UNRWA vaccinates over 160,000 children in Gaza in polio campaign

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced on Friday that its teams vaccinated more than 160,000 children on Thursday, marking the first day of the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign in southern Gaza.

“Thousands of families went to health facilities to receive vaccines from UNRWA medical teams,” the agency said on X.

“Over 160,000 children were reached on the first day of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza’s southern areas yesterday.”

UNRWA stated that it will continue efforts to vaccinate “as many children as possible” on Friday.

In a separate statement, UNRWA noted that it has vaccinated nearly 355,000 children against polio in Gaza’s middle and southern areas since September 1.

The ongoing campaign aims to vaccinate around 640,000 children under 10 years old across the entire region.

Juliette Touma, director of communications for UNRWA, described the severe conditions in Gaza due to forced displacement, with families living in overcrowded tents lacking access to clean water and basic necessities.

“The war in Gaza created the conditions for a resurgence of polio,” Touma told the New York Times, noting that displaced people are living in “cramped tents with little access to clean water.”

Despite the ongoing conflict, the second phase of the vaccination campaign began in southern Gaza on Thursday, following the vaccination of over 189,000 children in the central region in the first phase.

The urgency of the campaign was heightened by Gaza’s first confirmed polio case in 25 years last month, involving a 10-month-old child. The Palestinian Health Ministry received an initial batch of 1.26 million vaccine doses on August 25.

The campaign is being rolled out in stages, with central Gaza vaccinated from September 1 to 4, followed by Khan Younis from September 5 to 9, and Gaza City and northern regions from September 9 to 12.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a seven-day humanitarian cease-fire to facilitate the vaccination of 640,000 children, a request supported by UNRWA.

Israel has continued its offensive on Gaza since an October 7 Hamas attack, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire. The ongoing conflict has resulted in nearly 40,900 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 94,400 injuries, according to local health authorities.