OCHA said the campaign now turns to Gaza's southern zone for three days, beginning on Thursday, and the northern zone will follow.
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The first three-day phase of the first round of polio vaccinations has reached 187,000 children under 10 years of age in Gaza's central zone, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the campaign now turns to Gaza's southern zone for three days, beginning on Thursday, and the northern zone will follow. More than 640,000 children are targeted to receive two oral doses of the vaccine, each dose four weeks apart.
OCHA said World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported that health workers had vaccinated 187,000 children since Sunday.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said regional pauses in the conflict are necessary for the remaining phases of the campaign, "otherwise we will fail to protect the children of Gaza and place other children at risk."
The campaign was launched after a 10-month-old was partially paralyzed with polio.
OCHA said 510 teams were deployed across central Gaza for the vaccination effort, with 40 health partners participating -- 17 operating health service points to administer vaccinations and 23 informing communities about the campaign. ■
