Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said on Thursday that humanitarian truces had been agreed upon in the Gaza Strip in order to allow the completion of the second round of the polio vaccination campaign, which targets 590,000 children under the age of ten, and begins on October 14. .
Russell added, in a statement, “Humanitarian truces were agreed upon in specific areas. It is very important that all parties respect these truces. Without them, it is impossible to vaccinate children.”
The United Nations said that the first round of the polio vaccination campaign, which began on September 1, had reached its goal of vaccinating 90 percent of children under the age of ten. The campaign was carried out in stages over a period of two weeks, under humanitarian truces.
Last August, the World Health Organization confirmed that an infant was partially paralyzed due to type 2 polio virus, the first case of its kind in the Gaza Strip in 25 years.
“UNICEF will distribute vitamin A supplements to boost children’s immune systems,” Russell said. “Children in Gaza live in very poor conditions in terms of personal hygiene and public health.”
She added, “With additional vaccination equipment and cold boxes that arrived yesterday, UNICEF is ready to deliver vaccinations and give them to children to prevent polio infection. The success of the first round shows that when agreements are respected, we can get the job done.”
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