Twitter
Advertisement

Attacks on health staff, clinics and patients; need more protection - rights groups

In Syria, where medical facilities in Aleppo have been hit by government barrel bombs, almost 200 medical staff have been killed since January 2014, according to the report.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Health workers in countries torn by civil unrest and conflict - particularly Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria - need greater protection against attacks on medical facilities, staff and patients, rights groups and aid agencies said on Wednesday.

Targeted attacks are destroying health systems and infrastructure, forcing health workers to flee and preventing children from getting vaccinations, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition said in a report.

Governments and non-state armed groups must do more to prevent attacks on medical staff and facilities and hold the perpetrators accountable, the report said.

"Instead of being protected, medical care is actually a target," said Donna McKay, executive director of Physicians for Human Rights, a member of the coalition.

"The toll of assaults on health in almost two dozen countries shocks the conscience and demands a global response."

Over the past year, armed groups have launched more than 40 attacks on hospitals, clinics and health workers in Afghanistan, and killed around 45 staff - mainly polio vaccinators - in Nigeria and Pakistan, the report said.

In Syria, where medical facilities in Aleppo have been hit by government barrel bombs, almost 200 medical staff have been killed since January 2014, according to the report.

Doctors and nurses have been forced to withhold care under threat of violence, wounded people seeking treatment in Syria have been arrested and detained, and many people avoid going to hospital for fear of arrest, torture or death, the report said.



FEAR AND DISTRUST

Fear and distrust of health workers in Ebola-hit West Africa have also led to attacks on staff and facilities, such as the killing of eight people educating locals about the risks of the disease in Guinea last year, the report said.

UN emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos said last month that respect for aid workers was "disappearing" following the killings of four UN workers in Somalia, weeks after three Red Cross and Red Crescent workers died in unrelated attacks in Mali, Yemen and Syria.

Attacks on aid workers worldwide reached a record high in 2013, according to London-based consultancy firm Humanitarian Outcomes, which said 155 aid workers were killed, 171 wounded and 134 kidnapped – 66 percent more than in 2012.

HRW and the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition called on the World Health Organization to fast-track an initiative to develop a system to collect and share information on attacks on medical facilities and staff.

"Monitoring attacks can help us better understand how widespread this problem is, but ultimately the UN and governments need to protect health workers and press for accountability against those responsible," said Joe Amon, HRW health and human rights director.
 

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement