UNICEF, WHO finish polio vaccine effort in Gaza

By Phoebe Martel

Amidst deadly drone strikes and attacks on aid personnel, UNICEF has completed the second round of their extensive polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip.

On November 5, over 550,000 children under ten received a second polio vaccine dose, resulting in an overall 94% success rate. UNICEF and the World Health Agency are jointly working to stop the Gaza polio outbreak, which was declared an epidemic in July after poliovirus was detected in wastewater samples.

The campaign began in September 2024, but the final stage was postponed for several weeks due to mass displacement and IDF bombardment in areas designated for vaccination efforts. Israeli forces subsequently violated a November 2 humanitarian pause intended to allow the campaign to resume, killing four children at the Sheikh Radwan health clinic in northern Gaza.

Still, the polio vaccination effort’s second stage managed to provide immunization for 91% of the target population in southern Gaza, as access was primarily restricted to Gaza City. Northern Gazan cities like Jabalia and Beit Lahiya, currently under siege as part of the IDF’s offensive, were not accessible by aid workers.

In addition to the poliovirus vaccine, the UN children’s agency and WHO distributed vitamin A to over 400,000 children between two and ten years of age. Vitamin A is a nutrient essential to the proper growth and development of a child.

UNICEF, WHO, and world leaders, including Pope Francis, have continuously called for a ceasefire in Gaza and condemned attacks on humanitarian centers.

 “Humanitarian aid must arrive and no one must prevent it,” the Pope said in early October.