A child receives a vaccination for polio in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. File/AFP

Over 460,000 children in the Gaza Strip have been vaccinated against polio in just 8 days, thanks to an emergency campaign launched by the UAE targeting more than 640,000 children.

This campaign comes in implementation of the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and was launched last Sunday in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and UNRWA.

The campaign is being conducted at 150 vaccination sites in Gaza, supported by volunteers and medical teams as part of the Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, to ensure easy access for families and children.

Parents of children who received polio vaccinations expressed their deep appreciation to the UAE for their timely intervention and unwavering support for Gazans, specially the children, during the ongoing war on the strip.

WHO's confirmation of Gaza's first polio case in a quarter century last August underscored the urgency of this vaccination campaign. Over 2,100 healthcare workers, including mobile teams, are working tirelessly to ensure every child receives the vaccine during humanitarian pauses and ceasefires.

WAM