Israeli military says Gaza polio vaccination campaign completed
Jerusalem Reuters The Israeli military said on Wednesday aid organisations had completed a second polio vaccination round for children in Gaza, administering more than 1.1 million vaccinations in different areas of the enclave, achieving 90 per cent coverage. Limits on the area covered by a humanitarian pause in the fighting to conduct the campaign, meant […]
Israeli strikes kill 42 in Gaza as tanks tighten siege of north
Cairo, Egypt Reuters Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 42 people on Wednesday as Israeli forces intensified a siege of northern parts of the Palestinian enclave, surrounding hospitals and refugee shelters, and ordering residents to head south, medics and residents said. The Gaza health ministry and the World Health Organization said they would be unable to […]
More time and money needed to wipe out polio, global group says
Reuters The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) needs more funds and has pushed back by three years its target to officially wipe out all forms of the disease, officials said on Thursday. The coalition now hopes to declare an end to both the wild virus and the vaccine-derived variant by 2027 and 2029, respectively, compared […]
Essay: The Taliban suspends polio vaccine campaign in Afghanistan – here’s the likely impact
In an article first published on The Conversation, LEE SHERRY, a postdoctoral research associate at the School of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow, says the risk is not just confined to Afghanistan…
Israeli strikes kill 27 Palestinians in Gaza as polio vaccination resumes
Cairo, Egypt Reuters Israeli military strikes killed at least 27 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, as health officials resumed vaccination of tens of thousands more children in the enclave against polio. In Nuseirat, one of the territory’s eight historic refugee camps, an Israeli airstrike killed two women and two children, while […]
Israeli bombardment kills dozens in Gaza as health officials prepare polio campaign
Cairo, Egypt/Gaza Reuters Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 48 people in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health authorities said, as clashes took place in central and southern areas of the enclave ahead of the planned start of a polio vaccination campaign. The United Nations is due to start vaccinating some 640,000 children in the […]
UN to vaccinate Gaza’s children against polio during pauses in fighting
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The United Nations will start vaccinating some 640,000 children in the Gaza Strip against polio on Sunday, a campaign that relies on daily eight-hour pauses in fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in specific areas of the besieged enclave. The complex campaign, which is targeting children under age 10, follows confirmation last […]
Israel, Hamas set three-day pauses in fighting for Gaza polio vaccinations, WHO says
United Nations Reuters Israel’s military and Palestinian militant group Hamas have agreed to three separate, zoned three-day pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow for the first round of vaccination of 640,000 children against polio, a senior WHO official said on Thursday. The vaccination campaign is due to start on Sunday, with the pauses scheduled […]
UN food agency suspends staff movement in Gaza after vehicle fired on
United Nations Reuters The United Nations World Food Programme temporarily suspended movement of its employees across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, saying at least 10 bullets struck one of its clearly marked vehicles as it approached an Israeli military checkpoint. WFP said in a statement that a convoy of two armoured vehicles received “multiple clearances […]
UN chief calls for assurances of humanitarian ceasefires for polio vaccination campaign in Gaza
Reuters United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called for parties to the conflict in Gaza to provide concrete assurances guaranteeing humanitarian pauses in order for a polio vaccine campaign to be conducted. Guterres, speaking to reporters at the United Nations, appealed for assurances to be provided right away as he warned that preventing and […]