A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian baby in Khan Yunis within the southern Gaza Strip on October 19, 2024 amid the continuing conflict within the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas.
| Picture Credit score: AFP

The third part of the polio vaccination marketing campaign is ready to start at this time (November 2, 2024) in a part of the northern Gaza Strip after being postponed from October 23, 2024, owing to the dearth of entry and warranted, complete humanitarian pauses, intense bombardment and mass evacuation orders.

“These situations made it inconceivable for households to soundly convey their youngsters for vaccination and to organise marketing campaign actions,” in response to a joint assertion issued at this time by the World Well being Group (WHO) and United Nations Youngsters’s Fund (UNICEF).”

“The humanitarian pause essential to conduct the marketing campaign has been assured; nonetheless, the world of the pause has been considerably lowered in comparison with the primary spherical of vaccination in northern Gaza, carried out in September 2024. It’s now restricted to only Gaza Metropolis”, the assertion mentioned.

“Round 15,000 youngsters underneath the age of ten years within the cities of North Gaza like Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun stay inaccessible and might be missed through the marketing campaign, compromising its effectiveness. To interrupt poliovirus transmission, at the least 90% of all youngsters in each neighborhood and neighbourhood should be vaccinated. This might be difficult to attain given the scenario,” added the assertion.

“Regardless of the dearth of entry to all eligible youngsters in northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza has taken the choice to renew the marketing campaign. This goals to mitigate the chance of an extended delay in reaching as many youngsters as attainable with polio vaccine and the chance to vaccinate these not too long ago evacuated to Gaza Metropolis from different elements of North Gaza,’‘ it added.

The marketing campaign in northern Gaza follows the profitable implementation of the primary two phases of the second spherical in central and southern Gaza, which reached 4,51,216 youngsters — 96% of the goal in these areas. A complete of three,64,306 youngsters aged between 2 and 10 years have acquired vitamin A to date on this spherical.