UNICEF prepares for polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, urging respect for humanitarian pauses

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced Thursday its readiness to launch the first round of a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza on Sunday, while urging all parties to respect humanitarian pauses.

"UNICEF is ready to start the first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza on Sunday to reach nearly 640K children," the agency’s executive director, Catherine Russell, wrote on X.

Russell called on all parties to "respect the area-specific humanitarian pauses to stop polio from spreading in Gaza and the region."

Emphasizing the urgency of the situation, she said that "if fighting doesn't stop, polio vaccinators are unable to reach children."

She noted that Gaza had been polio-free for 25 years, making the current situation particularly concerning.

"Failing to respect these pauses would be an unforgivable failure for the children in Gaza and the region who have already suffered so much," she said.

Russell also outlined additional needs, saying: "Most of all, children in Gaza need a cease-fire, protection from all forms of harm, access to health care, safe water and sanitation."

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Thursday a "preliminary commitment for area-specific humanitarian pauses" during a polio vaccination campaign set to begin on Sept. 1 in the Gaza Strip.

The vaccination campaign is to be carried out in collaboration with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, UNICEF and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

On Aug. 16, Gaza’s Health Ministry announced the first confirmed case of polio in the Gaza Strip in 25 years, in the city of Deir al-Balah. The case involved a 10-month-old baby who had not received any doses of the polio vaccine.

The disease primarily affects children under the age of five, with one in 200 infections leading to irreversible paralysis. According to the WHO, between 5% and 10% of those paralyzed die due to the failure of their respiratory muscles to function.

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

The onslaught has resulted in more than 40,600 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,800 injuries, according to local health authorities.