Health Workers

The ICRC deplores outright the casualties and the damage caused at the Palestine Red Crescent branch in Jabaliya, northern Gaza on 9 July when a dozen staff and volunteers were wounded and three ambulances destroyed. “The human impact of this vicious circle of armed violence is worsening by the hour,” said Jacques de Maio, head of the ICRC delegation in Israel and the occupied territories. “Civilians must be protected. In all cases, ambulances, hospitals and medical workers must be ensured the conditions of safety they require to carry out their vital work.”

To further add to the destruction and chaos of conflict, the past few years have brought mounting concern over the deliberate attacks on health care facilities and health workers, perpetrated to cause maximum damage to the health of populations.

Over the past few years, the frequency and severity of attacks on health workers, patients, hospitals, and clinics throughout the world have increased. Last month the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition and Human Rights Watch released a report that describes recent examples of attacks on health in order to raise attention to this issue among the global health community, the human rights community, and those responsible for the attacks.

Teams of women ‘vaccinators’ in Pakistan struggle to achieve full coverage in a country wracked by ideological violence. Their commitment is unfailing even as they face attacks from the Taliban, as well as fearful communities that don't trust the source of the vaccines. Determined and patient, these women go from door to door to try and get all the children protected.

When the gunshots started in Lanyi town last December, Wilma Avowa was grinding corn in preparation for dinner. She grabbed a few clothes and some food, and packed them in her bag. As she fled her home in this rural community five hours from South Sudan’s capital of Juba, she feared for her two pregnant neighbors, both of whom were due to deliver soon.