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WHO calls for protection of health workers working in dangerous regions
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Doctors Without Borders was created specifically to provide medical care to people affected by armed conflicts or natural disasters. But the work of a doctor is dangerous and every day the lives of people who want to help their neighbors are at risk, for example, a missile strike killed at least 14 people and injured about 40 medical workers in a hospital in Kunduz (Afghanistan).
In southern Yemen, a few months later, an airstrike on a hospital killed nine people, including two employees of the organization Doctors Without Borders.
Since 2012, more than half of the health care facilities in Syria have been destroyed, and most doctors and nurses have either died or been forced to flee the dangerous region.
Today, from Ukraine to Afghanistan, health workers are in danger; last year alone, more than 600 health workers were killed in military clashes, and about a thousand were injured.
Of course, war and the death it brings with it is a tragedy, but the loss of medical personnel and hospitals leads to a reduction in the ability to provide assistance to ordinary people who find themselves in difficult conditions.
The head of the WHO's health workforce department noted that protecting health workers should be the top priority for the international community, since without people there will be no medical care.
Not all attacks on health workers were recorded using the standard method, so the WHO developed a new system for collecting information, which is currently being tested in the African Republic, Syria, and the Gaza Strip. The WHO plans to use the new system in all regions where health workers are at risk as early as the beginning of next year.
It is worth noting that the goal of the new project is not only to collect data. According to experts, the information obtained in this way will help prevent attacks on medical workers and hospitals, as well as reduce the consequences of such attacks.
Looting, bombing of medical facilities, and attacks on medical workers prevent the provision of necessary assistance to victims.
Since 2012, more than 30 people have died in Pakistan helping to eliminate the polio outbreak. The number of tragic cases was reduced after a decision was made to reduce the number of days of the campaign and to send vaccinators to other, safer times. An analysis of the work in Pakistan showed how to not only make the doctors' work easier, but also safer.
But it is not only military conflicts that pose a threat to the lives of health workers; for example, during the Ebola epidemic, panic and suspicion led to the killing of 8 health workers who informed the population about the threat. In addition, more than 400 doctors and nurses were infected with the deadly virus during treatment.
The WHO plans to publish its first major report on attacks on health workers and hospitals next year.
Last December, the UN agreed to collect data on attacks on medical personnel, as well as to step up efforts to ensure the safety of doctors and paramedics. WHO experts also developed a plan to provide assistance to countries that are in a state of permanent emergency.