The violent unrest in Khartoum has forced many Sudanese to flee for safety. The impact of the war on the capital’s health system has made the move even more urgent for many families.
Attacks on medical facilities in Khartoum in 2023 led to a shortage of medicines across the capital, meaning many Sudanese people with chronic illnesses could no longer find the medication they needed.
This is the reality for millions of people in need of vital health care, not only in Sudan but also around the world.
In Gaza, multiple attacks on hospitals have killed and injured hundreds of people, including health workers and displaced people seeking refuge in what they thought were safe areas.
In the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), doctors and nurses were killed while trying to treat displaced people. In Ukraine, the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital was targeted by an airstrike, killing a doctor and a hospital worker and injuring 16 people, including seven children. In Pakistan, a bomb killed police officers deployed to protect polio vaccination workers.
As Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), I have repeatedly condemned such attacks and called for the protection and respect of health workers in humanitarian settings and beyond.
Yet my calls and those of our humanitarian partners on the ground and around the world have gone unheeded, despite the fact that health facilities, their staff, patients and other civilians are protected by international law during conflict.
In 2023 alone, WHO recorded 1,520 attacks on health facilities, resulting in the deaths of at least 750 patients and health workers, and 1,250 injuries. This year, there have also been more than 700 attacks. As alarming as these figures are, they likely underestimate the true scale of the problem.
While one attack is too many, some places have seen an alarming number of attacks in a short period of time. In Gaza, more than 500 medical staff have been killed since the conflict began last October. In addition, at least 287 aid workers have lost their lives, including many colleagues from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and at least one member of our WHO family, Dima Alhaj.
In Gaza, as in Ukraine, Sudan, the DRC, Haiti and elsewhere, those who fall leave behind grieving families and communities. Parties to conflict are failing humanitarian and health workers and the people they help.
Even while responding to clear public health threats, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, humanitarian and health workers have faced deadly attacks, physical threats, and psychological intimidation on an unprecedented scale.
On 19 August, World Humanitarian Day, we must confront the intensification of attacks on humanitarian workers and attempts to normalize such attacks. On this day, I reiterate my condemnation of all forms of violence, threats and attacks against humanitarian workers, including health workers. I also join my colleagues in the United Nations and humanitarian organizations in calling on all countries to collectively assume their responsibility and act to ensure the full protection of humanitarian workers. We must provide humanitarian heroes with the safe space they need to save lives.
More than ever, World Humanitarian Day reminds us of the essence of our work: protecting everyone, everywhere, at all times, no matter how difficult the situation.
Beyond the legal implications, attacks on health interfere with the work of health workers, the distribution of medical supplies, and essential services of health facilities, such as vaccination, antenatal care, and treatment of chronic diseases, leading to preventable deaths and increased suffering.
A single attack on the only hospital serving a population can have devastating and lasting consequences for the delivery of health care for entire communities, in the short term and for years to come. Health care facilities provide more than just care: in many communities, they provide sanctuary and contribute to collective well-being.
The WHO Constitution states: “The health of all peoples is fundamental to the achievement of peace and security and depends on the fullest cooperation of individuals and States.”
WHO knows well the immense value of its colleagues working in humanitarian settings and the pain felt when they are needlessly lost to armed violence. Their dedication is a testament to the impact that humanitarian action can have on millions of lives. By protecting humanitarian workers, we uphold the principles of compassion and solidarity and reaffirm our commitment to a more humane world.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.