Unicef, WHO call for pause in Gaza to launch polio vaccination drive

Unicef and the WHO are calling for a humanitarian pause for seven days in Gaza to launch two rounds of a polio vaccination campaign at the end of August in the beseiged strip.

A statement issued by Unicef explained that the pauses "would allow children and families to safely reach health facilities and community outreach workers to get to children who cannot access health facilities for polio vaccination".

It added that the campaign would not be possible without the humanitarian pauses.

In coordination with the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the UN entities have previously provided two drops of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 to more than 640,000 children under the age of 10.