Health professionals are delivering emergency medical care in ever-increasing numbers of conflict areas around the world, putting their lives at risk while they provide care to others. Tragically many have been injured or killed. Today there are over 180 armed conflicts in the world today, more than twice as many as in 2010—and the trend is rising alarmingly. The WHPA is issuing an Open Letter calling for health facilities and personnel to be protected in accordance with international law.
Sign the Open Letter here
The letter provides a sharp reminder that safeguarding healthcare facilities and personnel from any harm is a legal obligation enshrined in international humanitarian law, such as the Geneva Conventions. Parties are legally obliged to ensure civilians' access to vital necessities including health care, to provide humane treatment for the wounded and sick, and the misuse of healthcare facilities and vehicles for military purposes is prohibited. Healthcare facilities, ambulances, and health professionals must never be targeted.
Access to health is a human right and any attack on health professionals and the patients they serve is abhorrent and unacceptable. This is an ongoing concern of WHPA, whether in the context of members’ engagement with the Health Care in Danger (HCID) project, or its advocacy against violence in health settings during emergencies, including the increased aggression towards health professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic, as documented in the WHPA-WHO report on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In its Open Letter, the WHPA calls on all parties involved in conflicts to unconditionally uphold all aspects of humanitarian law.
Sign your name today to show your support.
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Download the Press Release.