Gaza War
Children in the south of the Gaza Strip are vaccinated against polio
In the south of the Gaza Strip, 340,000 children are to be vaccinated. Photo
© Marwan Dawood/XinHua/dpa
The second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the disputed coastal strip has begun. The UN is calling on the warring parties to respect the agreed ceasefires.
The second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip begins in the south of the Gaza Strip. Aid workers are deployed in the city of Khan Yunis to vaccinate children against the highly contagious virus, the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA announced on Platform X. “At this critical time, breaks in the areas must be observed to protect families and humanitarian workers,” the organization wrote.
This refers to temporary and localized pauses in fighting in the Gaza Strip, which both warring parties have promised. According to UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khodr, this has worked in the center of the Gaza Strip in recent days.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 187,000 children under the age of ten were vaccinated in the first phase of the vaccination campaign. In the second phase, aid workers now want to reach 340,000 children in the south. Many people have fled there to escape the fighting. In a third phase, girls and boys in the north of the region will also be vaccinated.
According to the WHO, more than 90 percent of children must be vaccinated to prevent the spread. After four weeks, all vaccinated people need a second dose.