From September 1 to 3, more than 189,000 children under 10 years old in central Gaza received the first dose of vaccination. Gaza Completes First Phase of Polio Vaccination Campaign Peace and Security
The past three days have been a rare silver lining amid the catastrophic conflict in the Gaza Strip, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adel Khodr said in a statement on Wednesday as the first round of the polio vaccination campaign in the enclave was completed.
According to the statement, more than 189,000 children under 10 in the central part of the Strip received the first dose of the vaccine from September 1 to 3, exceeding the previously set target.
“As our teams continue the polio vaccination campaign in central Gaza, vaccines are arriving at our health centres in the south,” the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said in a statement on Platform X. “UNRWA staff are meeting with the public to raise awareness about the vaccines ahead of the vaccination campaign in southern Gaza tomorrow.”
Humanitarian pauses in place
According to Adel Khodr, the risk of the virus spreading in Gaza and beyond, especially to neighboring countries, remains high. “History and scientific evidence show us that the safest and most effective way to stop the spread of polio and protect children from it is vaccination,” the UNICEF representative noted. The UN Children’s Fund, UNRWA and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working to ensure that 640,000 children under the age of 10 are protected from the disease, she added.
However, this cannot be achieved without humanitarian pauses, Khodr emphasized. In the first days, the agreed pauses in specific areas were respected and this must continue throughout the remaining stages of the campaign, she said.
Protect the region’s children
In turn, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, in her opening remarks at the session of the Executive Board of the UN Children’s Fund, noted that almost 1.1 million children in Gaza need humanitarian assistance to survive.
“Almost a year after the brutal attack on Israel and the start of the devastating war in Gaza, the situation of children in the region is almost indescribable. Israeli children have been killed and taken hostage, and thousands have been forced to flee their homes,” she stressed.
At the same time, hunger and acute malnutrition are widespread in Gaza, and thousands of children have suffered serious violations of their rights, Russell added. Almost all of the enclave’s young residents have been forced to flee their homes and are now huddled in an area of less than 50 square kilometers.
“The parties to the conflict must immediately agree to a durable ceasefire, facilitate the safe and immediate release of all remaining hostages, and comply with their obligations under international law to protect children and the infrastructure they need,” the UNICEF chief said.