WHO expects 2nd phase of polio campaign to begin in Gaza on Oct. 14

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that it aims to begin the second polio vaccination campaign in Gaza on Oct. 14.

"We have requested (from Israeli authorities) the start of the second round of the polio campaign on the 14th of October," Ayadil Saparbekov, the team lead for health emergencies at WHO in the occupied Palestinian territory, told a press briefing in Geneva.

Saparbekov said that the UN agency expects the vaccination process to finish by Oct. 29, adding that both days have been communicated with the Israeli authorities, and a meeting will be held on Sunday to see whether they will be confirmed.

"We have asked the Israeli authorities to consider the similar scheme that we had for the first round with something they call 'tactical pauses' during the working hours of the campaign," he said.

The first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, which took place under area-based pauses in the fighting, ended on Sept. 13. It reached more than 560,000 children across the strip, which has been described as a "massive success" by the WHO.