The second round of polio vaccinations began in Gaza on October 14. Gaza: Polio immunization center hit Peace and Security
The second round of the polio vaccination campaign began in central Gaza on Monday, despite reports of strikes on a school in Nuseirat and on the grounds of a hospital in Deir al-Balah, where tents where people were sleeping caught fire.
“We miraculously survived, the fire engulfed everything, and even the tent where we slept burned down,” Louise Wateridge, a representative of the UNRWA, reported the words of her colleague.
“Humanity must prevail”
“Another night of horror in the central districts… humanity must “The war will prevail,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
Twenty-two people were reported killed in a school that was hit in Nuseirat. The facility was intended to be used as a polio vaccination site. The attack was “just one of many incidents that took place overnight in the Gaza Strip,” Wateridge told the UN News Service.
More than 140 UNRWA schools have been attacked since the war began.
Vaccination Efforts
Despite ongoing military action in Gaza following Hamas’ attacks on Israel, a second round of polio vaccinations began in the enclave on Monday. After three days of work in the central part of the strip, UN and partner humanitarian teams will move to the south.
According to UNRWA, about 590,000 children under the age of 10 are scheduled to be vaccinated in less than two weeks. The campaign will also provide children with vitamin A, which should help them combat the threat of diseases caused by poor sanitation and hygiene.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 559,161 children (about 95 percent of Gaza’s young population) were successfully vaccinated during the first round, which ran from September 1 to 12.
Evacuation orders
The most critical humanitarian situation is in the north, where no food aid has been delivered since October 1, UNRWA added. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had previously warned that no transport carrying essential supplies had been allowed to cross the south-to-north crossing points.
Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi said the pressure on those remaining in the north was increasing, with the Israeli military issuing new evacuation orders on October 7, 9 and 12. More than 50,000 people have been forced to flee the besieged Jabaliya camp, while others “remain in their homes and are in a difficult situation due to intensifying bombing and fighting,” he said.
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People in northern Gaza are in desperate need of aid, the UN official said, as the water system, as well as many bakeries, health centers and shelters, have stopped functioning, and social protection, malnutrition and education services have been suspended. Hospitals are seeing an influx of patients with traumatic injuries, Hadi noted.