UNICEF

UNICEF's Middle East and North African spokesperson Saleem Oweis said the delivery of aid was much needed inside Gaza with no water, food and services. He said it was already shaping as a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel has been carrying out attacks on Gaza in response to deadly raids that killed hundreds of people earlier this month.

A deadly blast at a Gaza hospital earlier this week has killed up to 500 people but no death toll has been confirmed.

Both the Israel government and Palestinian officials have blamed each other.

Returning to Eden Park to launch his dedicated fundraising platform in association with UNICEF, the DC10 fund, Carter is taking on a 24-hour kickathon.

He is aiming to knock 1598 kicks between the posts in a period of 24 hours - matching the total number of points the first-five notched in his All Black career.

Funds raised from the event will be put toward UNICEF's water sanitation and hygiene programme for children in the Pacific.

“This is indeed timely and needed assistance. We have been preparing the Cold Chain Storage and eagerly awaited the vaccines’ arrival. We are thankful to the Government of Australia for this timely assistance since the Pfizer Vaccines have just finished. Our teams are prepared to deploy the vaccines so our people are better protected. This is not the first time Australia has helped and we look forward to your continued support in future. Thank you also to UNICEF for its key role in facilitating the logistics and necessary training so that we are ready for deployment” said Dr.

The assistance will ensure that about 19,250 people, including 10,000 children will be able to have sufficient access to safe drinking water, a clean environment, as well as good health.

The commitment constitutes the continuation of the strong partnership between the people of Japan and UNICEF aiming to improve the lives of all children living in the Pacific.

The deployment of the three vaccines is part of the US$29.7 million System Strengthening for Effective Coverage of New Vaccines in the Pacific Project, which is supporting the introduction of these vaccines in Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the vaccine project was originally established to support the procurement of rotavirus, pneumococcal conjugate, and human papilloma virus vaccines through the United Nations Children's Fund.

For Samoa, the country experienced a widescale measles outbreak which had significant impact upon the country’s population and health system.

The disease has cost lives, with infants and young children being most affected.

In response to the identification of measles in the region, many Pacific countries and areas have made serious efforts to close immunity gaps in their population and strengthen infectious disease prevention, surveillance and response systems.

As of 28 November, almost 300,000 vaccines and medical supplies have been delivered to reach those populations most at-risk in Samoa, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Tokelau and Tuvalu.  

UNICEF is responding to the outbreak together with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partners. UNICEF’s response is being conducted with the support of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).

They said this should to happen before travelling internationally, attending major events or community gatherings.

Vaccination provided the best protection against measles and parents should get their children immunised, the agencies said.

In October, Samoa and Tonga both declared measles outbreaks.

Both UNICEF and the WHO said they were continuing to provide resources to Pacific states to respond to the measles threat.

That's according to the UN agency for children or UNICEF which works with almost a million children across the region.

Pacific representative Sheldon Yett said there are many factors hampering progress on the issue including geography, natural disasters and the negative impacts of climate change.

"We are working actually to make sure that they can make the most out of the water that they have. To make sure that kids have access to good hygiene. To make sure that kids are teaching their parents and other community members what to do.

“The New Zealand Defence Force’s assistance in airlifting these UNICEF education supplies is key to ensuring the most vulnerable children in Tonga can return to school as soon as possible and regain a sense of normalcy in their disrupted lives,” said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF Pacific Representative.

“UNICEF is supporting the Ministry of Education and Training in Tonga to reach thousands of children affected by this disaster by bringing the classrooms to the children after their schools were damaged in the cyclone,” Mr Yett added.