- The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the mass polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip will resume next Saturday, targeting more than half a million children.The WHO said in a statement Wednesday the current conditions in Gaza, including overcrowding in shelters and severe damage to water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, which facilitate the transmission of infection through feces and mouth, create ideal conditions for the further spread of the polio virus.It added that the intense population movement as a result of the current ceasefire is likely to exacerbate the spread of polio virus infection.For his part, Palestinian Minister of Health Majed Abu Ramadan said in a press conference attended by the Director of WHO Office and UNICEF Special Representative that the campaign would resume next Saturday in light of the continued circulation of the polio virus, which appeared through the results of laboratory tests we conducted on sewage water after collecting random samples from multiple geographical areas.He pointed out that the campaign is being implemented in cooperation with partners in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the WHO, UNICEF, and all health service providers in Gaza.The Palestinian Minister of Health said that the new vaccination campaign will be in two phases with a time difference of four weeks, as the first phase will begin next Saturday and the second phase will begin on the fifth of next April, and each phase will last for three consecutive days, simultaneously in all governorates.The WHO conducted two rounds of vaccinations in September and October of last year throughout the Strip, reaching more than 95 percent of those targeted.The virus is still circulating in the Strip, which means it could reach unvaccinated children. (