UNICEF Provides Polio Vaccines and Vitamin A to Gaza's Children

Speaking from Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Oct. 15, 2024, Melanie Galvin, Chief of Health and Nutrition for UNICEF in the State of Palestine, shares details of Round Two of an ongoing polio vaccination campaign.
Intense fighting, forced displacement and continued blockage of humanitarian aid continue to put children's lives at grave risk in the Gaza Strip. Despite the dangers, large numbers of mothers and fathers are bringing their children to clinics to receive their polio vaccination and Vitamin A, which will boost their immune system and protect them from disease.
"This is really a very difficult environment to be a child," says Galvin. Children "are exposed to very dirty water. There's really a lack of sanitation in general. And this all affects their immune system. These kids are very malnourished."
"In Gaza, there's a critical shortage of medicines," says Rami Ashoor, who brought his baby to a clinic to be vaccinated. "We are grateful to all the donor countries that provide these vaccines and essential medicines."
Vitamin A will protect "maybe 15 percent to 25 percent [of children] from dying of various diseases that they may otherwise be susceptible to," Galvin says. "We expect great results. And we're very pleased so far with the number of parents coming. It's really a triumph of hope for the future of their children that they're bringing them here to be vaccinated."
For every child, peace.
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