Middle East
WHO: 187,000 children in Gaza vaccinated against polio so far
The goal of vaccinating 156,500 children in the first phase was exceeded, according to the WHO. Photo
© Marwan Dawood/XinHua/dpa
The first phase of the vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip has ended. According to Unicef, the agreed ceasefires have been observed so far. Vaccinations are also set to begin in the south of the area from Thursday.
In the first three days of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip, more than 187,000 Children under the age of ten have been vaccinated. “The first phase of polio vaccination in central Gaza has been completed,” wrote the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on the X platform.
The goal of vaccinating 156,500 children in the area during this period was exceeded. Over the next three days, vaccinations will continue to be offered at four locations in the center of the Gaza Strip, Tedros wrote. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, these are in the city of Deir al-Balah and the refugee district of Nuseirat.
According to Tedros, preparations are currently underway for the start of the vaccination campaign in the south of the war zone. This is scheduled to start on Thursday and, according to the WHO, will reach 340,000 children.
“The last three days have brought a rare glimmer of hope amid the devastating conflict in the Gaza Strip,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. Many families have made efforts to get to the vaccination centers.
Temporal and localized pauses in fighting had been announced for the vaccinations. “The agreed breaks were adhered to in this first phase,” Khodr summed up. According to her, this is “one of the most dangerous and difficult vaccination campaigns in the world.” Despite the pauses in fighting, there are major obstacles and dangers – including looting and broken roads.
Due to the unsanitary conditions with hundreds of thousands of displaced people in a confined space, the first case of polio in 25 years was recently discovered in the Gaza Strip. An eleven-month-old baby is affected. The virus in question is a vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV type 2). This is precisely what is now being vaccinated against.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 90 percent of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread. After four weeks, all vaccinated people need a second dose.