As a mother of three, my kids were inoculated against polio when they were small. I was flummoxed by seeing older children in Gaza being given the vaccination.
I relooked at the guidelines and found children in the United States are typically given the polio vaccine at the following ages:
- 2 months: The first dose
- 4 months: The second dose
- 6–18 months: The third dose
- 4–6 years: The fourth and final dose
But news photographers snapped shots of older children in Gaza being given the vaccine. According to guidelines, any child over four should already have received the vaccination and that was long before Hamas attacked Israel in October.
Maybe children are not Hamas first priority.
According to NPR, nearly half of Gaza’s population are children.
The estimated number of children under 18 years of age in Gaza Strip is 544,776 males and 523,210 females, with about 15% of the children under the age of five.
Palestinian women average 4.38 births per woman. Statistically, 37% of Palestinian females married when they were under the age of 18, including 5% who married before the age of 15. (And, about 63% of young married women suffer violence at the hands of their husband.)
Maybe the government of Hamas, which has been in power for nearly two decades, did not have enough money to take care of its large population of children?
From 2014-2020, UN agencies spent nearly $4.5 billion in Gaza, including $600 million in 2020 alone.
More than 80% of that funding is channeled through the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, who make up three-fourths of Gaza’s population. Some 280,000 children in Gaza attend schools run by UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency), which also provides health services and food aid.
Iran is one of Hamas’s biggest benefactors, contributing funds, weapons, and training providing some $100 million annually.
It appears that there is money for the children. If other governments are paying for services, what is the Hamas government paying for?
A 10-month-old boy was diagnosed in Gaza with polio. News organizations were quick to blame Israel for the first case of polio that had been reported in 25 years.
This editor grew up on the Rosebud Reservation. The U.S. government required that shots be given on a routine basis to all school children. We received all the recommended shots; nurses came to the school and gave them. Plus, we were routinely tested for TB and lice.
In Gaza, there was money for ensuring children were vaccinated. But it appears that Hamas views girls/teens simply as baby incubators and males are needed to replenish the fighting ranks.
The BBC reported that about 640,000 children under 10 years old are expected to received oral drops of the polio vaccine amid limited pauses in fighting. It writes that campaigners are saying Israel’s continued destruction of water and waste management infrastructure in Gaza is aiding the spread of the highly contagious disease.
The blame doesn’t belong with Israel. It belongs to Hamas for not taking care of its children – and for attacking Israel and taking hostages – and for killing innocent victims. . . . while screaming to the world, “they [Israel] don’t care about the children.”
You could not be more right ..
Thank you for speaking up
This is pure logic! Ditto on the above, “ Thank you for speaking up!”