Second round of polio vaccinations in Gaza to begin in 4 weeks. Top stories of the day | Tuesday: Gaza, Ukraine, DPRK, Venezuela UN
Top stories of the day in the UN and around the world: more than 160,000 children in Gaza have received their first dose of polio vaccine, shelling of Ukraine leads to an increase in the number of civilian casualties, UNICEF supports vaccinations in the DPRK, arrest of opposition candidate for president of Venezuela.
The situation in Gaza
Thanks to humanitarian pauses in central Gaza, the polio vaccination campaign continued on Tuesday. According to preliminary data from the World Health Organization (WHO), 161,000 children received the first dose of the vaccine in the first two days of the campaign on Sunday and Monday. In total, more than 640,000 children under 10 across the Gaza Strip are scheduled to receive two doses of the vaccine. Meanwhile, High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for those responsible for the killing of six Israeli hostages in Gaza to be brought to justice.
Surveillance of Ukraine
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that humanitarian organizations continue to provide emergency assistance to those affected by attacks across Ukraine. In particular, in Kharkiv, as a result of shelling on August 30 and September 1, according to the authorities, 6 people were killed and 150 were injured, including 30 children. In addition, more than 90 residential buildings, a shopping center and sports facilities, as well as two educational institutions, were damaged. UN Coordinator in the country Matthias Schmale condemned the repeated shelling of residential areas. According to reports, on Tuesday, an attack on Poltava resulted in civilian casualties.
Vaccination in the DPRK
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is supporting the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in carrying out a vaccination campaign to reach more than 800,000 children and 120,000 pregnant women who missed out on immunizations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the support of the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI), UNICEF has delivered more than four million doses of vaccines to the country, including measles-rubella, tetanus-diphtheria, hepatitis B and polio. UNICEF has also provided cold storage equipment to ensure the vaccines can be used in remote areas. In addition, 7,200 medical workers in North Korea have received training with the support of the UN Children’s Fund.
Arrests in Venezuela
The UN Human Rights Office has expressed deep concern about the “climate of fear” in Venezuela after an arrest warrant was issued for former opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González. González’s arrest followed his camp’s release of poll data indicating that he had won the election, according to media reports. He is accused of multiple crimes, including falsifying documents. According to the Fact-Finding Mission to Venezuela, opposition protests after the elections were met with “brutal state repression.”