Gaza - New York: Europe and the Arabs
The United Nations spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said that the vaccine that will be used in the polio vaccination campaign led by the United Nations agencies is safe, effective and provides high-quality protection. According to the United Nations daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received this morning, Wednesday.
In the daily press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York yesterday, Tuesday, Dujarric stated that "there was some misleading information about the polio vaccine that we plan to use in Gaza," stressing that the safest and most effective way to protect children from the polio virus, regardless of its type, is to vaccinate them.
He stated that UNICEF, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and the World Health Organization are planning to launch a campaign in Gaza to prevent the spread of the second type of polio virus, and that this will be done in two rounds, each consisting of two drops of the second type of oral polio vaccine. "The vaccine is globally recommended against poliovirus type 2 outbreaks by the World Health Organization. The vaccine will be provided to more than 640,000 children under the age of 10, with the aim of reaching at least 95 percent of children (in Gaza) in the first round of vaccination," Dujarric said.
The UN official stressed that since its distribution began in March 2021, more than 1.2 billion doses of this vaccine have been used to protect children in more than 40 countries against poliovirus type 2.
On the other hand, the Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security confirmed that the United Nations is determined to remain in Gaza to provide life-saving assistance to and with Palestinian civilians.
In a press statement, Under-Secretary-General Gilles Michaud said that the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Gaza continues, which is a tremendous achievement given the extremely dangerous operating environment. He pointed out that aid workers have been in the line of fire throughout this crisis, which is the deadliest ever for the United Nations.
He stated that the mass evacuation orders are the latest in a long list of threats - intolerable - to the United Nations and humanitarian workers. “Over the weekend, the Israeli military gave just hours’ notice to move more than 200 UN staff from their offices and accommodation in Deir al-Balah, a critical humanitarian hub. Like the majority of Palestinians in Gaza, we are running out of safe spaces for our staff,” he said.
The timing could not be worse, the UN official said, given the large-scale polio vaccination campaign due to begin later this month, which will require a significant number of UN staff to enter the Gaza Strip.
The actions of the Israeli military over the weekend exacerbate existing security threats and seriously affect the pace at which aid can be delivered safely, he said. “These restrictions are beyond our control,” he added.
Under international humanitarian law, the UN’s ability to deliver assistance rests with the parties to the conflict to do everything they can to keep UN staff safe, said Gilles Michaud.
The women and men who risk their lives to deliver humanitarian aid need a safe and permanent place to work, the UN’s safety and security chief said. He called on all parties to respect international law and their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations to ensure the safety and security of United Nations personnel and offices.