- Vaccination against polio in Gaza has reached the peak
- Thousands of children might be saved
Vaccination against polio in Gaza has reached the peak
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the first phase of a large-scale polio vaccination campaign has been completed in the Gaza Strip.
WHO said on Wednesday that more than 187,000 children under the age of 10 were vaccinated between 1 and 3 September in central Gaza. The organization's head, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, thanked all those who contributed to the "successful" campaign on X.
Under pressure from the WHO, Israel agreed to a "humanitarian pause" in its war against the radical Islamic movement Hamas to vaccinate more than 640,000 children against polio in the Gaza Strip. Before that, for the first time in 25 years, an infant was diagnosed with infectious paralysis in Gaza.
Thousands of children might be saved
Over the next five days, 340,000 children are due to be vaccinated in the south of the Palestinian territory. Between 9 and 11 September, the campaign is expected to be completed in the north, with the vaccination of another 150,000 children.
"We demand that humanitarian pauses continue to be respected. We continue to call for a ceasefire," the WHO chief wrote on Wednesday.
To prevent the spread of polio, at least 90% of children in Gaza must be vaccinated against the disease. The vaccine is given to children from one day to 10 years old.
Based on ELTA reports
