WHO chief says polio vaccination in northern Gaza resumes on Saturday

GENEVA

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief announced on Friday that the postponed polio vaccination in northern Gaza, where Israel launched military operations early October, will resume on Saturday.

"Tomorrow, the third phase (last zone of second dose campaign) of the polio vaccination campaign is set to begin in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, after it was postponed last week due to intense bombardment, mass evacuation orders, and lack of access or assurance of humanitarian pauses," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a WHO press briefing.

Tedros emphasized that the humanitarian pause is "necessary" to conduct the campaign, but added: "The area of the pause has been substantially reduced and is now limited to just Gaza City."

Noting that the final phase of the campaign aimed to reach an estimated 119,000 children under 10 years old, he said "achieving that target is now unlikely, as conditions in northern Gaza get worse every day."

Phase one of the campaign, which concluded on Sept. 12, included over half a million Palestinian children.

An estimated 590,000 children across Gaza are supposed to receive the second dose, according to the WHO.

Tedros also mentioned the UN agency's efforts to reach northern Gaza, saying in the past two weeks WHO has conducted six missions to bring medical supplies and food for hospital staff and patients when permitted, and fuel to keep the generators working.

"In recent days, following intense fighting, a siege and a raid, Kamal Adwan hospital has been reduced from a hospital helping hundreds of patients with dozens of health workers, to a shell of itself," he said.

He said the WHO helped to move the most critical patients to Nasser and Shifa hospitals, where they can receive a higher level of care.

"Now a few dozen patients remain at Kamal Adwan, with a handful of staff to care for them," he said, adding: "An attack and subsequent fire on one of the floors of the hospital has destroyed some of the supplies we delivered. We are trying to reach hospital staff for more information."