Red Cross

International Red Cross Movement strongly condemns killing of Red Cross volunteers

Wednesday, August 9, 2017
The six Red Cross volunteers were taking part in a crisis meeting at a health facility in the south east of the Central African Republic on August 3, 2017. The exact circumstances are not yet clear; however, reports indicate that civilians and medical staff may also have been killed.

Nepal: Injured People and Medical Transports Must be Protected in All Circumstances

Sunday, September 13, 2015
The Red Cross in Nepal expresses its deep concern at increased incidents of vandalization of ambulances. On 11 September 2015 in Sonukhada of Mahottari district, an injured person in need of urgent medical care was taken out from the ambulance and killed; the ambulance was then torched.

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.

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.

Health Care and Violence: The Need for Effective Protection

Thursday, September 25, 2014
Violence against health-care workers and facilities, medical vehicles and patients during armed conflict and other emergencies is one of the most serious challenges of humanitarian concern in the world today. Violent acts, which limit access to health-care services for those most in need and disrupt health-care systems, have severe immediate and long-term consequences. Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has highlighted the alarming scale of the problem.

South Sudan: Health Services Struggle to Meet Needs

Thursday, September 4, 2014
Since last December, health services in the country have been overstretched. "The lack of security has caused many health workers to flee. There have also been reports of health workers being attacked or killed," said Kerry Page, an ICRC health programme coordinator in South Sudan. "In addition, several care facilities have been damaged or looted, and since it's extremely difficult to bring in medical supplies to the places that need them most, the basic health needs of many people simply cannot be met."

Israeli Soldiers Accused of Allegedly Attacking Health Workers in Gaza Strip

Monday, July 21, 2014
OSLO (Xinhua) – Sven Mollekleiv, president of the Norwegian Red Cross, accused Israeli soldiers on Monday of allegedly attacking health workers in the Gaza Strip and preventing the latter from retrieving the wounded and dead. “Our sister organization – the Palestine Red Crescent Society – stated that their health care teams were directly attacked by Israeli forces,” Mollekleiv told the Norwegian news agency NTB.

Red Cross and EU Conduct Public Campaign on Safer Access to Health Care

Wednesday, December 4, 2013
The European Union, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and seven national Red Cross societies are carrying out an outdoor campaign between 1 and 22 December to mobilize public opinion on the need to respect health-care providers and facilities in armed-conflict situations. A series of posters illustrating the idea that it is possible to give the wounded and the sick timely access to health care, even in the midst of violence, is on display in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, London, Madrid, Paris and Warsaw.