Around 90 pct of children in Gaza receive first dose of polio vaccine

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Around 90 pct of children in Gaza receive first dose of polio vaccine

2024-09-17 13:55 Last Updated At：16:47

Polio vaccination coverage in Gaza has reached 90 percent, the head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees announced on Monday, adding that securing a new humanitarian ceasefire is the main challenge for administering the second dose at the end of the month.

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said that the first round of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza ended successfully, with hundreds of thousands of the enclave's children vaccinated and 90 percent coverage achieved.

Lazzarini warned that the key challenge ahead is to obtain a fresh humanitarian ceasefire to ensure that children receive the second dose at the end of September.

The campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in Gaza under 10 years of age against polio, which began on Sept 1, was temporarily facilitated by a limited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

It followed the confirmation last month by the World Health Organization (WHO) of a 10-month-old child in Deir al-Balah of central Gaza, being partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio, the first such case in the Gaza Strip in 25 years.

The first phase of the vaccination campaign covered central Gaza, including Deir al-Balah and the refugee camps of al-Nuseirat, al-Maghazi and al-Bureij. The second phase began on Sept 5 in Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza, followed by northern Gaza on Sept 9.

Poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio, is an acute infectious disease caused by the poliovirus, primarily affecting children under five. It can lead to paralysis or death in severe cases. With no cure available, vaccination remains the most effective and economical method of prevention.

U.S. Fed slashes rates by 50 basis points, first rate cut in four years

2024-09-19 02:22 Last Updated At：03:17

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday slashed interest rates by 50 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labor market, marking the first rate cut in over four years.

"The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance," the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank's policy-setting body, said in a statement.

"In light of the progress on inflation and the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point to 4-3/4 to 5 percent," the FOMC said.

This signals the start of an easing cycle. Starting from March 2022, the Fed had raised rates consecutively for 11 times to combat inflation not seen in forty years, pushing the target range for the federal funds rate up to between 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent, the highest level in over two decades.

After maintaining rates at the high level for over a year, the Fed's tight monetary policy faced pressure to pivot due to the easing of inflationary pressures, signs of weakening in the job market, and slowing economic growth.