UNRWA Vaccinates Over 160,000 Children Against Polio in Southern Gaza

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced that more than 160,000 children were vaccinated on the first day of the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign in southern Gaza, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.

This initiative aims to immunize around 640,000 children under 10, following the confirmation of Gaza’s first polio case in 25 years last month.

Since September 1, nearly 355,000 children have been vaccinated across Gaza’s middle and southern regions. UNRWA highlighted the challenging living conditions faced by displaced families, living in overcrowded tents with limited access to clean water.

The vaccination campaign follows the earlier success of immunizing over 189,000 children in central Gaza. The efforts are critical as Israel’s ongoing military offensive has exacerbated humanitarian crises, with nearly 40,900 Palestinians reported killed since October 7. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a humanitarian cease-fire to facilitate the vaccination efforts amid severe shortages of essential resources in the region.