Polio is transmitted through contaminated water. WHO: Gaza polio vaccinations all set Health
UN humanitarian agencies in Gaza have reached a preliminary agreement with all parties to the conflict to organize a series of humanitarian pauses during a mass polio vaccination campaign. This will allow 640,000 children to be vaccinated, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
WHO Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Dr Rick Pieperkorn said the two-phase vaccination campaign would begin this Sunday in central Gaza for three days before moving to the south and north. The second phase of the campaign would begin in four weeks.
“During each round of the campaign, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) and other partners, will vaccinate 640,000 children under 10 years of age with the new oral polio vaccine,” Dr Pieperkorn said.
Humanitarian Pause Series
Gaza has already received 1.26 million doses of the vaccine, with another 400,000 doses set to arrive shortly.
Speaking via video link from Gaza, Dr. Piperkorn welcomed the Israeli military’s preliminary commitment to observe humanitarian pauses “in specific areas” during the vaccination campaign.
“We call on all sides to suspend hostilities to allow children and their families to reach health facilities safely, and for health workers to reach children who cannot reach vaccination sites,” he said.
“Security is paramount”
At least 90 per cent of the population needs to be vaccinated in each round of the campaign to stop the outbreak and prevent the international spread of the deadly water-borne disease, which can cause life-long paralysis.
“Safety is paramount” for the more than 2,180 health and outreach workers ready to support the campaign, Dr Pieperkorn stressed.
The vaccines will be delivered to 392 locations in about 300 mobile teams. The WHO spokesman said it was “not perfect” but that it had been agreed upon by all parties. “We will do everything possible to achieve 90 percent coverage,” Dr. Piperkorn added.
West Bank Operation
As Israel’s military operation in the West Bank enters its fourth day, UN humanitarian agencies have expressed concern about the safety of civilians and the teams providing assistance to them.
“Unhindered access to all those in need is critical to providing medical care and delivering medicines. We call for the protection of infrastructure, ambulances, medical workers, and the area around hospitals and medical facilities,” Dr. Piperkorn stressed.
At least 15 people have been killed in Israeli security raids in the densely populated towns of Jenin and Tulkarem this week. In total, 652 Palestinians, including 150 children, have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war began. More than five thousand people have been injured.