News, blog posts, and event announcements. Other websites are welcome to cross-post this material with attribution and a link to the original.
What's New
11/03/2015
In the last few months, a number of attacks against health workers, medical transports, and facilities have taken place in several countries, like Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen to mention a few. These incidents are taking place in countries with fragile health care systems that are already struggling to treat the numbers of people affected by the ongoing conflicts there. In some cases, the situation is made even worse by the restrictions placed on aid workers, preventing them from getting to the people who need them.
11/02/2015
In the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, more than 1,300 people living with HIV/AIDS are receiving antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, around half of them in the capital, Sana’a. With the outbreak of war in March 2015, ensuring the continuity of the treatment is a critical challenge.
10/30/2015
A Saudi-led coalition airstrike hit a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Yemen, the latest bombing of a civilian target in the seven-month air campaign in the country.
10/30/2015
Syrian American Medical Society says that 679 medics have been killed in Syria’s civil war and is urging the UN Security Council to ensure they are protected.
10/29/2015
On November 2, 2015, the American Public Health Association will hold a session on the challenges of practicing health care in volatile environments, especially during armed conflict and political violence.
10/19/2015
The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition supports MSF's request for the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission to investigate the attack on its hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, that resulted in the deaths of patients and staff. The Commission was created under the Additional Protocols of the Geneva Conventions specifically to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian law and report on findings.
10/17/2015
PESHAWAR: A health worker was assaulted and robbed on Saturday in Shagai Hindkyan village. Lady health visitor Shabana, who is actively engaged in polio vaccination campaigns, was attacked by two unidentified motorcyclists within the jurisdiction of Mathra police station. The assailants threatened to kill the health worker if she did not quit polio vaccinations and fled the scene.
10/09/2015
Violence against health care facilities and health workers is one of the most crucial yet overlooked humanitarian—and global health—issues today. The US military’s bombing of the MSF hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, last weekend illustrates the vulnerability of health care facilities and health workers during armed conflict and the all too common violation of international law. With the recent Post 2015 Agenda introduced in New York in the form of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 associated targets, we must ensure that the safety and protection of health workers are included in the Health Goal : SDG 3.
10/07/2015
U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday apologized to Medecins Sans Frontieres for the deadly bombing of its hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, while the medical charity pressed its demand for an international commission to investigate what it calls a war crime. MSF said that an independent humanitarian commission created under the Geneva Conventions in 1991 should be activated for the first time to handle the inquiry. Three investigations have already begun into Saturday's air strike that killed 22 people, including 12 MSF staff.
10/06/2015
The United Nations Children’s Fund is urging Sudan’s warring parties to give the go-ahead for a life-saving measles vaccination campaign. Thousands of children in hard to reach areas currently are at risk for the disease.