Gaza's health ministry launches emergency vaccination drive as disease threatens thousands of children

In the courtyard of a field hospital in Gaza City, mothers clutch their children and wait under a thin nylon sheet that barely shields them from the autumn sun. For many, this is their first chance in years to vaccinate their children, a small but vital step toward safety in a place where disease now poses as much danger as war.

After two years of near-total disruption to healthcare services, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza on Sunday launched a large-scale, week-long vaccination campaign targeting children under the age of three.

The initiative, carried out in 150 health centres across the besieged enclave, aims to restore routine immunisations and prevent the spread of infectious diseases that have surged amid the collapse of medical infrastructure due to Israel's war, according to a press statement issued by the ministry.

The ministry said that more than 45,000 children have missed their vaccinations since the war began in late 2023, creating what officials describe as a "dangerous immunity gap."

 Supported by UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNRWA, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, the campaign will run in three phases over the next few months.

A generation at risk

Salim al-Qirm, the medical director of the al-Saraya Field Hospital, which is run by the Palestinian Red Crescent, told The New Arab that the campaign is "nothing less than a lifeline for Gaza's children."

"Launching this campaign represents a vital step to protect an entire generation from the risk of health collapse," he said. "The two-year suspension of vaccination programs left a huge void in our health prevention system, leading to a decline in community immunity and an increase in infections we hadn't seen for decades."

Al-Qirm warned that the war's impact on public health "goes far beyond the immediate wounds of bombardment."

"The war didn't only kill through bullets and shelling. It also killed silently through the absence of vaccines, clean water, and essential medicines," he added.

Over the course of Israel's two-year genocidal war, Gaza's medical workers have documented a resurgence of diseases long thought eradicated, including smallpox, measles, hepatitis, and severe respiratory infections.

"We are seeing cases that end with serious complications, even death," al-Qirm noted. "With more than 45,000 unvaccinated children living in overcrowded camps, any outbreak could quickly spiral into an epidemic."

He described the current health environment as "on the brink of total collapse," explaining that a lack of electricity and fuel jeopardises the cold chain, the refrigeration system essential to preserve vaccines.

"If generators stop, the vaccines spoil, we are operating under constant risk," he said.

Despite this, al-Qirm insists that Gaza's medical staff remain determined. "Many nurses and doctors work long hours without rest because they know this campaign is not only about vaccines, it's a message of resilience," he said. "Seeing diseases like polio and measles return is devastating. These were diseases we used to study as history, not reality."

He added that most of the children arriving at the centres suffer from severe malnutrition and anaemia, which makes them especially vulnerable.

"Their immune systems are so fragile that even a simple infection can turn fatal. This campaign is our last chance to rebuild community immunity before it's too late," he stressed.

Mothers waiting for hope

Huda al-Masri, a 27-year-old mother from Gaza City, was among dozens of women who stood in a long line to vaccinate her son, Adam.

"My son hasn't received any vaccinations since he was born," she told TNA, saying, "We lived in a camp with no electricity or clean water. Every time he fell ill, we couldn't find a doctor or medicine. I saw other children get sick with fevers and rashes, and I feared he would be next."

"When I heard there was a new vaccination campaign, I left the camp at dawn. This small needle means life for him. We've already lost one neighbour's child to pneumonia because there was no treatment. I don't want to live that nightmare," she added.

For Huda, the vaccines symbolise more than medicine. "It feels like a new beginning. We live among the ruins, but when I see the nurses giving vaccines, I feel hope. Maybe our children can survive after all," she remarked.

"We had to leave Beit Hanoun after our home was bombed," Nuha al-Za'anin, 34, recalled to TNA. "We spent months in a tent in Khan Younis without doctors, medicine, or clean water. When Rami [her son] got chickenpox, I watched him suffer and feared losing him."

When Nuha heard about the vaccination campaign, she said she didn't hesitate. "I came immediately, even with the long lines and the crowds," she says. "Getting vaccinated today is my duty as a mother. It means my children might live."

"Many women here haven't eaten since last night, but when their children receive the vaccine, they cry not from fear, but from relief. For two years, we've lived in constant dread. Every cough feels like a threat. But today, for the first time, I feel a bit of safety returning," she added.

The collapse of a health system

Health experts warn that Gaza's fragile medical infrastructure cannot withstand another wave of disease. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 80 per cent of Gaza's 2.2 million residents live in dire humanitarian conditions, with hospitals operating far beyond capacity and many partially destroyed or lacking power.

Over more than two years of Israel's genocidal war, Gaza's health system has been brought to the brink of collapse.

According to Mohammed Zaqout, director of field hospitals at the health ministry in Gaza, thousands of patients are crammed into the few functioning hospitals, where bed capacity has reached 250 per cent.

"Because of the war, the shortage of medicines and medical supplies has worsened sharply, with over 60 per cent of essential drugs and 70 per cent of laboratory materials at zero stock," he told TNA.

"Repeated Israeli attacks deliberately targeted hospitals and primary healthcare centres, particularly during the bombardments of Gaza City, leaving many facilities partially or completely destroyed," he said

He added that 1,701 medical personnel have been killed during the war, including 320 specialist doctors, nurses, and administrative staff, noting that replacing this workforce will take years and underscores the urgent need for international support, the entry of medical teams, and expedited treatment for patients abroad.

However, he stressed, "Gaza-based medical staff are working under catastrophic and exhausting conditions, coping with two years of continuous service, repeated displacement, and personal losses."