WHO calls for a ceasefire n Gaza so they can deliver a polio vaccine campaign
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF today called for a humanitarian pause in Gaza for 7 days to allow two rounds of polio vaccination to take place, following the recent detection of virus in environmental samples and the identification of three suspected cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in children.
polio drop baby UNICEF Ethiopia/Mulugeta Ayene/Flickr cc
Stool samples from the children with AFP have been sent for testing to Jordan's national polio lab.
The agencies have plans to launch two rounds of vaccination at the end of August and September across the Gaza Strip, targeting 640,000 children younger than 10 with novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2). More than 1.6 million doses are earmarked for the vaccination response.
According to finalized plans, vaccination will be delivered by 708 teams made up of 2,700 health workers total and will take place at hospitals, field hospitals, and primary healthcare centers.
The WHO said that, before the hostilities, Gaza had been free of polio for 25 years. "Its reemergence, which the humanitarian community has warned about for the last ten months, represents yet another threat to the children in the Gaza Strip and neighboring countries," the group said. " A ceasefire is the only way to ensure public health security in the Gaza Strip and the region."
More cases in 3 countries
In other developments, three countries reported more polio cases this week, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Pakistan reported 2 more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases, both in Balochistan, raising its total for the year to 14, up sharply from the 6 cases it reported in 2023. Two African countries reported more cases involving circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2). Liberia reported its first case since 2021, which was in Sinoe. Angola reported one case in Moxico.
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