United Nations, 5 November (IANS). 94,000 children have been inoculated in the northern Gaza Strip in the third phase of a UN-backed polio vaccination campaign. United Nations agencies say that thousands of children are still yet to be vaccinated.
The UN Relief and Works Agency in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides assistance to Palestine refugees, said on social media that about 79 percent of children in northern Gaza have been vaccinated against polio.
“The third phase of the vaccination campaign, which was suspended from October 23 due to the escalating conflict, resumed during the humanitarian pause from Saturday to Monday,” Xinhua news agency reported.
On Saturday morning, 216 medical teams were deployed to 106 fixed sites in the north, in collaboration with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), UNRWA and partners.
More than 200 social workers engaged various communities and raised awareness about vaccination efforts, according to UN agencies.
Richard Pepperkorn, a WHO official, said our goal was to deliver the second and final dose to all children in the north.
“We vaccinated far more children than expected, but we missed covering some children,” he said in a briefing via video for journalists at UN headquarters on Monday.
He further said that continuous evacuation orders from Israel have recently displaced thousands of people.
The third phase of the campaign in northern Gaza began after the implementation of two phases in central and southern Gaza, covering approximately 451,200 children (96 percent share), according to the UN.
-IANS
MKS/KR
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