After the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the first case of polio in Gaza, its representative for the Palestinian territories, Rik Peeperkorn, announced on Thursday that there would be “humanitarian pauses” in the Strip to be able to carry out a vaccination campaign against the poliovirus.
“We have a preliminary agreement for humanitarian pauses in specific areas during the vaccination campaign,” Peeperkorn said during an online press conference. “We call on the parties to cease fighting during the humanitarian pauses to allow children and families to safely access” the vaccines, which will be administered over three days in each area.
The first phase of the campaign is scheduled to begin on Sunday, September 1, in the central area of Gaza, where the majority of the population of the Gaza Strip who were displaced from other areas are currently concentrated. Peeperkorn explained that the central area will be followed by the southern area and then the northern area – the latter, the most devastated by the Israeli offensive.
