Gaza: Final phase of polio vaccine campaign reaches ravaged north

UN organizations and partners began phase one in September and have had more than 200 teams on stand-by since 23 October to unroll the campaign’s final round, which had been delayed by constant Israeli airstrikes, clashes on the ground and no assurances of the required humanitarian pauses to stop the fighting during the delivery of the vaccines.

Polio had been eradicated in the Gaza Strip 25 years ago, but the ongoing war triggered multiple health crises, with a 10-month-old being diagnosed with the virus earlier this year, prompting health officials to organize a campaign in the war-torn Israeli-occupied territory.

The campaign will be delivered by 216 teams across 106 fixed sites, 22 of which have been added to ensure increased availability of vaccination in areas where recently displaced people are seeking refuge, according to UN agencies.

There will also be 209 social “mobilisers” deployed to engage communities and raise awareness around vaccination efforts, they explained.

However, the agencies warned that health workers will not be able to reach all of the children who require a final dose of the vaccine.

Despite the lack of access to all eligible children in northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza, which includes the Palestinian Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA and partners, decided to resume the campaign.

The plan aims to mitigate the risk of a long delay in reaching as many children as possible with polio vaccines and the opportunity to vaccinate those recently evacuated to Gaza City from other parts of the northern Strip.