UNRWA chief: Gaza polio vaccination coverage has reached 90%

Polio vaccination coverage in Gaza has reached 90 per cent, the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agencysaid on Monday, adding that the next step was to ensure hundreds of thousands of children got a second dose at the end of the month.

The campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in Gaza under 10 years of age against polio, which began on Sept. 1, presented major challenges to UNRWA and its partners due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

It followed confirmation by the World Health Organization (WHO) last month that a baby had been partially paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the Palestinian territory in 25 years.

More than 446,000 Palestinian children in central and south Gaza were vaccinated earlier this month before a campaign to vaccinate a final 200,000 children in north Gaza began on September 10 despite access restrictions, evacuation orders and shortages of fuel.

The first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza ended successfully, UNRWA's chief Philippe Lazzarini said, adding that 90 per cent of the enclave's children had received a first dose.