Israel has agreed to implement a series of three-day “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza to facilitate a polio vaccination campaign for children, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Thursday. The campaign aims to vaccinate over 640,000 children under the age of 10 in the region.
According to Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative for Palestinian territories, the vaccination campaign will commence on September 1 in central Gaza. “The way we discussed and agreed, the campaign will start on the first of September, in central Gaza, for three days, and there will be a humanitarian pause during the vaccination,” Peeperkorn stated. The campaign will then move to southern and northern Gaza, each also receiving their own three-day pauses. Israel has agreed to extend the pauses by an additional day if needed.
The goal of the campaign is to achieve at least 90% vaccination coverage in each round to effectively halt the outbreak and prevent the international spread of polio. Michael Ryan, WHO’s deputy director-general, emphasized the importance of adherence to these commitments at a UN Security Council briefing.
To support this effort, 1.26 million doses of the NoPV2 vaccine have already been delivered to Gaza, with an additional 400,000 doses expected soon. The vaccine, administered orally in two drops, requires a follow-up dose four weeks later. However, there has been no public discussion yet regarding another pause in hostilities to administer the second dose.
Oren Marmorstein, Israel’s foreign affairs spokesman, confirmed on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the Israeli government has coordinated with WHO and UNICEF for this large-scale vaccination operation in Gaza. Hamas has also expressed support for the “UN humanitarian truce.”
Robert Wood, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, stressed the urgency of the campaign and called on Israel to ensure access for agencies carrying out the vaccinations and to maintain periods of calm during the vaccination periods.
The urgency of the vaccination campaign follows the confirmation of the first polio case in Gaza in 25 years. The case was identified in an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby. Polio is highly contagious and often spreads through sewage and contaminated water—a growing issue in Gaza due to the destruction of much of its infrastructure amid ongoing conflicts.
The disease primarily affects children under the age of five, potentially causing deformities, paralysis, and even death. The United States and European Union have voiced concerns over the polio situation in Gaza, underscoring the need for a swift and effective vaccination campaign.