UN vaccinates children vs. polio in central Gaza amid war

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) launched a polio vaccination campaign for children under 10 in the central Gaza Strip Sunday. 'Children in Gaza have started receiving polio vaccines this morning,' the UN agency said in a statement. 'The vaccination campaign has begun in the Gaza middle area, where over 200 of our teams are administrating vaccines in 28 UNRWA health facilities and going tent to tent.' UNRWA has provided a map detailing the vaccination centers in central Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians have flocked to these centers to vaccinate their children against polio, according to an Anadolu reporter. Medical teams at vaccination centers in the central city of Deir al-Balah have observed signs of fatigue and malnutrition among many children receiving vaccinations due to harsh conditions resulting from Israel's ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, which have persisted for nearly 11 months. The campaign, which is being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN ICEF, focuses on central Gaza from Sept. 1 to 4, followed by Khan Younis from Sept. 5 to 9, and will conclude in Gaza City and the northern regions from Sept. 9 to 12, according to official sources. On Aug. 16, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a seven-day humanitarian truce to allow a polio vaccination campaign targeting 640,000 children. The request followed the Palestinian Health Ministry's announcement of the first confirmed polio case in Gaza, affecting a 10-month-old child. Source: Philippines News Agency