Tel Aviv, Sept. 4, (dpa/GNA) – More than 187,000 children under the age of 10 have been vaccinated in the first three days of a polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip, World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
“The first phase of polio vaccination in central Gaza is complete. Over 187,000 children under the age of 10 were vaccinated, well over the target of 156,500,” Tedros posted on X.
He added that vaccinations would continue to be offered at four locations in central Gaza. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in the region, the locations are in Deir al-Balah and in the Nuseirat refugee camp
Tedros said that preparations were under way to roll out the vaccine campaign in southern Gaza and that this would start on Thursday, with the aim of reaching 340,000 children.
“We ask for the humanitarian pauses to continue to be respected. We continue to call for a ceasefire,” Tedros said.
“The past three days have brought a rare bright spot amid the disastrous conflict in the Gaza Strip,” Adele Khodr, UNICEF director for the Middle East and North Africa said. Many families had made the effort to reach the vaccination points, she said.
“The agreed pauses were respected in this first phase, giving families and health workers the confidence to get the job done,” Khodr said, describing the campaign as “among the most dangerous and difficult vaccination campaigns on the planet.”
She also referred to obstacles obstructing the campaign, including damaged roads and health infrastructure, displaced populations, looting and disrupted supply routes.
The first case of polio in 25 years was recently identified in an 11-month-old baby in the region.
The WHO says that more than 90% of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the disease spreading. A second vaccination is administered after four weeks.
GNA