GAZA ' TODAY'S ' GAZE : SADNESS GLOBAL ESSAY

'' POLIO threatens Gaza today. Next............. it could very well be cholera. ''

EVEN in the hospitals that are still functioning, shortages of all kinds of materials make these places a potential hotbed for diseases.

I have seen surgeons performing complex surgeries wearing only sterile gloves, without gowns or drapes. Some have had to operate in the dark. Many have worked without antiseptic.

I have seen people die from the lack of supplies and medication, or because they were too weak from malnutrition to recover from their wounds.

The effects of malnutrition are especially pernicious, especially when it comes to infectious disease. Vaccines may not confer their full protection if someone is undernourished. 

The hundreds of thousands of children we are vaccinating against polio may still be at risk of infection simply because they are living with constant hunger.

The Israeli military's daily bombardment of Gaza not only continues to push faltering health-care services to their limits; it also threatens survivors of illness with injury and death.

Where we work, children will be vaccinated in the morning and then arrive in the hospital in the evening as casualties from airstrikes.

On Sept-5, one hour after the vaccination drive finished for the day, my colleagues at Nasser Nasser Hospital received a mass influx of patients, including a child whose hand had been blown off in an Israeli military attack.

On the same day, displaced people sheltering in tents, including children, were hit in an airstrike next to Al Aqsa Hospital.

An infectious disease catastrophe threatens to unfold across the region - whatever gets a foothold in Gaza will not stay in Gaza. Stopping it will require international action to push for an agreement to an immediate and permanent cease-fire.

It is vital that Israeli military end restriction on the delivery of food, clean water and other aid that can preserve existing institutions and health care centers,

Rebuilding the health care system throughout Gaza will require reopening border crossings and ending the blockade.

While bringing in international doctors and establishing makeshift clinics may offer a temporary solution, an enduring health care system that responds to Palestinian needs quickly and effectively must be managed and led locally, based on existing infrastructure.

Children in Gaza need so much more than just polio vaccination. They need all their rights to health and dignity to be met : the right to safety from military attacks, the right to play, the right to move, the right to education, the right to get medical care and the right to food and shelter.

The World Students Society thanks Mohammed Aghaalkurdi for his opinion. He leads the medical program in Gaza for Medical Aid for Palestinians.