Polio, Peacekeeping and...Postage?

"A rare bright spot amid the disastrous conflict in the Gaza Strip" is how UNICEF described the successful first phase of a massive polio vaccination campaign in Gaza. Polio was confirmed three weeks ago, and over the last several days, UNICEF, the WHO, and UNRWA have taken advantage of humanitarian pauses in the fighting to administer hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses. In our first segment, we discuss how this vaccination campaign is being carried out and why it has been successful so far, while other humanitarian interventions have faltered. What makes this polio vaccination campaign so different?

Next, we examine a new piece in Foreign Affairs by UN Peacekeeping Chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix, which laments the lack of peace-making efforts in the world today. Lastly, Anjali interviews Kayla Redstone from the Universal Postal Union, a little-known but hugely important UN agency that enables people to send mail and parcels virtually anywhere in the world. It’s mundane multilateralism—and it works!

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