UN Launches Massive Child Immunization Drive in Gaza as Humanitarian Aid Scales Up
Despite access hurdles and limited crossings, UN agencies push life-saving services as ceasefire remains critical
United Nations
Sphinx News: Ahmed Ali
Spokesperson for the Secretary General, Farhan Haq, says the United Nations and its humanitarian teams are reaching more civilians every day with food, medical supplies, and critical services — despite access restrictions, bureaucratic hurdles, and congested transit routes.
In its most recent activities, UN agencies announced the start of an integrated catch-up campaign for routine immunization, nutrition, and growth monitoring, targeting 44,000 children cut off from life-saving services since the start of the war. UNICEF, UNRWA, and WHO — alongside local partners and in coordination with the Ministry of Health — will lead the effort.
Under the campaign, children will receive doses of Pentavalent, Polio, Rota, and Pneumococcal vaccines, along with the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella shot. The first round begins Sunday and will run for 10 days across nearly 150 health facilities and 10 mobile clinics.
All vaccines, syringes, cold-chain equipment, and nutrition supplies required for this operation have already entered Gaza. Over 450 health workers and support staff, along with nearly 150 doctors, are trained and ready. Agencies stress the effort’s success hinges on full respect for the ceasefire to ensure safe access for families and medical teams.
Across Gaza, UN support to 183 community kitchens now provides more than 1.2 million meals a day — an 80% increase from late September. Food parcels and other assistance continue alongside those efforts.
Humanitarian teams are also expanding access to clean water, with more than 40 organizations operating nearly 1,900 water points. On Monday alone, 4,400 hygiene kits, 2,900 buckets, and 3,700 jerrycans were distributed. Families also received tarpaulins, tents, and winter clothing vouchers as temperatures drop.
On Monday, more than 180 truckloads of life-saving supplies were offloaded at Gaza’s crossings, including 1,500 metric tonnes of food. Yesterday, UN teams collected roughly 120 truckloads inside Gaza — carrying blankets, tents, winter clothes, and hygiene items — along with over 150,000 liters of fuel and more than 90 metric tonnes of animal fodder. These figures exclude bilateral and private-sector deliveries, meaning the full scale is even larger.
Still, OCHA warns the response remains far below humanitarian need. Only two crossings are operational, and aid convoys are limited to narrow, crowded roads often prioritized for commercial traffic. Stringent registration rules also restrict most NGOs from scaling up operations.
The UN says it is actively engaging with all relevant authorities to remove these barriers and ensure humanitarian actors can reach every person in need — reaffirming that the ability to deliver aid, and to protect Gaza’s children, depends on sustained access and respect for humanitarian principles.
