Humanitarian

Vaccinators Refuse to Join Polio Campaign in Pakistan

Friday, January 10, 2014
Health workers in part of a troubled Pakistani tribal region Friday refused to participate in a polio vaccination campaign because of security threats, officials said. The three-day campaign in the Khyber tribal district is due to start on Saturday, almost three weeks after gunmen shot dead a worker while he was administering polio drops and vaccines to children in the town of Jamrud. Efforts to stamp out the crippling disease in Pakistan have been seriously hampered by militant attacks on health workers inoculating children.

With Violence Gripping Central African Republic, International Medical Corps Team Remains on the Ground and Prepares for Rising Humanitarian Needs

Monday, December 9, 2013
Government and armed rebel forces in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital of Bangui have continued to engage in conflict since December 5, with civilians caught in the crossfire—nearly 400 have been killed since Thursday. Having operated in CAR since 2007, International Medical Corps’ local teams are monitoring ongoing developments and are responding to the escalating humanitarian crisis by delivering vital health care services.

UN Humanitarian Chiefs Strongly Condemn Attacks on Medical Personnel and Facilities by All Parties to the Syria Conflict

Friday, December 6, 2013
Report from the World Health Organization, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and UN Children’s Fund We strongly condemn attacks on health and any other civilian facilities in Syria and are deeply concerned by the serious implications for patients, health personnel and provision of critical medical supplies.

Let Us Treat Patients in Syria

Wednesday, October 2, 2013
The conflict in Syria has led to what is arguably one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises since the end of the Cold War. An estimated 115,000 people have been killed, most of them civilians, and many more have been wounded, tortured, or abused. Millions have been driven from their homes, families have been divided, and entire communities torn apart; we must not let considerations of military intervention destroy our ability to focus on getting them help.

Don't Shoot the Ambulance: Medicine in the Crossfire

Thursday, September 26, 2013
LANKIEN, South Sudan—The wounded started arriving in the evening. A rusted-out pick-up truck dropped off four young men with gunshot wounds, two with life-threatening wounds to the abdomen and the others with leg injuries, at the 100-bed Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) hospital here. Just hours earlier, the hospital’s team and local residents had been playing volleyball as the sun began to set on a 106-degree day.

PHR Documents Unlawful Use of Force and Tear Gas and Attacks on Medical Community in Turkey

Wednesday, September 25, 2013
The Turkish government has engaged in unnecessary and excessive violence, used tear gas as a weapon on a massive scale, and intentionally targeted medical facilities and staff during the June demonstrations, according to a new report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The report discusses how Turkish authorities violated international laws while cracking down on what started as peaceful protests at the end of May over the government’s plan to raze Istanbul’s Gezi Park.

UN: End Impunity for Attacks on Health Workers

Friday, September 20, 2013
The United Nations Human Rights Council should strengthen documentation and accountability for the growing number of attacks on health workers, the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, a group of human rights, health professionals and other nongovernmental groups said today. At a side event of the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, speakers from Turkey, Bahrain, and Pakistan described attacks on healthcare workers for providing care to politically unpopular groups, or because the workers witnessed human rights violations.

Health under Threat in the Central African Republic

Tuesday, September 3, 2013
In the early hours of Sunday, March 24th, 2013, rebels in the Central African Republic seized the capital Bangui, forcing President Bozize to flee the impoverished and embattled country. The attack was the culmination of a four-month rebellion by a coalition movement called Seleka that caused thousands of civilian deaths or injuries, displaced an estimated 40,000, and left an estimated 1.5 million in need of humanitarian assistance.

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