Dubai: UAE authorities have announced the completion of polio vaccination of 460,000 children in the Gaza Strip in the first eight days since the start of the vaccination campaign, the Emirati state-run news agency WAM reported on Sunday.
In total, 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip are planned to be vaccinated against polio. According to the agency, vaccination is being carried out in 150 centers by more than 2,000 medical workers.
The campaign to vaccinate children against polio in the Gaza Strip started on September 1 and is being carried out jointly with humanitarian organizations from the UAE, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The UAE previously allocated $5 million for the vaccination.
In July, the Gaza Health Ministry declared the enclave a polio epidemic area, citing the months-long fighting as the main reason for the spread of the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) called for a humanitarian pause in the enclave to allow for vaccination.
Palestinian movement Hamas said it supported the humanitarian pause. Israel confirmed on Saturday that it would open a humanitarian corridor for medical personnel and designate safe areas for administering the vaccines during a short period.
