A second round of a polio vaccination drive is scheduled to commence in Gaza on Monday, led by the United Nations, to combat the potential resurgence of the highly infectious disease. This initiative comes in the wake of Israel's destruction of water and sanitation systems in the besieged strip, which has heightened the risk of disease outbreaks.
Relief workers have faced numerous obstacles in rolling out the vaccination campaign, particularly in northern Gaza. Challenges such as Israeli evacuation orders, damaged roads due to bombardment, escalating hostilities, and limited fuel supplies have impeded the smooth progress of the campaign.
The vaccination campaign is a collaborative effort involving the UN's agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO). The goal is to vaccinate approximately 590,000 children under the age of 10 within a span of less than two weeks, as stated by the UN.
Ensuring the success of the campaign hinges on the respect of humanitarian pauses, as emphasized by the UN. The first phase of the campaign, conducted last month, successfully vaccinated over 560,000 children under the age of 10 in Gaza, achieving more than 90% of the targeted vaccine coverage, according to WHO and UNRWA.
Prior to the conflict, Gaza boasted near-universal polio vaccine coverage. However, the current coverage has dropped below 90%, underscoring the urgency of the vaccination campaign. Polio primarily affects children under the age of 5 and can lead to irreversible paralysis and fatalities. With no known cure, prevention through immunization is crucial in combating the disease, as highlighted by WHO.
