The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, he warned attacks on healthcare employees, patients and facilities “must not become the norm.”
However, reports from wars world wide they often show bombings of hospitals and attacks on health care employees.
The increased use explosive weapons in densely populated areas exacerbates the issue because they cause widespread damage to civilians and important infrastructure, including healthcare facilities. Whether these attacks are targeted or seen as “collateral damage,” it exists growing concern grow to be an accepted a part of armed conflict – although they violate the protections granted under Article international law.
But are these attacks on health care actually getting worse, or are we just convalescing at documenting them? More importantly, is the world beginning to see them as normal?
What does the info show?
Collecting accurate data in war zones is a challenge. Many health care attacks go unreported resulting from fear of reprisal or the risks of data collection. In some cases, data disclosure could also be sensitive because conflicting parties may use it to influence public opinion or escalate tensions.
Despite these challenges, organizations have been monitoring attacks on healthcare for years, including WHO, Coalition for Health Protection in Conflict (SHCC) i International Committee of the Red Cross. Their reports indicate a rise in each the frequency and systematic targeting of health care in some regions.
The latest SHCC report shows that last 12 months was the deadliest for health care employees since reporting began a decade ago. In 2023, 480 health care employees died in armed conflicts – almost twice previous 12 months.
WHO confirmed that between January and September 2024 almost 700 attacks against health care facilities and personnel only in Ukraine and the occupied Palestinian territory. This led to over 500 injuries and almost 200 deaths amongst patients and healthcare employees.
Alex Babenko/AP Photo
IN Sudan AND Myanmarhospitals and clinics proceed to be targeted, leaving hundreds of thousands of individuals without access to basic health care.
This violence could lead on to the near collapse of healthcare systems. For example, until January 2024. 84% of health facilities in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. This deprives people of crucial care, worsens chronic conditions and allows diseases to spread uncontrolled.
Regulations protecting health care
The 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols form the premise International humanitarian lawprotecting healthcare employees, hospitals and patients during an armed conflict. These laws were introduced after World War II to make sure that people could access medical care even in times of war without fear of attack. Any deliberate attacks on medical services constitute a violation of international law and, in some cases, a war crime.
Today everyone seems to be recognized country on this planet has committed to complying with these regulations. In 2016, the United Nations Security Council also adopted: resolution condemning the attacks on healthcare and calling for stronger motion to make sure compliance.
However, attacks on health care proceed. Some of probably the most serious examples have occurred during recent armed conflicts during which hospitals and clinics have been directly targeted, often without consequences for the attackers. Earlier this 12 months, Ukraine asked International Criminal Court to analyze attacks on A children’s hospital in Kiev.
The persistence of those attacks raises concerns about whether the issue is weak law enforcement or whether the laws themselves need updating resulting from modern warfare.
Some legal and health workers say that the laws are not strong enoughespecially with the emergence of non-state armed groups equivalent to militias. Others think the regulations are adequate, but they are not properly enforced.
Zeynep Demir Aslim/Shutterstock
Humanitarian and human rights organizations are increasingly calling for: stronger responsibilityincluding the involvement of the International Criminal Court and national courts. Others propose a broader, more systematic approach cures attacks on health care as a public health issuenot only legal.
Are health care attacks becoming the norm?
One of probably the most disturbing elements of this trend is its potential normalization such attacks, which suggests that folks may come to see them as an inevitable a part of war.
When hospitals are bombed or ambulances destroyed without punishment for the perpetrators, it sends a message that health care employees and patients are acceptable targets. This creates an environment during which entire populations may feel that there is no such thing as a secure place to hunt care after they need it most.
Contemporary conflicts, engaging non-state armed groups equivalent to militias – as we saw in Haiti and Central African Republic – make a big contribution to this issue. These groups often don’t respect international law.
However, even governments have been accused of attacks on health care facilities despite being parties to the Geneva Conventions, including attacks on hospitals by Israel in Gaza, Saudi Arabia in Yemen and United States in Afghanistan.
If these incidents don’t end in serious consequences, a dangerous precedent is being set.
Immediate and long-term effects
The immediate impact of those attacks is obvious and devastating: people injured in conflict or affected by disease cannot get the care they need. Health care employees who often provide first aid are them directly targetedlimiting the supply of basic care.
The destruction of hospitals also disrupts routine services equivalent to childbirth and vaccinations, resulting in preventable deaths and increasing the chance of outbreaks. Explosions mpox within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and polio in Gaza have worsened because health employees cannot safely reach affected areas and vital supplies have been destroyed.
In the long term, these attacks seriously affect people affected by chronic diseases equivalent to diabetes, cancer and heart disease life-threatening without treatment. Additionally, people are more more likely to leave places without health care services, which contributes displacement.
Finally, such attacks undermine trust in hospitals and clinics, causing fear around in search of medical help. Over time, this may discourage people from in search of care, creating impacts that harm entire communities and hinder progress in global health.