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Middle East conflict

UN agrees on humanitarian pause in Gaza for polio vaccination

The WHO plans to coordinate the issue with all parties, including with Israel’s government agency

UNITED NATIONS, August 30. /TASS/. The United Nations has reached a tentative agreement with parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to declare a humanitarian pause that would enable polio vaccination in the Gaza Strip, WHO Representative for the West Bank and Gaza Richard Peeperkorn has told reporters.

"We have a preliminary commitment for area-specific humanitarian policies during the campaign, and we call on all parties to pause the fighting to allow children and families to safely access health facilities," he said.

Peeperkorn added that the campaign would be delivered in a phased approach. On September 1, vaccination will begin in central Gaza, where it will continue for three days. Then, health workers will move to south Gaza and then, three days later, the campaign will be held in the enclave's north. The timeframes may be extended, if necessary.

The WHO plans to coordinate the issue with all parties, including with Israel’s government agency, Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

Palestine’s health ministry said on August 16 that the first polio case had been confirmed in the central Gaza Strip. According to the ministry, the first polio case was registered in the city of Deir al-Balah in a ten-month baby who had receives no vaccine dose. The diagnosis was confirmed in a laboratory in Amman, Jordan.

On the same day, WHO and UNICEF issued a joint statement announcing a two-stage polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip in late August and September.

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary General, said on August 27 that the United Nations would set up 11 health centers in the Gaza Strip to conduct a vaccination campaign against polio. The global organization is training over 1,000 medical workers and volunteers to participate in the campaign. The vaccine will be provided to more than 640,000 children under 10 years of age, with the aim of reaching at least 95% of the children in the first round. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said on Wednesday the first round of vaccination will begin on August 31.

Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. It is caused by the poliovirus that virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread and mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem.

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