of the minimum quantity recommended in emergency situations.” Polio is contracted in particular by ingesting 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 99% since 1988, from 350,000 cases in more than 125 countries to six cases recorded in 2021”, presents the UN entity. Once infected with this viral disease, it is possible in some cases – if it migrates to the brain – to see some of its limbs paralyzed.
Described as “silent threat“The UN says the waste crisis could contribute to the 186,000 deaths predicted by The Lancet and relayed by the British media The GuardianThe latter refers to the “indirect victims of the war”, caused by “malnutrition, lack of medicines and unsanitary living conditions”. Since the start of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, 38,848 people have died according to figures from the Hamas Health Ministry.