IRIN

GAZIANTEP, 2 September 2015 (IRIN) - In Syria's brutal civil war, the announcement in late January that the country had effectively beaten polio again was a rare bright spot. It was the result of an unprecedented vaccination campaign in almost all areas of the country, including in the vast eastern region controlled by so-called Islamic State (ISIS). But even this small achievement is now threatened as the Islamist militants have cracked down on aid groups, and others have been scared off by counter-terrorism measures. Ahead of a major push to immunise children across the country, what chance do the more than one million children living under ISIS in Syria have of getting the jab?

Experts are calling for increased protection to healthcare workers and patients in crisis situations in the face of growing attacks on health facilities, which challenge notions of their neutrality. “We need multiple and reinforcing means to protect health care in situations of violence, including the well-developed mechanisms of human rights monitoring, reporting and accountability,” Leonard Rubenstein, chair of Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, a group of humanitarian and human rights organizations, told IRIN from the World Health Assembly, which is being held from 19 to 24 May in Geneva.

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.