Children in Gaza show painted fingers to indicate they have been vaccinated. Gaza: Second phase of polio vaccination campaign begins in southern Gaza Peace and Security
Efforts to vaccinate Gaza’s children against polio moved to the southern areas of the enclave on Thursday. This phase of the campaign, which runs from September 5 to 8, aims to immunize some 340,000 children under the age of ten, UN humanitarian agencies said today.
“UNRWA teams are in Khan Younis this morning, working with partners to provide vaccines to children. At this critical time, it is essential to maintain a pause in hostilities in these areas to protect families and humanitarian workers,” the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said in a post on the X platform.
Success of Phase One
“The success of the first phase of the campaign in central Gaza is the culmination of a huge coordination effort between various partners, including donors and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and underlines the importance of peace for the health and well-being of people in Gaza,” said Rick Pieperkorn, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Earlier this week, WHO and partners conducted special missions outside the humanitarian pause zone to ensure that no child was left behind. For example, teams visited the Al-Maghazi, Al-Bureij and Al-Mussadehr areas as a significant number of families were unable to reach vaccination points due to unsafe conditions.
In total, more than 187,000 children under the age of 10 in central Gaza have received their first dose of the vaccine in the past phase of the polio vaccination campaign. This phase has exceeded the initial target of 157,000 children due to population movements in the center of the enclave and the expansion of the campaign to areas outside the humanitarian pause zone.
Journalists in Gaza
Meanwhile, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that for almost 11 months, international media have been banned from freely entering Gaza and reporting from there on the humanitarian crisis and the consequences of the war.
“It is normal for international journalists to cover conflicts and wars. But not in Gaza,” he wrote on his X page.
The UNRWA chief said he admired Palestinian journalists for continuing their important work despite the deaths of many of their colleagues. However, Palestinian correspondents needed support, Lazzarini added.
According to him, the presence of international media in Gaza is essential to independently reporting on the huge humanitarian needs and massive aid efforts. The UNRWA chief called on international news organizations to exert more pressure so that they can enter the Gaza Strip and report freely.