Conflict

While there have been slight improvements in the security situation in parts of the Central African Republic (CAR), the country is still in the grips of a major health crisis, following years of conflict and under-development. Only 55% of health facilities in the country are functioning, and most rely on support from non-governmental organizations and UN agencies like WHO.

“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.

“Let me treat my patients,” pleads a Syrian doctor whose hospital has been repeatedly targeted. Around the world, attacks on health workers and facilities have reached new heights, and this violence affects women disproportionately. More than 75% of the health workforce in many countries is female, and many women are left without access to much-needed health services.

As the brutal crisis in Syria enters into its fifth year, calls for the protection of civilians and improved humanitarian access continue to be ignored by all parties. In a briefing to the Security Council, delivered on behalf of Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos, UN Deputy Humanitarian Chief Kyung-wha Kang highlighted a litany of failings by all sides and renewed the humanitarian community’s call for a political end to the conflict. Ms. Kang also spoke of attacks against medical facilities and staff. “Hospitals and schools have not been spared,” she said. According to one medical organization, there were eight attacks on medical facilities in December alone. During the same period, seven medical personnel were killed, including three who were tortured to death and one who was executed.

When the Syrian Revolution began back in 2011, Lubna Shaheen became an activist working with the opposition. As the war wore on, and as more and more Syrians became displaced, Shaheen, who didn’t want to be identified by her real name, felt there was a more urgent need. “I had to stop what I was doing as an activist,” she says, “and help the internal displaced people. They needed help.” But Syria became more dangerous by the day. Some of Shaheen’s friends were arrested, tortured and even killed. Shaheen had her own encounter with authority. She was stopped as she was delivering medical supplies from Damascus to Homs.