Yemen launches campaign to vaccinate 1.3 million children against polio resurgence

Aden, July 13 (IANS) Yemen's internationally recognised government has launched a three-day polio vaccination campaign, as the war-ravaged country is battling a resurgence of the disease, according to local media reports.

Nearly 7,000 health teams will administer oral vaccines door-to-door or at health facilities, focusing on 120 high-risk districts, reports Xinhua, quoting the state-run Saba news agency.

The drive, targeting 1.35 million children across 12 provinces under the government's control, came as data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF showed that 282 variant polio cases have been reported in the country since 2021, 98 per cent of which in children under the age of 5, with national polio immunisation coverage dropping to 46 per cent in 2023 amid war-disrupted healthcare.

"Yemen remains at high risk for poliovirus outbreaks due to protracted conflict, weakened health systems and low routine immunisation coverage," said Acting WHO Representative in Yemen Ferima Coulbibaly-Zerbo in a joint statement issued by the WHO and UNICEF.

"With poliovirus continuing to circulate and cases confirmed in 2025, these campaigns are essential to interrupt transmission and protect every child from the debilitating effects of polio," she said.

"With confirmed cases of polio among Yemeni children, an imminent threat persists, especially for every unvaccinated child. But, through vaccination, we can keep our children safe," UNICEF Representative to Yemen Peter Hawkins said in the statement.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since 2014 when Houthi forces seized control of the capital Sanaa and much of the country's north, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in support of the internationally recognised government in 2015.

The conflict has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with millions of Yemenis facing food insecurity and lacking access to basic services. Multiple rounds of peace talks have failed to produce a political settlement.

--IANS

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