WHO ‘confident’ over 90% of children in Gaza received first polio vaccine dose
UN agency says at least 552,451 children under age 10 have been reached by the campaign, and humanitarian pauses were ‘respected’
The World Health Organization said Thursday that it was “confident” a giant polio vaccination drive in Gaza had hit its target of reaching more than 90 percent of children under 10.
“We are confident that we probably reached the target,” Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative for the Palestinian territories, told reporters.
WHO had initially said it aimed to vaccinate some 640,000 children, but Peeperkorn said that had likely been an overestimate of the target population.
By Wednesday, he said, 552,451 children had been reached with a first dose of the vaccine, adding that WHO was still waiting for the numbers for the final day of the campaign on Thursday.
Similar numbers were provided by COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that oversees coordination between Israel and Gaza, and the Palestinian health ministry in West Bank. COGAT said as of Wednesday that 521,903 children had been vaccinated, while PA health officials said the same day that the figure stood at 527,776.
Peeperkorn said WHO was “satisfied” with the campaign, hailing the large numbers of parents who had turned out to ensure their children were protected against polio.
Peeperkorn said WHO was “very much grateful that the area-specific humanitarian pauses have been respected” during the first phase of the campaign, which he said had been permitted to take place in “a polio bubble.”
He called for the respite afforded to be extended to “a much broader area,” allowing for the establishment of proper humanitarian corridors to ensure aid can reach those in need.
The first phase of the campaign was conducted between September 1 and 3 in central Gaza, before efforts moved to southern Gaza, according to WHO. COGAT said that the third stage of the vaccine campaign, taking place in the harder to access areas of northern Gaza, began on September 10, and is slated to wrap up on Thursday.
After the first confirmed polio case in Gaza in 25 years, a massive vaccination effort began last week. Israel and Hamas agreed to daily eight-hour pauses in fighting to facilitate the campaign, and there were no major disruptions to the efforts reported.
A fresh campaign to provide a needed second dose is due to begin in about four weeks in Gaza.
Poliovirus, most often spread through sewage and contaminated water, is highly infectious. It can cause deformities and paralysis, and is potentially fatal. It mainly affects children under the age of five.
