NEW YORK: UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban called today for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to end the killing and maiming of children and enable the urgent delivery of desperately needed lifesaving aid.
Chaiban told a media briefing on his mission to Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank that the scale of the destruction, of the suffering of children has considerably increased.
The total number of displaced people moved from 1.7 to 1.9 million people.
He said there is a need for a negotiated political solution, one that prioritises the rights and well-being of children.
The UAE’s support has accelerated the vaccination of over 187,000 children in Gaza since the launch of the polio campaign.
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This effort, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has been in response to the emergency situation following the first case of type 2 polio recorded in the Gaza Strip in 25 years.
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had directed the provision of $5 million to support the emergency polio vaccination campaign in Gaza after the first case of the virus was detected in the Strip.
This initiative is part of the ongoing efforts by the UAE to provide relief to the Palestinian people amid the critical conditions they are facing.
The campaign is racing against time to achieve its ultimate goal of vaccinating 640,000 children, especially in light of the widespread forced displacement, severe overcrowding, and the extensive damage to the health system and water and sanitation infrastructure in many areas of the Gaza Strip.
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With the participation of 2,100 medical staff and mobile health teams, around 1.26 million doses of the polio vaccine that have already reached Gaza will be distributed in phases, with each phase lasting three days during limited humanitarian ceasefire periods for each area. An additional 400,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in the sector within days.
