UN Launches Polio Vaccination Campaign For Children In Gaza

The United Nations, in collaboration with Palestinian health authorities, has launched a crucial polio vaccination campaign targeting 640,000 children in Gaza, amid an 11-month-long conflict between Israel and Hamas. Despite the ongoing violence, both parties have agreed to temporary ceasefires to facilitate the polio vaccination campaign, marking a rare moment of cooperation aimed at protecting the most vulnerable.

The urgency of the vaccination drive intensified last month when the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the first case of polio in Gaza in 25 years—a baby partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus. This alarming development has sparked immediate action, with vaccination efforts kicking off in central Gaza today and set to expand to other areas in the coming days.

To ensure the campaign’s success, fighting will pause for at least eight hours on three consecutive days, allowing medical teams to reach as many children as possible.

However, WHO officials have indicated that the polio vaccination campaign will likely require a fourth day, with the first round of vaccinations expected to take just under two weeks. “This is the first few hours of the first phase of a massive campaign, one of the most complex in the world,” said Juliette Touma, communications director of UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency.

She emphasised the delicate nature of the ceasefires, stating, “Today is test time for parties to the conflict to respect these area pauses to allow the UNRWA teams and other medical workers to reach children with these very precious two drops. It’s a race against time.”

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The campaign’s challenges are immense, given Gaza’s ongoing humanitarian crisis. The territory’s healthcare system has been devastated by the conflict, with widespread destruction making access to medical care exceedingly difficult.

WHO officials stressed that at least 90% of the targeted children must be vaccinated twice, with four weeks between doses, to effectively halt the virus’s spread. “Children continue to be exposed; it knows no borders, checkpoints, or lines of fighting. Every child must be vaccinated in Gaza and Israel to curb the risks of this vicious disease spreading,” Touma added.

Amid these humanitarian efforts, the conflict continues to rage. Israeli forces remain engaged in fierce battles with Hamas militants across the enclave. Residents reported that Israeli troops destroyed several houses in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, and continued their operations in the northern Gaza City suburb of Zeitoun.

The war, which began on October 7 after Hamas militants launched a deadly assault on southern Israel, has claimed the lives of over 1,200 Israelis and taken more than 250 hostages.

Since the start of the conflict, at least 40,691 Palestinians have been killed, and over 94,060 injured, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Despite the ongoing violence, the temporary ceasefires for the polio vaccination campaign offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dire situation, underscoring the critical importance of prioritising children’s health even in times of war.

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The effort symbolises a rare moment of unity amid division, as health workers race against time to prevent a wider outbreak of the disease that could have devastating consequences for future generations in Gaza.