UN Begins Mass Polio Vaccination Campaign in Gaza

The campaign began following a deal between the WHO and Israel, which agreed to limited pauses in the fighting to allow vaccination centers to operate.

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on Sept. 1, 2024. Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo

The United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) has formally begun a campaign to mass-vaccinate Palestinian children against polio after the disease reemerged in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Recently, Gaza reported its first polio case in a quarter century: A 10-month-old boy’s leg was paralyzed by the viral disease.