Ongoing and escalating conflict in parts of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region continue to place health care at massive risk.
In 2023, attacks on health care in Sudan and the occupied Palestinian territory reached . From March to August 2023, there were 60 attacks on health care in Sudan. In the occupied Palestinian territory, there were 754 attacks on health care from 7 October to 16 February 2023.
Attacks on health care is a term that covers many acts of violence. Health workers are killed, kidnapped and assaulted. Health facilities are destroyed, damaged or taken over for nonmedical purposes. Ambulances are looted, stolen, shot at and denied travel through checkpoints. Health workers, hospitals and patients also come under threat when electricity and water are disrupted, fuel is limited or access to besieged populations is obstructed.
In settings where health systems are already fragile, threats to health providers have devastating costs beyond the loss of lives of health workers and the patients they might have saved. Thousands of people every year will die not because they are direct victims , but because the environment becomes too dangerous for effective health services to be delivered.
Together with partners, WHO has set up a system to collect data on attacks on health workers, health facilities, and patients in complex emergencies. This information is used to identify patterns and find concrete ways to avoid attacks or mitigate disruptions to health service delivery.
WHO continues to call on all parties in conflict to abide by their obligation under international humanitarian law to respect the sanctity of, and actively protect, health facilities.
For the latest data on attacks, visit the WHO Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care.
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