A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Israel and Hamas have agreed to some very local pauses in fighting, alI to let health workers administer polio vaccines in Gaza. This week, the World Health Organization was able to vaccinate more than 161,000 kids in just two days. Dr. Naina Bhalla is the medical team leader for Doctors Without Borders in the city of Khan Younis, and I asked her how the health workers they observed were able to do it.
NAINA BHALLA: There's two things that are contributing to this. The first is the initiative, which was spearheaded by the Ministry of Health, UNICEF and the WHO, for getting the vaccines in, which was a big feat in itself. And then I think, as well, the second point that needs to be understood is that the Palestinians are very much believers in vaccinations. Before the conflict started in October, the vaccination coverage rate was more than 99% in the Palestinian territories. They're trying to stay alive, and we are trying to help them stay alive.
MARTÍNEZ: When it comes to the virus itself, why has it reemerged, and why has it spread so rapidly?
BHALLA: So any child born after October 7 has lost the ability to receive routine vaccinations, which include polio. The resurgence of polio in Gaza, which has been free of polio for a quarter century, displays the fact that it's also a matter of the overcrowdedness, the infrastructure being destroyed within Gaza and the lack of water and sanitation, which could lead to it spreading very, very rapidly.
MARTÍNEZ: How much would an absolute cease-fire matter to what you're trying to accomplish?
BHALLA: Oh, it would mean the world to not only the humanitarian workers improving the health of the population, but I think it would mean the world to all of our health care workers that have not only been trying to save the lives of their fellow Palestinians, but also have been having to deal with the frequent forced evacuations, the same living conditions that are causing some of these health issues, and have also lost loved ones. We could upscale what we're able to accomplish in trying to reach populations, allow people to move back to areas so that we don't have as much overcrowdedness and start to work on - kind of rebuild, and allow people a little bit more space and air to move and breathe and live.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, aid workers have come under fire during this war. Are there concerns for the safety of the medical workers who are involved in this campaign?
BHALLA: Yes, definitely. And this is every day here in Gaza. But when the humanitarian pause and the vaccine was in the central zone a few days ago, we were still having a lot of military action and fighting in our zone. And, you know, this is a very small area of the Gaza Strip. After the third day of vaccines in the central zone, there was a mass casualty incident at one of the hospitals because of a targeted airstrike. So there is this humanitarian pause, but it's only for specific hours, and it's only for specific zones. And there's no guarantee that they will be respected, and it doesn't mean that there's not continued fighting.
MARTÍNEZ: Beyond this vaccination campaign, what are your biggest concerns for the health of children and the adult population in Gaza at this time?
BHALLA: I think that just being able to have a space to live after being evacuated multiple times, losing multiple loved ones. Obviously, to reinstitute the health care system in this country is going to be a massive, massive undertaking. There are only 16 hospitals that are partially functioning, out of 36 before the conflict started. There is only, really, right at this point, one functioning tertiary care hospital in all of Gaza. And the number of wounded, let alone the number of people who are going to have permanent disabilities for the rest of their life, is one thing. But then just to think about the mental health issues that are going to resurge in the future, the number of children that we see at the hospital that are traumatized is impressive - not in a good way.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Naina Bhalla, Doctors Without Borders medical team leader in Khan Younis, in Gaza. Doctor, thank you.
BHALLA: Thank you very much for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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