The head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency announced on Monday that polio vaccination coverage in Gaza has reached 90%. He emphasized that the next crucial step is to ensure that hundreds of thousands of children receive their second dose by the end of the month.
The campaign to vaccinate approximately 640,000 children under the age of 10 in Gaza against polio, which commenced on September 1, posed significant challenges to UNRWA and its partners due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. This initiative followed the World Health Organisation's confirmation last month that a baby had been partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, marking the first such case in the Palestinian territory in 25 years.
Earlier this month, over 446,000 Palestinian children in central and southern Gaza were vaccinated. Subsequently, a campaign to vaccinate the remaining 200,000 children in northern Gaza began on September 10, despite access restrictions, evacuation orders, and fuel shortages. UNRWA's chief, Philippe Lazzarini, stated that the first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza concluded successfully, with 90% of the enclave's children receiving their first dose.
"Parties to the conflict have largely respected the necessary 'humanitarian pauses,' demonstrating that with political will, assistance can be provided without disruption. Our next challenge is to administer the second dose to children by the end of September," Lazzarini wrote on X.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza on October 7 last year, following Hamas's shock incursion into southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people and the capture of approximately 250 hostages, according to Israeli reports. The ensuing assault on Gaza has reportedly killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry, and has left much of the territory in ruins.
