Three of the world’s leading health and humanitarian agencies on Sunday condemned the international community’s failure to protect healthcare workers. This includes hospitals and patients in conflict zones.
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Decade after UN resolution, attacks on health facilities worsen
The World Health Organization (WHO), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) issued a joint statement. They describe the situation as a crisis of humanity and demand immediate political action.
The agencies marked ten years since the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2286. The resolution condemns attacks on medical facilities, personnel, and patients.
Despite the resolution, the groups declared that the situation is even worse a decade later.
“As violence affecting medical facilities, transport, and personnel continues unabated, the harm this resolution sought to prevent has not diminished. It has continued and, in many contexts, intensified,” the statement read.
Failure to protect healthcare workers signals breakdown of war rules, agencies warn
The three organisations noted they were joining others in the international community in issuing an urgent call for action.
They further warned that when health care is no longer safe, it is often the clearest warning sign that the rules and norms intended to limit the harm of war are breaking down.
“When hospitals come under attack, we face not only a humanitarian crisis, but a crisis of humanity. States and all parties to armed conflict must comply with the rules protecting health care,” the organizations stressed.
The statement urges world leaders to act and show the needed political leadership to end this violence. Adding that health care must never be a casualty of war.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has advanced a motion to combat home healthcare fraud. They urge state and federal governments to strengthen oversight and enforcement.