EU Wants Pause in Polio Vaccination Campaign in Gaza

The High Representative of the European Union (EU), Josep Borrell, said that the EU called for an urgent humanitarian pause to ensure polio vaccination in the Gaza Strip.

Various United Nations agencies had announced that the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza would begin on August 31 and last for 7 days. Due to attacks on humanitarian workers in recent days, UNRWA and the World Food Fund (WFP) decided to temporarily suspend humanitarian aid activities.

“The EU calls for an immediate pause in humanitarian assistance to ensure that all children in Gaza are vaccinated against poliovirus. The Gaza Strip has been polio-free for the last 25 years. The detection of poliovirus and the confirmation of the first case in July, also affecting children, are alarming. The emergence of an epidemic and its further international spread must be prevented among a population already weakened by more than 10 months of conflict and displacement, malnutrition, lack of basic health services and deplorable sanitary conditions,” EU High Representative Borrell said in a statement.

‘ALL PARTIES MUST SHOW RESPECT’

Borrell stressed that all parties must cooperate and respect pauses in order to carry out the vaccination campaign, and said, “Within the scope of the campaign expected to be carried out in two rounds in the Gaza Strip in the coming weeks, in cooperation with the World Health Organization and UNICEF, more than 640 thousand children under the age of 10 will be administered two drops of the new type of oral polio vaccine. The EU welcomes the delivery of more than 1.2 million oral polio vaccines to Gaza and the cooperation shown by Israel in the delivery of vaccines to Gaza, and emphasizes the importance of further cooperation between all parties with WHO, UNRWA and UNICEF in the expansion of vaccines. It is of utmost importance that all parties adhere to humanitarian pauses in order for these urgent campaigns to be implemented successfully and on time. The protection of health facilities and personnel and the safe access of children and families to vaccination sites will be essential for this purpose.”