The World Health Organisation announced on Tuesday, during the third day of a large-scale polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, that it had surpassed its vaccination targets. Approximately one-fourth of children under the age of 10 have been inoculated. The campaign, initiated following the detection of the first polio case in a Gaza infant last month, operates under daily eight-hour ceasefires in combat zones between Israel and Hamas militants within the besieged territory.
Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, informed journalists that over 161,000 children under 10 were vaccinated in the central region during the initial two days, exceeding the estimated target of about 150,000. This represents roughly a quarter of the total population aimed to be vaccinated to halt the disease's spread, which can lead to paralysis and even death in young children. "So far, the campaign is progressing smoothly," he noted. "These humanitarian ceasefires are proving effective. We have another 10 days ahead."
Health teams plan to advance to southern Gaza later this week, targeting approximately 340,000 children, followed by northern Gaza. Peeperkorn mentioned that some children in southern Gaza might be outside the designated ceasefire zones, and ongoing negotiations aim to include them. The WHO emphasizes that vaccinating at least 90 percent of Gaza's children is crucial for the campaign's success and to prevent polio transmission both within Gaza and beyond its borders.
