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| Kazem Abu Khalaf, UNICEF Palestine |
A look inside the complicated efforts to vaccinate Gaza’s children in a war zone.
Despite the challenges posed by the war, health workers managed to vaccinate approximately 560,000 children against polio. The campaign was a race against time, as humanitarian pauses were brief and the virus was spreading rapidly due to the war's conditions.
Click here for the article in DEVEX
Excerpts
“That was the first of its kind, to be honest. It wasn’t at all a normal vaccination campaign,” said Kazem Abu Khalaf, a communication specialist for UNICEF in Palestine. “We were running against the clock because we didn’t have any other option. We either accepted this or the children wouldn’t be vaccinated.”
"In the lead-up, UNICEF brought in 1.23 million doses, as well as refrigerators and cold storage boxes, and teams were deployed to raise awareness around the upcoming vaccinations.
"The teams vaccinated about 560,000 children below 10 years old. Children are expected to receive the second dose in about four weeks — but conditions for that round are still under discussion.
"The target was to vaccinate 640,000 children. And while vaccinators fell short of this — this figure “may have been an over-estimate, as the population continues to move from place to place, and people are fleeing and being killed due to the ongoing hostilities...”
“The children were coming out in their best dresses and their best outfits,” Wateridge said. “The little girls would have their hair braided. It was like they were treating it as an event.”
Click here for the article in DEVEX
Excerpts
“That was the first of its kind, to be honest. It wasn’t at all a normal vaccination campaign,” said Kazem Abu Khalaf, a communication specialist for UNICEF in Palestine. “We were running against the clock because we didn’t have any other option. We either accepted this or the children wouldn’t be vaccinated.”
"In the lead-up, UNICEF brought in 1.23 million doses, as well as refrigerators and cold storage boxes, and teams were deployed to raise awareness around the upcoming vaccinations.
"The teams vaccinated about 560,000 children below 10 years old. Children are expected to receive the second dose in about four weeks — but conditions for that round are still under discussion.
"The target was to vaccinate 640,000 children. And while vaccinators fell short of this — this figure “may have been an over-estimate, as the population continues to move from place to place, and people are fleeing and being killed due to the ongoing hostilities...”
“The children were coming out in their best dresses and their best outfits,” Wateridge said. “The little girls would have their hair braided. It was like they were treating it as an event.”
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