ROMA – The third phase of the polio vaccination campaign will begin tomorrow, November 2, in parts of the northern Gaza Strip, after being postponed from October 23, 2024 due to lack of access and guarantees, complete humanitarian pauses, intense shelling and of mass evacuation orders. These conditions have made it impossible for families to safely bring their children for vaccination and for vaccination teams to carry out their tasks.
A humanitarian pause, yes, but reduced for vaccinations. The humanitarian pause necessary to conduct the campaign has been secured, but the area of the pause has been substantially reduced compared to the first vaccination round in northern Gaza, conducted in September 2024. It is now limited to Gaza City only. Although at least 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate from northern Gaza to Gaza City for safety in recent weeks, around 15,000 children under ten in northern Gaza towns such as Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun still remain inaccessible and will not be reached during the campaign, compromising its effectiveness. To stop poliovirus transmission, at least 90% of all children in every community and neighborhood must be vaccinated, which will be difficult to achieve given the situation.
The target of 119 thousand children is unlikely for now. The final phase of the campaign aimed to reach approximately 119,000 children under ten in northern Gaza with a second dose of oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2). However, achieving this goal is now unlikely due to access limitations. Despite the lack of access to all eligible children in northern Gaza, the Gaza Polio Technical Committee, which includes the Palestinian Ministry of Health, WHO, UNICEF, UNRWA and partners, has taken the decision to resume the campaign. The goal is to mitigate the risk of a long delay in reaching as many children as possible with the polio vaccine and the opportunity to vaccinate those recently evacuated to Gaza City from other areas of northern Gaza.
Microplans to ensure immunization. To overcome the challenges posed by the unstable security situation and constant population movement, robust microplans have been developed to ensure that the campaign responds to significant population movements and displacement in the north, following the first round in September. The campaign will be conducted by 216 teams at 106 fixed sites, 22 of which have been added to ensure greater availability of vaccinations in areas where recently displaced people are seeking refuge.
The social mobilisers. They will be 209 social mobilizers will be deployed to involve communities and raise awareness of vaccination initiatives. The humanitarian pause period has been extended by two hours and is expected to run from 6am to 4pm each day. As in the first two phases, vitamin A will also be given to children aged between two and ten in the north of the country, to help boost general immunity.
In previous campaigns, 451,216 children were vaccinated. The campaign in the northern Gaza Strip follows the success of the first two phases of the second distribution cycle in the central and southern Gaza Strip, which reached 451,216 children – 96% of the target in these areas. In total, 364,306 children aged 2 to 10 years received vitamin A at this stage.
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