2nd polio vaccination campaign to begin in Gaza on Oct. 14: Health Ministry

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Gaza Health Ministry announced on Saturday that it will launch the second phase of its polio vaccination campaign on Monday in the central governorate amid a deadly Israeli onslaught ongoing since Oct. 7, 2023.

In a statement, the ministry stated: “In cooperation with the World Health Organization, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, we announce the start of the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign for children under 10 years old in the central governorate.”

The campaign will last for three days, with a possibility of extending it for one additional day.

On Thursday, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell announced that the second round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza would commence on Oct. 14.

In a post on X, she noted: “Area-specific humanitarian pauses have been agreed. It’s critical that these pauses are respected by all parties. Without them, it is impossible to vaccinate the children.”

Russell also mentioned that UNICEF would provide vitamin A supplements to children to strengthen their immune systems, highlighting that “children in Gaza live in extremely dire hygiene and sanitation conditions.”

The first phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza concluded on Sept. 12, having begun at the start of that month, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who reported that over 560,000 Palestinian children had been vaccinated.

According to the UN, children in Gaza require two doses of the vaccine, each consisting of two drops administered orally.

On Wednesday, UNRWA reported that the Israeli army is besieging at least 400,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza, jeopardizing the implementation of the second phase of the polio vaccination campaign.

Since Oct. 6, the Israeli army has imposed a tight siege on Jabalia, following an unprecedented escalation of violence in northern Gaza.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 42,200 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 98,300 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi