UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16 (IPS) – The next phase of the polio immunization campaign in Gaza began on October 14, a major undertaking for health partners as ongoing attacks and tensions weaken health and humanitarian systems.
This Monday, October 14th, marked the start of the second polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. This follows a relatively successful first round of vaccinations conducted from September 1 to 12, with 559,161 children aged 10 and under fully vaccinated. The second vaccination will provide approximately 591,700 children with a critical second dose of the nOPV2 vaccine.
The United Nations and the World Health Organization have called on Israeli authorities to impose a humanitarian pause to ensure vaccination efforts can proceed smoothly. But continued attacks in Gaza have hampered aid efforts and put the lives of aid workers at risk.
“We cannot vaccinate our children under a sky full of bombs. All parties to the conflict must respect the humanitarian pause agreed to allow this campaign to begin,” the UN Office for Relief and Works for Offshore Palestine Refugees said. said. East (UNRWA).
On Monday, the United Nations reported airstrikes on a school shelter in Nuseirat and a hospital courtyard in Deir Al-Balah, the latter of which set fire to several tents. Images and videos shared by UNRWA showed aid workers searching the rubble for survivors and recovering burnt bodies from tents. The attack killed about 20 people and halted school vaccination efforts.
“We survived miraculously. There were fires everywhere. Even the tent we were sleeping in was burned. This is just one of many incidents that happened overnight in Gaza. These are people who are just evacuating. They are just trying. “They are just looking for a place to sleep in Gaza where there is nowhere to be safe,” said UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge.
Repeated evacuation orders from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have also strained vaccination efforts. Muhannad Hadi, the UN’s chief aid officer for the occupied Palestinian territories, confirmed that more than 50,000 people had been displaced from the Jabaliya camp as a result of evacuation orders on October 7, 9 and 12.
According to the World Food Program (WFP), the most difficult area to vaccinate is the northern Gaza Strip, where food supplies have been suspended since October 1. Additionally, an additional blockade occurred in the southern Gaza Strip, blocking all checkpoints leading to the north. We have stopped delivering essential resources.
Despite numerous challenges to access, second-dose polio vaccination is off to a good start. Around 93,000 children under 10 years of age have been confirmed to have been vaccinated so far, according to a statement from UNRWA. Approximately 43% of children reached received a second dose of nOPV2 along with a dose of vitamin A to maximize overall immunity. Like the first campaign, the second campaign will consist of three stages targeting the northern, southern, and central regions of the Gaza Strip. Each phase consists of three days plus an additional make-up day.
About 1,000 relief workers have been mobilized to support vaccination efforts and education services. The United Nations is also conducting an assessment to determine the scale needed following Monday’s attack on Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Tents, bedding, clothing, children’s products, hygiene products and food are urgently needed.
WFP has distributed the last of its food to the northern region, where the hunger crisis has seriously increased over the past two weeks. Canned food, high-energy biscuits and nutritional supplements were distributed to refugee camps, bakeries, health facilities and kitchens. It is unclear how long these resources will last as aid restrictions continue to tighten in northern Gaza.
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