United Nations, Oct 25
An immediate ceasefire is needed in the Gaza Strip as the enclave faces the additional threat of polio spreading, if the final phase of a vaccination campaign there continues to be delayed, an UN agency warned on Thursday.
The third and final phase of the polio vaccination campaign, which was set to start on Wednesday in Gaza, had to be postponed due to the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses.
"It is imperative to stop the polio outbreak in Gaza before more children are paralysed and the virus spreads," said Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). "The vaccination campaign must be facilitated in the north through the implementation of humanitarian pauses."
The current conditions, including ongoing attacks on civilian infrastructure, continue to jeopardise people's safety and movement in northern Gaza, making it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination and health workers to operate, Wateridge said.
Since the beginning of the second round of the polio vaccination campaign on October 14, 442,855 children under age 10 have been successfully vaccinated in Gaza, representing 94 per cent of the target in these areas, news agency reported.
To interrupt the transmission, at least 90 per cent of all children in every community and neighbourhood need to receive a second vaccination following the first round, including more than 119,000 children across Gaza.