WHO Launches Polio Vaccination for 640,000 Gaza Children Amid Three-Day Conflict Pauses

Aug 31, 2024, 09:55 PM

The World Health Organization, in collaboration with UN agencies and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, has launched a large-scale polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip. This initiative aims to vaccinate approximately 640,000 children under the age of 10 after the first polio case in 25 years was detected in the region. The campaign commenced on Saturday, with vaccinations beginning in central Gaza, including Deir el-Balah, and is expected to coincide with planned three-day pauses in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. These humanitarian pauses have been agreed upon to ensure the safe administration of vaccines amidst the war-torn conditions. The campaign is crucial to prevent a potential outbreak of the disease, which poses a significant risk of paralysis or even death in children. Health officials emphasize the need for at least 90% coverage to effectively halt the spread of the virus. The effort follows the detection of the virus in an 11-month-old boy, highlighting the urgency of the situation. A total of 1.2 million doses of the vaccine have been delivered to support this effort.