Statement from the United Nations on the Vaccination Campaign in Gaza
Spokesperson for the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva Peepercorn, made important assessments at his weekly press conference. Peeperkorn announced that the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza will begin in two rounds as of September 1.
“Within the framework of this campaign, more than 640,000 children under the age of 10 will be administered two doses of the new oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA),” Peeperkorn said.
Peeperkorn, who stated that the necessary preparations for vaccination have been completed, announced that 1.26 million doses of vaccine and 500 vaccination carriers have been delivered to Gaza. He also said, “400,000 additional doses of vaccine will soon reach Gaza. More than 2,180 health workers and community outreach workers who will take part in the vaccination processes have received training on vaccination practices and informing communities.”
Peeperkorn stressed that a vaccination rate of at least 90% is needed in each round for the effectiveness of the vaccination, and said, “We call on the parties to pause the fighting.” He welcomed the commitments to “humanitarian pauses in fighting” in certain areas during the vaccination campaign, and added, “We call on all parties to pause the fighting so that children and families can safely access health facilities and aid workers can reach children who cannot.” access health facilities. Without this humanitarian pause, the campaign, which is currently being carried out under very limited and difficult conditions, will not be possible.”
Peeperkorn said they had received commitments that the cessation of hostilities would be “regional-specific” and that an agreement had been reached to carry out the vaccination campaign in phases, each lasting three days. He said that in the first phase, vaccination would start in the center of Gaza, followed by the southern and northern regions. He also said that due to the security situation, infrastructure damage and population mobility, the vaccination campaign could be extended by one day if necessary.
“We call on all parties to ensure their own protection, as well as the protection of health facilities and children,” Peeperkorn said, reiterating calls for a ceasefire to rebuild the health system in Gaza and strengthen routine vaccinations. The WHO also announced a partial cessation of hostilities as of September 1, following the first case of polio detected in Gaza in 25 years.
