640,000 children targeted for immunisation in Gaza as conflict witnesses a temporarily halt

New Delhi, Sep 01: Thousands of people in Gaza have lined up at temporary health centres as a massive polio vaccination campaign for children gets underway on Sunday. A health official from Gaza’s health ministry confirmed to the media that the localised humanitarian pause in fighting, which is crucial for the vaccine rollout, and the security of the health workers is holding.

The UN's World Health Organization (WHO) aims to vaccinate 640,000 children after the first polio case in 25 years was detected in Gaza.

On Friday, UN aid teams reached Gaza following a tentative agreement for humanitarian pauses to allow the vaccination campaign amid the polio outbreak. Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative, announced that the two-round vaccination campaign will start this Sunday in central Gaza, lasting three days before moving to southern and northern areas. A second dose will be administered after four weeks.

Dr. Peeperkorn emphasized that “security is paramount” for the more than 2,180 health and community outreach workers supporting the campaign. The WHO said that routine immunization has historically been well-received in Gaza and the West Bank, with parents eager to vaccinate their children.

The UN Security Council held an emergency session in New York on Thursday to address the ongoing crisis in Gaza and the West Bank. The conflict escalated after Israel launched a military campaign in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages. The Gaza health ministry reports that over 40,530 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7.