Statement
Humanitarian access improves quality of polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip
28 February 2025, Jerusalem/Amman/Geneva – A five-day mass polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip concluded on Wednesday, reaching nearly 603 000 children under 10 years of age with novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) following comprehensive, simultaneous access to all five governorates during the ongoin...
Statement
Mass polio vaccination campaign to continue in the Gaza Strip
19 February 2025, Jerusalem/Amman/Geneva – The emergency polio outbreak response in the Gaza Strip is continuing, with a mass vaccination campaign scheduled from 22 to 26 February 2025. The novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) will be administered to over 591,000 children under 10 years of age to protect them ...
Photo essay
Joining forces with health workers to vaccinate school children
Basra, Iraq, 12 June 2024 The Ministry of Health, UNICEF and WHO launched a nationwide vaccination campaign to protect children from measles, mumps, and rubella. Funded by USAID, this campaign aimed to reach over 7.5 million children aged 6 to 12 years, attending primary schools and kindergartens. At Duhok Interna...
Press release
85 per cent of children affected by polio in 2023 lived in fragile and conflict-affected countries
NEW YORK, 24 October 2024 — Of the 541 children affected by polio globally in 2023, 85 per cent live in the 31 fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable countries, according to a new UNICEF analysis on World Polio Day. Polio cases in these settings have more than doubled in the past five years, while routine chil...
Remarks
Geneva Palais briefing note on the announcement of the second round of polio vaccination in the Gaza Strip
EAST JERUSALEM / GENEVA, 11 October 2024 - "I wanted to emphasize the logistical challenges that such a vaccination campaign represents. The first round successfully rolled out in September presented humanitarian workers with overwhelming difficulties, including operating amid devastated infrastructure. "For exam...
Press release
Around 560 000 children vaccinated in first round of polio campaign in Gaza
Jerusalem/Amman/Geneva, 13 September 2024 - Around 560 000 children under ten years old were vaccinated against polio during the first round of an emergency vaccination campaign conducted in three phases from 1-12 September 2024 in the Gaza Strip. The 12-day campaign provided novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2...
Statement
Statement by UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khodr, on the Completion of the First Phase of the Polio Vaccination Campaign in the Gaza Strip
AMMAN, 04 SEPTEMBER 2024 – “The past three days have brought a rare bright spot amid the disastrous conflict in the Gaza Strip. “After almost a year of families experiencing horrors no man, woman or child should ever have to endure, this week we saw what can be achieved with simply, will. “For at least a quarter o...
Press release
Number of ‘zero-dose’ children increased by more than one third last year in the Middle East and North Africa
Amman, 15 July 2024 - Millions of children in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remain unprotected against preventable diseases due to a steady decline in vaccination coverage, according to the latest WHO and UNICEF estimates of national immunization coverage (WUENIC) published today. In 2023, the number of ...
Report
Vaccination in Yemen: Saving lives, protecting the Economy
This report highlights the positive impact of vaccination on children’s health and the economy of Yemen.Vaccination plays a crucial role in public health, averting more than 4 million child deaths globally every year. By building immunity in individuals, vaccines curtail disease spread, creating healthier and weal...
Press release
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia pledges US $500 million to protect children around the world from polio and end the disease for good
RIYADH, 28 APRIL 2024 - Today, at the first-ever World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting hosted in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged US $500 million over the next five years to support the work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). This announcement marks a significant increase in funding for the global effort to…
Article
Little changemakers boost vaccination efforts in Yemen
“At first, I was scared of injections,” Leen says as she remembers how she used to feel when it came time to get vaccinated. “But I saw what happened to children who weren’t vaccinated. They got a fever and a red rash because they had measles.” Leen is just 10 years-old, but she has already seen the life-saving po...
Article
Little changemakers boost vaccination efforts in Yemen
“At first, I was scared of injections,” Leen says as she remembers how she used to feel when it came time to get vaccinated. “But I saw what happened to children who weren’t vaccinated. They got a fever and a red rash because they had measles.” Leen is just 10 years-old, but she has already seen the life-saving po...