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Clashes Strain Health Services in Libya's South

Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Clashes and insecurity in southern Libya are putting pressure on over-stretched health facilities as the government declares a state of emergency in the southern Fezzan region. The fighting has led to at least 39 deaths, with 70 people injured, in the regional capital Sabha over the past 12 days. Residents fear the limited presence of the state in the sparsely populated south and the lack of a strong national army are leaving them exposed.

Turkey Passes Bill that Criminalizes Emergency Medical Care

Friday, January 3, 2014
The Turkish parliament passed a bill today that will criminalize emergency medical care and punish doctors with heavy fines and imprisonment for assisting those in need. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is urging the president of the Turkish Republic, Abdullah Gul, not to sign the bill, which would have a chilling effect on access to medical care.

Vaccinators Refuse to Join Polio Campaign in Pakistan

Friday, January 10, 2014
Health workers in part of a troubled Pakistani tribal region Friday refused to participate in a polio vaccination campaign because of security threats, officials said. The three-day campaign in the Khyber tribal district is due to start on Saturday, almost three weeks after gunmen shot dead a worker while he was administering polio drops and vaccines to children in the town of Jamrud. Efforts to stamp out the crippling disease in Pakistan have been seriously hampered by militant attacks on health workers inoculating children.

Fighting Halts Polio Vaccination in Northern Syria

Monday, January 13, 2014
Heavy fighting has prevented health workers from getting polio vaccine to an estimated 100,000 Syrian children in the northeastern province of Raqqa, United Nations aid agencies said on Monday, appealing for access. The crippling infectious disease was confirmed in 17 children in Syria in October, the first outbreak there since 1999.

Somalia: Militants Ambush Medical Convoy, Killing 6

Thursday, December 19, 2013
Suspected armed Islamic militants Wednesday ambushed a convoy carrying doctors near the Somalian capital, killing six people, three of them Syrian doctors in the country giving medical assistance, officials said Wednesday. Capt. Mohamed Hussein, a senior Somalian police commander, said the convoy came under attack in a semi-forested area outside Mogadishu, while on the way to give medical help to patients at a hospital.

Syria's Civil War Forces Doctors to Choose the Rebels or the Regime

Thursday, December 19, 2013
Adnan Ismail worked as a doctor in a Syrian government hospital. But civil war led him to a farm field where he and friends labored nights in secret to build a makeshift rebel-run clinic. For a year, Dr. Ismail helped dig walls and stairs to fashion an underground bunker that was eventually equipped for surgery, he said. Dr. Adnan Ismail led a secret life tending to Syrian rebels and civilians hurt by government forces.

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