Gaza: 94,000 children vaccinated against polio in embattled north

Газа: на охваченном боевыми действиями севере анклава удалось привить от полиомиелита 94 тысячи детей

79 percent of children in northern Gaza fully vaccinated against polio. Gaza: 94,000 children vaccinated against polio in embattled north Health

Despite ongoing fighting, a polio vaccination campaign has ended in northern Gaza, vaccinating 94,000 children.

A campaign heavily supported by UN agencies ended in the besieged northern Gaza Strip on Monday. 94,000 children received their second dose of the vaccine, but thousands of young Palestinians are still out of reach of medical workers, leaving them unprotected from the deadly virus.

The goal was to vaccinate all children in northern Gaza, but evacuation orders from Israel, displacement and ongoing shelling have prevented that from happening, said Richard Piperkorn, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) representative in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Almost 80 percent covered

The United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said 79 percent of children in northern Gaza are now fully vaccinated against polio. “Humanitarian pauses are critical to getting this vital campaign underway, but without a lasting ceasefire, children will continue to suffer and die,” UNRWA said in a statement posted on social media early Monday.

Health centres where children were brought for vaccinations have reportedly been attacked several times, and WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed grave concern over an attack on one over the weekend.

UNICEF asks Israel to investigate

UNICEF chief Catherine Russell said in a statement late on Saturday that attacks on civilians, including aid workers, and “what remains of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure” must stop. “Along with the horrific death toll among children in northern Gaza as a result of other attacks, these latest events add another dark chapter to one of the darkest periods of this horrific war,” she said.

“The entire Palestinian population in northern Gaza, especially children, is at risk of death from disease, starvation and ongoing bombing,” Russell warned, adding that UNICEF is asking Israel to immediately investigate the circumstances of the attack on the fund’s employee and take steps to bring those responsible to justice.

Getting Results in the Middle of War

The incidents occurred at vaccination centers during agreed-upon humanitarian pauses that ran from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the three-day campaign. Polio, eradicated in Gaza 25 years ago, resurfaced earlier this year amid multiple humanitarian crises caused by the war that began after Hamas’ deadly attacks on Israel in October 2023.

To date, Israel’s war on Gaza has claimed more than 43,000 lives, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and caused widespread destruction.

Despite difficulties including limited access, the Gaza Polio Technical Committee, which includes the Palestinian Health Ministry, WHO, UNICEF, UNRWA and partners, has decided to resume the campaign, which was postponed since October 23 due to a lack of security guarantees.

As of early Saturday, 216 teams were deployed to 106 fixed sites, 22 of which have been added to provide greater vaccination coverage in areas where people have fled the bombings, according to UN agencies. More than 200 social workers have joined the campaign to raise awareness about polio vaccination.

Mission Almost Accomplished

The campaign in northern Gaza follows the successful implementation of the vaccination program in central and southern Gaza, where 451,216 children were vaccinated, which is 96 percent of the target in these areas.

According to the WHO, at least 90 percent of all children in each area must be vaccinated in order to stop the spread of the poliovirus. Experts also note that delaying the second dose reduces the effectiveness of the vaccine, and if a significant number of children do not receive the vaccine the second time, the disease could reappear in the Gaza Strip and neighboring countries.

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