Health Systems

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.

Lessons in Post-Conflict Recovery: Developing a Health Workforce in Afghanistan and South Sudan

Friday, February 27, 2015
The key element of any health system is the people who run it. Nowhere is this more true than in countries in the midst of, or recovering from, conflict. Indirect or direct threats faced by health workers exacerbate a population’s challenges in seeking and receiving health care. In conflict settings, health workers may be forced to flee to safe havens as refugees, internally displaced people, or leave the country as migrants—if they have the means to do so.

In the DRC, Maternity too Often Means Mortality

Monday, February 9, 2015
Routine violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has severely weakened the health system. Clinics are in disarray and many medical workers have left or refuse to work in hot zones. Pregnant women are one of the vulnerable groups swept up in the tumult, and the country has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world.

'They Told Me They Were Going to Melt Me in Acid If I Continue the Work I Was Doing'

Friday, January 16, 2015
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.

Egypt: Experts gather to tackle violence against health–care workers and facilities

Thursday, December 18, 2014
Cairo (ICRC) – Today, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Egyptian Red Crescent, in cooperation with Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population, held a conference for around 100 practitioners, experts and government officials to raise awareness of the serious implications of violence against health-care workers and facilities and to promote respect and protection for health services working in conflict or other emergency situations.

Dispatches: Taking Care of the Caregivers

Wednesday, December 17, 2014
In early December, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution on “global health and foreign policy.” As the title suggests, it was a bit of a grab bag, covering issues such as vaccines, strengthening health systems, and Ebola. But the resolution also included the General Assembly’s strongest statement yet on the issue of attacks on health workers, facilities, and patients, and called on governments to act to ensure health workers and patients are safe and facilities protected from attack.

Fixing Broken Health Systems in the Aftermath of Conflict

Thursday, November 20, 2014
Alongside the host of human tragedies, conflicts challenge efforts to ensure health, security and access to basic health care for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations. Such populations are disproportionately represented in conflict-affected regions: chronic conflict causes chronic poverty and poverty causes conflict.

Helping Children, Despite Death Threats: A Vaccinator Explains

Sunday, August 3, 2014
Being a front-line health worker usually isn't controversial. But in Pakistan, it can get you killed. The Taliban went on an offensive against polio immunization in 2012 after it became clear that the CIA used a fake hepatitis vaccination campaign to gather intelligence on Osama bin Laden. Since then, more than 60 polio workers have been gunned down.

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