Israel says more polio vaccines are delivered to Gaza, where aid groups seek pause in fighting
Jerusalem (AP): Israel's military on Sunday said polio vaccines for more than 1 million people had been delivered to Gaza, after the first confirmed case of the disease in the territory in a quarter-century.
It was not immediately clear how, or how quickly, the more than 25,000 vials of vaccine would be distributed in Gaza, where ongoing fighting and unrest have challenged humanitarian efforts during more than 10 months of war.
Other polio cases are suspected across the largely devastated territory after the virus was detected in wastewater in six different locations in July.
Aid groups plan to vaccinate more than 600,000 children under age 10 and have called for an urgent pause in the war to increase vaccinations. The World Health Organisation and the United Nations children's agency have said that, at a minimum, a seven-day pause is needed.
The UN has aimed to bring 1.6 million doses of polio vaccine into Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are crowded into tent camps lacking clean water or proper disposal of sewage and garbage. Families sometimes use wastewater to drink or clean dishes.
Polio is highly contagious and transmits mainly through contact with contaminated feces, water or food. It can cause difficulty breathing and irreversible paralysis, usually in the legs. It strikes young children in particular and is sometimes fatal.
The new statement by the Israeli military body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs said five trucks with special refrigeration equipment for vaccine storage were brought into Gaza on Friday in coordination with the UN. The vaccines arrived Sunday.
The statement said vaccinations will be conducted by international and local medical teams at “various locations” in Gaza, in coordination with Israel's military as part of “routine humanitarian pauses” to allow people to reach health centers.
The statement said more than 282,000 vials of the polio vaccine have been brought into Gaza since the war began in early October.
The territory's health care system has been devastated, and workers are overwhelmed. Only about a third of Gaza's 36 hospitals and 40 per cent of its primary health care facilities are functioning, according to the UN. But the WHO and UNICEF say their vaccination campaign will be carried out in every municipality in Gaza, with help from 2,700 workers.
Before the war, 99 per cent of Gaza's population was vaccinated against polio. That figure is now 86 per cent, according to the WHO.
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Arrogant govt: Rahul slams govt over video of restaurant chain owner 'apologising' to FM
New Delhi (PTI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed the government over a video in which a restaurant chain owner is purportedly "apologising" to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for voicing concerns about GST, and said that when "fragile egos" of those in power are hurt, it seems humiliation is what they will deliver.
Two videos were being shared by several Congress leaders and in one of them at an event on September 11, Annapoorna chain of restaurants owner Srinivasan is seen purportedly highlighting concerns over varying GST rates. In the second video, Srinivasan was seen purportedly apologising in person to the Finance Minister.
Gandhi said if this "arrogant government" would listen to the people they would understand that a simplified GST would solve the problems of lakhs of businesses.
In a post on X, Gandhi said when the owner of a small business, like Annapoorna restaurant in Coimbatore, asks public servants for a simplified GST regime, his request is met with "arrogance and outright disrespect".
"Yet, when a billionaire friend seeks to bend the rules, change the laws, or acquire national assets, Modi Ji rolls out the red carpet," he alleged.
"Our small business owners have already endured the blows of demonetisation, an inaccessible banking system, tax extortion and a disastrous GST. The last thing they deserve is further humiliation," Gandhi said.
But when the fragile egos of those in power are hurt, it seems humiliation is exactly what they will deliver, the former Congress chief said.
He said MSMEs have been asking for relief for years.
"If this arrogant government would listen to the people they would understand that a simplified GST with a single tax rate would solve the problems of lakhs of businesses," Gandhi said.
