Gaza polio vaccination coverage has reached 90%, says UNRWA chief
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A child is vaccinated against polio in Jabalia in northern Gaza on Sept 10.
PHOTO: REUTERS
DUBAI – Polio vaccination coverage in Gaza has reached 90 per cent, the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency said on Sept 16, adding that the next step was to ensure hundreds of thousands of children got a second dose at the end of September.
The campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in Gaza under 10 years of age against polio, which began on Sept 1, presented major challenges to UNRWA and its partners due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
It followed confirmation by the World Health Organisation in August that a baby was partially paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the Palestinian territory in 25 years.
More than 446,000 Palestinian children in central and south Gaza were vaccinated earlier in September before a campaign to vaccinate a final 200,000 children in northern Gaza began on Sept 10 despite access restrictions, evacuation orders and shortages of fuel.
The first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza ended successfully, UNRWA’s chief Philippe Lazzarini said, adding that 90 per cent of the enclave’s children had received a first dose.
“Parties to the conflict have largely respected the different required ‘humanitarian pauses’, showing that when there is a political will, assistance can be provided without disruption. Our next challenge is to provide children with their second dose at the end of September,” he wrote on X. REUTERS
