UNICEF: Israel blocks more than 1 million syringes for Gaza child vaccination program

(CLO) UNICEF said Israel is blocking more than 1 million syringes and other essential items for the child vaccination program in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) spoke out about Israel's refusal to allow essential items, including syringes for vaccinations and baby bottles, into Gaza, making it seriously difficult for relief organizations to reach people.

UNICEF has launched the first round of supplementary vaccination. Photo: UNICEF

As UNICEF carries out a mass vaccination campaign for children, they are facing difficulties in bringing in 1.6 million syringes and refrigerators to store the vaccines.

UNICEF said the syringes had been held pending customs clearance since August this year.

Both the syringes and the refrigerators are considered by Israel to be "dual-use" goods, meaning they can be used for both civilian and military purposes, said UNICEF spokesman Ricardo Pires.

Amid supply constraints, UNICEF carried out its first round of supplementary vaccinations on Sunday, aiming to reach more than 40,000 children under three who missed out on routine polio, measles and pneumonia vaccines during two years of conflict.

On the first day of the campaign, more than 2,400 children were vaccinated.

"The vaccination campaign has started, but we have two more rounds, and to do that we need more supplies," said UNICEF spokesman Pires.

UNICEF said several other aid items were also being refused import by Israel, including 938,000 bottles of ready-to-use infant formula and spare parts for water trucks.

"Nearly one million bottles of water could be distributed to children suffering from varying degrees of malnutrition," Mr Pires said in Geneva.

Although the ceasefire reached on October 10 is expected to facilitate large-scale humanitarian aid, aid agencies say the amount of goods reaching Gaza is still not enough to meet the needs of more than 2 million people, most of whom are displaced and malnourished after two years of fierce conflict.

Source: https://congluan.vn/unicef-israel-chan-hon-1-trieu-ong-tiem-cho-chuong-trinh-tiem-chung-tre-em-o-gaza-10317443.html