Two United Nations (UN) agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, yesterday requested a “seven-day humanitarian pause” in the war in Gaza so that more than 640,000 children under the age of ten can be vaccinated against polio in the coming weeks.
WHO and UNICEF “call on all parties to the conflict to apply humanitarian pauses in the Gaza Strip for seven days in order to allow the implementation of vaccination campaigns on two occasions” against polio, it was stated in the statement and it was specified that the vaccination should be carried out in August and September.
The Polio virus was discovered in wastewater in the Palestinian territory.
”Without humanitarian breaks, the (vaccine) delivery campaign will not be possible,” UN agencies pointed out.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced last night that it had confirmed the first case of polio in the Gaza Strip.
The infection was discovered in the city of Deir al-Balah, and a ten-month-old baby who was not vaccinated against polio fell ill.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres yesterday called on the parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip to guarantee humanitarian breaks in order to carry out vaccinations against this disease.
