WHO confirms delivery of 1.2 million polio vaccine doses in Gaza, inoculation to begin on Sunday

The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that it has delivered 1.2 million doses of polio vaccine in Gaza in an effort to eradicate the fatal disease that made a comeback in the coastal enclave after 25 years. The international body also assured that they will be delivering 400,000 more vaccines as a part of the emergency campaign.

The vaccination, which is due to be circulated this weekend, will be accompanied by a three-day humanitarian pause in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The move will allow the inoculation of more than 640,000 children residing in the war-stricken region.

The WHO director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, confirmed the delivery and said that the vaccination drive is due to start on Sunday, with daily pauses scheduled to take place between 6 am and 3 pm (local time). The UN officials stationed in Gaza said that the vaccination campaign will be carried out in three-day phases in different zones of the coastal enclave.

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Health workers urge warring parties to respect the humanitarian pause

The UN officials who will carry out the operation warned that both the Israeli military and Hamas militants “must respect” the humanitarian pauses negotiated to allow the vaccinations. While emphasising the scale of challenges involved in the operation, WHO officials told The Guardian that the plan was “not ideal” but added that it would be feasible “if all the pieces of the puzzle” were in place.

The whole vaccination drive will involve more than 2,000 health and community workers, who will provide vaccination at several hundred locations. “From Sunday, we’re giving out two oral doses of the polio vaccination, and then four weeks after this initial round of campaigns we will need to repeat the vaccination again. This is for 640,000 children across the Gaza Strip,” Louise Wateridge, a UN official, told BBC.

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“It’s so important that we get this vaccination campaign out as soon as possible, and that we have the safety to do this because the repercussions will be disastrous for not just children in the Gaza Strip but children in the region. And they have already been put through so much,” he added.

While speaking on the concerns regarding the safety of the aid workers during the campaign, Catherine Russell, the executive director of Unicef, urged the warring sides to not cause any instability.

“UNICEF is ready to start the first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza on Sunday to reach nearly 640,000 children. All parties MUST respect the area-specific humanitarian pauses to stop polio from spreading in Gaza and the region,” she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It’s very simple. If fighting doesn't stop, polio vaccinators are unable to reach children. Gaza has been polio free for 25yrs until now.
⁰Failing to respect these pauses would be an unforgivable failure for the children in Gaza and the region who have already suffered so much.

— Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) August 29, 2024

“If fighting doesn’t stop, polio vaccinators are unable to reach children. Gaza has been polio-free for 25 years until now. Failing to respect these pauses would be an unforgivable failure for the children in Gaza and the region, who have already suffered so much,” she furthered. The officials started to express concerns after an Israeli missile hit a convoy carrying medical supplies and fuel to an Emirati hospital in the Gaza Strip. The attack led to the death of five Palestinians from a local transportation company.