Amid humanitarian crisis, Israel urges WHO to allow aid access to Gaza

WHO and its partners launched second round of a polio vaccination campaign, aiming to immunise over half a million children

Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) urged Israel to grant access to Gaza, where escalating violence has blocked humanitarian missions from delivering critical food and medical supplies.

Amid the chaos, WHO and its partners launched the second round of a polio vaccination campaign on Monday, aiming to immunise over half a million children, Xinhua news agency reported.

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“The total number of children who received a second dose of polio vaccine in Gaza after two days of vaccination is 1,56,943,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X.

 

Escalating violence in the north of #Gaza has blocked humanitarian missions from reaching people with food and medical supplies. Meanwhile, health care continues to be attacked.

We ask Israel to give @WHO and our partners access to the north so we can reach those who desperately… pic.twitter.com/DVwvn7J2vM

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 16, 2024

However, ongoing violence threatens the campaign’s goal of vaccinating at least 90 per cent of the children, a critical target to halt the virus’s spread.

In addition to polio vaccines, children are receiving vitamin A supplements to strengthen their immunity. WHO highlighted the severity of the situation, reporting that out of 54 scheduled United Nations missions to Gaza in October, only one has been completed, with the rest either cancelled or obstructed due to the conflict.