A delayed polio vaccination campaign in Gaza resumed on Saturday (November 2) after the rollout was derailed by Israeli bombardments, mass displacement and lack of access. - REUTER
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00:00The third phase of a delayed polio vaccination campaign in Gaza resumed on Saturday after
00:07being derailed by Israeli bombardments, mass displacement and lack of access.
00:12Families with young children queued for the vaccine at this clinic in Gaza City.
00:17The vaccination campaign began on September 1 after the World Health Organization confirmed
00:21that a baby was partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus in August.
00:27It was the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
00:31The WHO and the UN Children's Agency UNICEF said the area covered by the September agreement
00:36had been substantially reduced and would now only cover Gaza City.
00:40The final phase of the campaign had aimed to reach an estimated 119,000 children under
00:4610 years old in northern Gaza with a second dose of an oral polio vaccine.
00:51Achieving this target is now unlikely due to constraints on access, according to a statement.
00:57Jamil Ali, the head of the clinic, says the reduced campaign impacts its effectiveness
01:02in preventing the spread of the disease.
01:05The Israeli Army's Palestinian Civil Affairs Agency, Kogat, said it was helping to coordinate
01:10the three-day campaign.
01:12Once complete, it said there would be an assessment to decide whether to extend.