Gaza’s Ministry of Health to continue polio vaccination in Central Governorate after completion of first phase

The second phase of the campaign will begin this Thursday in Rafah and Khan Yunis

September 5 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday evening that it will continue vaccinating children against polio in the Central Governorate through four centres despite the end of the first phase of the campaign, which has managed to immunize 189,000 children.

“The first phase of vaccination has been completed in some areas of the Central Governorate (Hakr al Jami, Wadi al Salqa, Al Baraka). This has resulted in the vaccination of 189,551 children, while vaccination will continue to be provided through four centres in the governorate throughout the campaign period,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its Facebook account.

He confirmed that the second phase of the vaccination campaign will begin on Thursday, targeting children in the governorates of Khan Yunis and Rafah, located in the south of the Palestinian enclave.

For his part, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, welcomed the fact that the number of people vaccinated during this first phase, whose initial objective was to reach 156,500 children, had been exceeded.

She also confirmed that the vaccine will continue to be offered in central Gaza for the next three days “to ensure that no child is missed,” according to a message posted on her social media account X.

“We are grateful for the dedication of all the families, health workers and vaccinators who have made this part of the campaign a success despite the dire conditions in the Gaza Strip. We ask that humanitarian pauses continue to be respected. We continue to call for a ceasefire,” he added.