After exceeding their objectives in central Gaza, international organizations will continue the vaccination campaign in the south and north of the Strip.
The polio vaccination campaign is already giving its first results in the center of the Gaza Strip: a total of 158,992 children have received the first dose in the two days that the operation has been underway, according to the Strip’s Ministry of Health.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and UNICEF They aimed to vaccinate 157,000 children in that area. The organizations in charge of the campaign have exceeded the objective in just 48 hours.
Great participation of citizens
In this context, the Gaza Ministry of Health has highlighted the “great participation of citizens”and the WHO has emphasized in a video from one of the vaccination points in Deir al Balah the “great enthusiasm among the community”.
The organizations plan to continue in the central Gaza until Wednesday, move south for four days and finish the campaign in the north of the Strip. The plan contemplates vaccinating 640,000 children under 10 years of age so that the vaccination rate rises to 95%. Due to the start of the war, this fell to 89%.
In August, the Ministry of Health detected, in an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby, first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years. The authorities attribute the resurgence to the overcrowded conditions in which the population lives. The shortage of water, hygiene products and coexistence with wastewater They would be the main triggers of the disease.
For now, no incident has been recorded and Gazans have been able to safely go to vaccine supply points in broad daylight. Although the humanitarian breaks agreements with Israel are being respected in the area, a new bombing has left at least eight dead in UN shelter in the Jabalia refugee camp, north of the Strip.
As the vaccine consists of two doses, the WHO, UNRWA and UNICEF are expected to supply the second one at the end of September.
