Israel has agreed to a series of three-day “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza to allow health officials to administer polio vaccinations to children in the territory, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
“The way we discussed and agreed the campaign will start on the first of September, in central Gaza, for three days, and there will be a humanitarian pause during the vaccination,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the agency’s representative for Palestinian territories.
Peeperkorn informed reporters that the vaccination campaign will also encompass the southern and northern regions of Gaza, each of which will have a three-day break. He also mentioned that Israel had promised to grant an extra day if necessary.
The goal of the immunization program is to immunize nearly 640,000 youngsters less than ten.
“We stress the critical importance for all parties to adhere to the commitments that have been made,” Michael Ryan, WHO deputy director-general, told the UN Security Council.
“At least 90 percent of coverage is needed during each round of the campaign in order to stop the outbreak and prevent international spread of polio,” he added.
He reported that 1.26 million doses of the NoPV2 vaccination had been sent to Gaza and that 400,000 more were on their way.
Oral administration of the vaccination involves two drops. In order to finish the immunization, health workers must return in four weeks and give each child two more doses; however, there hasn’t been any public talk about scheduling a second break in the fighting thus far.
Oren Marmorstein, Israel’s foreign affairs spokesman, said on X that his government has “has coordinated a large-scale operation with WHO and UNICEF to vaccinate children in the Gaza Strip against polio.”
Hamas said it supports the “UN humanitarian truce.”
It is “critical that this campaign be implemented without delay,” according to US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood.
He asked that Israel “facilitate access for agencies carrying out the vaccination campaign, and for it to ensure periods of calm and refrain from military operations during vaccination campaign periods.”
Following the confirmation of the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years this month in an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby, the US and the EU have expressed alarm about the situation in Gaza.
The highly contagious poliovirus is primarily transmitted by sewage and tainted water, which is becoming a more frequent issue in Gaza as a result of Israel destroying most of the region’s infrastructure during its conflict with Hamas.
Children under the age of five are primarily affected by the condition. It is potentially lethal and can result in malformations and paralysis.
