Sat Nov 02 08:18:57 UTC 2024: ## Polio Vaccination Campaign Resumes in Gaza Despite Challenges
**Geneva, Switzerland – November 2, 2024:** The third phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza has commenced today, albeit with significant challenges. The campaign, initially scheduled for October 23rd, was delayed due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, making it impossible to safely reach all children.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, in a joint statement, announced that the humanitarian pause necessary for the campaign has been secured, but the area of access has been drastically reduced. It is now limited to Gaza City, leaving approximately 15,000 children in North Gaza towns like Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun unreachable.
“To effectively interrupt poliovirus transmission, at least 90% of children in every community must be vaccinated,” emphasized the statement. Achieving this target is a major challenge given the limited access and ongoing conflict.
Despite these challenges, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza decided to resume the campaign to mitigate the risk of a long delay and vaccinate as many children as possible, including those recently evacuated to Gaza City.
The first two phases of the second round in central and southern Gaza were successful, reaching 96% of the target audience, with 451,216 children vaccinated. 364,306 children between the ages of 2 and 10 have also received vitamin A during this round.
First Piper 