Attacks

Yemen: Badly Needed Medical Supplies and Health Personnel Unable to Reach Conflict Affected Areas of Yemen

Tuesday, March 31, 2015
More medical supplies and trained health personnel are urgently needed in Yemen as the violence there escalates, but bringing in this essential support is currently impossible, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said. “MSF is currently unable to deploy additional emergency medical staff to Yemen, where they are badly needed,” said Dr Greg Elder, MSF Director of Operations. “We urgently need to find ways to get humanitarian relief and personnel inside the country.”

Polio Workers' Safety

Sunday, March 22, 2015
We are living in a nuclear state which has developed ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, trainer/fighter aircraft, tanks, and armed drones. But we are unable to ensure immunity for our future generations from crippling and potentially fatal diseases such as polio. It is not as difficult as it appears. When we know that polio teams are a soft target, we can devise a simple methodology to reduce the threat and keep the teams secure.

Chicago Doctors Risk Arrest, Torture to Aid Dire Medical Care Void in Syria

Thursday, March 12, 2015
A humanitarian report to be released Thursday addresses the dire medical situation in Syria and reports how doctors from all over the world—including here in Chicago—are being arrested and tortured simply for trying to save lives. “This is my fifth visit into Aleppo which is considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world, especially for healthcare workers,” said Chicago-area critical care specialist Dr. Zaher Sahloul.

Doctors in the Crosshairs: Four Years of Attacks on Health Care in Syria

Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Four years after the start of the civil war in Syria, deliberate and indiscriminate attacks have decimated the ranks of health professionals and devastated the medical infrastructure, exacerbating an acute humanitarian crisis, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said in a report released today. The PHR report and interactive map tracking these violations document the unlawful killing of 610 medical personnel and 233 illegal attacks on 183 medical facilities throughout the country over the past four years.

New Report: "Syrian Medical Voices from the Ground"

Tuesday, March 3, 2015
“Working in a field hospital is like death,” said a Syrian general practitioner from Idlib, describing medical practice while under assault from barrel bombs and other attacks. Another doctor from Aleppo recounted, “I cannot forget the sight of amputated limbs, severed heads, and horrible cranial injuries.” These experiences are universal among Syrian health workers, as shown in the new report Syrian Medical Voices from the Ground: The Ordeal of Syria's Healthcare Professionals.

International Medical Corps Responds as Eastern Ukraine’s Health System Collapses in Midst of Conflict

Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Several health facilities were damaged by shelling in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, the region that has seen the fiercest fighting during the recent conflict between Ukrainian and separatist forces. A team of International Medical Corps experts in the region found that some health facilities have been looted and many facilities lack food and water for patients. The team also found medical professionals have left the area and supply chains are broken, leaving hospitals and health centers without lifesaving medicines or equipment.

Abducted Polio Immunization Team Found Murdered in Pakistan

Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Four members of a polio immunization team have been found murdered after being kidnapped in southwest Pakistan, officials said Wednesday. Local militants had abducted the vaccination worker, two local tribal policemen and a driver in the Zhob district of Baluchistan province on Saturday. Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio remains endemic. But attempts to eradicate it have been badly hit by opposition from militants and attacks on immunization teams that have now claimed 71 lives since December 2012.

Attacks on Health Workers Hamper Ebola Fight

Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Nearly one year since the Ebola epidemic broke out in Guinea and later spread to other West African nations, frontline health workers still come under attacks. Lack of awareness and cultural beliefs are to blame. “These attacks range from verbal abuse to physical,” Moustapha Diallo, spokesperson for the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Guinea, told DW in an interview.

Canada Deeply Concerned by Shooting and Kidnapping of Polio Workers in Pakistan

Monday, February 16, 2015
The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, issued the following statement: “Humanitarian, development and security personnel should not have to fear for their lives as they provide critical assistance to the Pakistani people. There is no possible justification for such violence against health workers and those who protect them.”

Red Cross Denounces Attacks on Ebola Teams

Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement denounced a series of violent attacks on its volunteers battling the deadly Ebola epidemic in Guinea. Guinea and its neighbours Sierra Leone and Liberia have registered more than 9,000 deaths since the Ebola epidemic flared up in December 2013. Mobs have sporadically attacked health workers in all three countries after being taken in by a variety of conspiracy theories, often characterising the outbreak as a plot by the West to murder Africans and harvest their organs.

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