23 October 2024, Jerusalem/Amman/Geneva- Because of the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses throughout most of northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza, together with the Palestinian Ministry of Well being, World Well being Group (WHO), United Nations Kids’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Aid and Works Company for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and companions have been compelled to postpone the third part of the polio vaccination marketing campaign, which was set to start at this time. This last part of the continued marketing campaign aimed to vaccinate 119 279 kids throughout northern Gaza.
The present situations, together with ongoing assaults on civilian infrastructure proceed to jeopardize individuals’s security and motion in northern Gaza, making it unattainable for households to soundly carry their kids for vaccination, and well being employees to function.
All logistics, provides and skilled human sources had been ready to vaccinate kids throughout northern Gaza with a second dose of novel oral polio vaccine kind 2 (nOPV2), following a primary spherical carried out throughout the Gaza Strip from 1-12 September 2024. Nonetheless, provided that the world at present accredited for momentary humanitarian pauses was considerably decreased—now restricted solely to Gaza Metropolis, a big lower from the primary spherical—many kids in northern Gaza would have missed out on the polio vaccine dose.
To interrupt poliovirus transmission, not less than 90% of all kids in each neighborhood and neighborhood should be vaccinated – a prerequisite for an efficient marketing campaign to interrupt the outbreak and forestall its additional unfold. Humanitarian pauses are important for its success, permitting companions to ship vaccination provides to well being amenities, households to soundly entry vaccination websites, and cell groups of well being employees to achieve kids of their communities. A delay in administering a second dose of nOPV2 inside six weeks reduces the impression of two intently spaced rounds on concurrently boosting the immunity of all kids and interrupting poliovirus transmission. Having a big variety of kids miss out on their second vaccine dose will significantly jeopardize efforts to cease the transmission of poliovirus in Gaza. This might additionally result in additional unfold of poliovirus within the Gaza Strip and neighboring international locations, with the chance of extra kids being paralyzed.
Because the rollout of the second spherical of the polio marketing campaign in Gaza on 14 October 2024, 442 855 kids underneath ten years have been efficiently vaccinated in central and south of the Gaza Strip– 94% of the goal in these areas. A complete of 357 802 kids between two to 10 years obtained vitamin A dietary supplements as a part of efforts to combine the supply of polio vaccine with different important well being companies in Gaza.
It’s crucial to cease the polio outbreak as quickly as doable, earlier than extra kids are paralyzed and poliovirus spreads additional. It’s essential due to this fact that the vaccination marketing campaign in northern Gaza is facilitated by the implementation of the humanitarian pauses, making certain entry for wherever eligible kids are situated. WHO and UNICEF urge all events to make sure that civilians, well being employees, and civilian infrastructure, corresponding to colleges, shelters, hospitals, are protected and renew their name for a direct ceasefire.
