Polio Outbreak In Gaza: Know All About How WHO And UNRWA Are Administering The Vaccines In Gaza

Amidst relentless onslaught by Israel Defense Forces, Gaza is also facing a polio outbreak, the first in the last 25 years. Find out how the UN bodies are trying to counter this disease in the region.

Polio vaccination campaign has officially begun in Gaza initiated by the United Nations in collaboration with Palestinian health authorities. The UN plan was to deliver 1.2 million oral polio vaccines to the Gaza Strip and the administration of the vaccines has already begun for children and babies. Polio virus can cause paralysis of limbs and Gaza in fact has recorded the first case of polio virus in 25 years. A 10-month-old boy has tested positive with paralysis in one of his legs. As per reports, he is in a stable condition. Through this vaccination campaign, the WHO aims to vaccinate almost 640,000 children under the age of 10 with two doses each. Polio outbreak in Gaza has become a serious health threat to the Palestinians as well as people across borders because of the collapse of Gaza's health infrastructure, lack of hygiene, huge of amount of waste that has not been cleared and heavy environmental destruction.

How Are The Vaccines Being Administered In Gaza?

The vaccination campaign in Gaza is being backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Ministry of Health in Gaza. It has been initiated on September 4th in central Gaza after which it will move to Khan Younis and Rafah which in South Gaza from September 9th to 12th. The next step will be to inoculate children in northern Gaza from 9th to 12th September. Last Saturday, the first few doses were administered to a handful of children at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis before the initiation of the large-scale rollout. Some 640,000 children aged between one day and 10 years will receive the type two poliovirus vaccine, to be administered as two oral drops.

"The reality is, these vaccinations are happening in the middle of a war zone, while many other diseases such as Hepatitis A are spreading" @UNWateridgeHealth workers have successfully vaccinated 187,000 children in the first phase of #polio vaccination campaign, but the pic.twitter.com/bvYzIhHUzk UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 4, 2024

UNRWA in the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter said that, "Health workers have successfully vaccinated 187,000 children in the first phase of #polio vaccination campaign, but the inhumane conditions spreading diseases continue. People need a ceasefire to operate faster and in a more effective way.