Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sudan, Namibia
Occupied Palestinian Territory
The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that a 10-month-old baby in Deir al Balah has polio. It’s the first case in Gaza in 25 years. This follows the Ministry of Health’s earlier confirmation of the case.
In a social media post, the World Health Organization’s Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the child is currently in stable condition but developed paralysis in the lower left leg.
Given the high risk of polio spreading in Gaza and the wider region, WHO and UNICEF are working with Ministry of Health to implement two rounds of polio vaccination in the coming weeks.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, warned that delaying a humanitarian pause will increase the risk of polio spreading among children. In a post on X, he said it is not enough to bring the vaccines into Gaza and protect the cold chain – the vaccines must also end up in the mouths of every child under the age of 10. He said UNRWA medical teams will deliver the vaccines in the agency’s clinics and through its mobile health teams.
Meanwhile, WHO warns that disrupted water and sanitation systems in Gaza – including at hospitals – are increasing the risk of infectious diseases.
WHO has procured more than US$400,000 worth of infection prevention and control supplies, including chlorine tablets, hygiene products, and gloves. These items have already been delivered to five hospitals, with plans to reach two others in the coming weeks.
However, repeated evacuation orders continue to severely disrupt aid operations in Gaza.
OCHA reports that yesterday and Wednesday, three evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military affected 15 neighbourhoods in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. Initial mapping shows that these areas include nearly 150 displacement locations, most of them informal sites. The latest evacuation directives bring the total number of orders issued in August to 13.
Meanwhile, humanitarian partners working to fight hunger in Gaza say the amount of food assistance that entered southern Gaza in July was one of the lowest recorded in the past 10 months. They warn that active hostilities, damaged roads, access constraints, and a lack of public order and safety have led to critical food shortages.
Children are paying the heaviest price – with poor diet and the decimation of health-care services and water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure raising the risk of malnutrition and disease. An assessment by UNICEF in July found that just one per cent of children in northern Gaza – and only 6 per cent in the south – received the recommended dietary diversity.
Partners working to provide nutrition say the number of children in northern Gaza who were diagnosed with acute malnutrition soared by over 300 per cent last month compared to May – and by more than 150 per cent in the south.
Without unfettered humanitarian access that allows a major scale-up of support, hunger and malnutrition will only worsen.
The World Food Programme (WFP) tells us that as of a week ago, the agency has reached some 370,000 people with partial food parcels and wheat flour this month. However, distributions in Rafah are rare due to the ongoing conflict there.
WFP has also distributed more than 4.4 million hot meals across Gaza so far this month through some 60 community kitchens – reaching an estimated 78,000 people, the vast majority in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah.
OCHA reports that in July, the percentage of humanitarian movements denied by Israeli authorities more than doubled from seven to 15 per cent – severely hampering efforts to quickly reach people with critical support. This is despite the overall number of humanitarian missions coordinated by Israeli authorities increasing from 414 in June to more than 540 in July.
Meanwhile, OCHA says that as of yesterday, only 43 per cent of nearly 150 planned humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza were facilitated by Israeli authorities this month. The rest were either denied, impeded or canceled due to security, operational or logistical reasons. In southern Gaza, less than half of almost 280 coordinated aid movements have been facilitated by the Israeli authorities in August.
In the West Bank, the WFP is warning that escalating violence there could push the number of people facing food insecurity up to 600,000. WFP has expanded its food voucher programme fivefold in the West Bank and is prepared to reach as many as 200,000 people with cash-based transfers by the end of the month.
Sudan
OCHA is deeply concerned about the worsening cholera outbreak in Sudan, where flooding is heightening the risk that the disease will continue to spread.
Sixteen months of conflict have already deprived millions of people in Sudan of access to critical health care, as well as the water, sanitation and hygiene support they need.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that in the month since the first suspected cases were reported, more than 650 cases and 28 deaths have been reported in five states, primarily in Kassala.
The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, is particularly worried about the spread of the disease in areas hosting refugees and internally displaced people, mainly in Kassala, Gedaref and Aj Jazirah states.
At three refugee sites, nearly 120 cholera cases have been confirmed, as reported by Sudan’s Ministry of Health, and five refugees have died.
UNHCR is working with WHO, humanitarian partners and Sudanese health authorities to scale up prevention and response efforts. These include providing beds, medicines and hygiene supplies at treatment facilities in Kassala, as well as training health workers and conducting water chlorination.
WHO says that an initial cholera vaccination campaign in Kassala has reached more than 50,000 people. Upwards of 450,000 additional doses of oral cholera vaccines are in the pipeline.
WHO has also prepositioned cholera kits and other essential medical supplies in high-risk states. This assistance is helping jump-start the response in all affected areas, including Khartoum and Aj Jazirah, where fighting has constrained humanitarian access.
WHO stresses that to launch and maintain a robust response to the cholera outbreak, health-care workers need safe and unhindered access to all affected areas, as well as sustained financial support.
This year’s humanitarian response plan for Sudan is severely underfunded at 38 per cent, with just $1 billion of the required $2.7 billion received so far.
Namibia
OCHA reports that Namibia is experiencing its worst drought in 100 years.
With 84 per cent of Namibia’s food reserves already exhausted, nearly half of the population is expected to experience high levels of food insecurity between July and September, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
The drought is also contributing to an increase in severe acute malnutrition amongst children under five, with deaths already reported in some regions. As women and girls are required to walk longer distances to collect food and water, their risk of being subjected to gender-based violence also increases.
To support the Government-led response, acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, has allocated US$3 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund.
With these funds, the World Food Programme, UNICEF and the UN Population Fund will provide life-saving support to more than 163,000 people – including cash assistance, treatment of acute malnutrition, rehabilitation of water supply points, and assistance to survivors of gender-based violence.