UN: Polio vaccination campaign begins at besieged Palestinian refugee camp in Syria

Excerpt
5 February 2014 – The United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees said today it has begun a large-scale polio vaccination campaign targeting thousands of children in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and its partners have been attempting for months to take desperately needed aid, particularly food and medicines, to Yarmouk, whose 18,000 residents have been trapped for months amid the ongoing conflict in Syria.

“We are pleased to announce that UNRWA has secured the formal authorization for the transfer of 10,000 polio vaccines to Yarmouk Camp in Damascus,” said Chris Gunness, a spokesperson for the Agency.

“This process has been completed without incident and the vaccination of thousands children in the camp is now underway”…