UN Agencies Launch Gaza Polio Vaccination Campaign Amid Conflict

UN agencies and local health officials in Gaza are set to begin a critical campaign to vaccinate 640,000 children against polio, starting on Sunday. This effort comes after the discovery of the first confirmed polio case in Gaza in 25 years, raising concerns about a potential regional outbreak.

The vaccination campaign hinges on temporary “humanitarian pauses” in the ongoing conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas, with the first pause scheduled from 06:00 to 15:00 local time over three days. These pauses are crucial, as conducting a vaccination campaign in an active combat zone would be impossible, according to Unicef’s Jonathan Crickx.

The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that at least 90% of children under 10 must be immunized quickly to prevent the spread of the virus. The initiative involves more than 2,000 workers and will utilize over 400 fixed vaccination sites and 230 outreach locations across Gaza.

The campaign is urgent due to the high risk of disease spread in Gaza’s current conditions, where most children have missed regular immunizations, and health services are severely strained. The success of this large-scale operation depends heavily on the stability of the agreed-upon ceasefires.