GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have called for a seven-day humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to allow two rounds of a polio vaccination campaign for more than 640,000 children under the age of 10.

WHO said in a statement distributed today in Geneva that two rounds of a polio vaccination campaign are expected to be launched at the end of August and September 2024 across the Gaza Strip to prevent the spread of circulating variant type 2 poliovirus (cVDPV2).

These humanitarian pauses will allow children and families to safely access health facilities and community outreach workers to reach children who cannot reach health facilities to receive vaccination.

During each round of the campaign, the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH), in collaboration with the WHO, UNICEF, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and partners, will provide two drops of novel oral polio vaccine.

Over 1.6 million doses of nOPV2, w
hich is used to stop cVDPV2 transmission, will be delivered to the Gaza Strip. The deliveries of the vaccines and the cold chain equipment are expected to transit through Ben Gurion Airport before arriving in the Gaza Strip by the end of August. It is essential that the transport of the vaccines and cold chain is facilitated at every step of the journey to ensure their timely reception, clearance and ultimately delivery in time for the campaign.

According to WHO at least 95 per cent vaccination coverage during each round of the campaign is needed to prevent the spread of polio and reduce the risk of its re-emergence, given the severely disrupted health, water and sanitation systems in the Gaza Strip.

It noted that other requirements for successful campaign delivery include sufficient cash, fuel and functional telecommunication networks to reach communities with information about the campaign.

Source : Emirates News Agency