06/05/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/05/2025 15:07
Mr Secretary-General, dear colleagues and friends,
Good evening from Geneva, and thank you for the opportunity to address you on this very important topic.
It is now nine years since the Security Council adopted resolution 2286, demanding that all parties to armed conflict comply fully with their obligations under international law.
At the time it was a landmark, and raised hopes the tide would turn.
Instead, since then, attacks on health care have become the "new normal" of conflict.
Since 2018, when WHO started monitoring attacks on health care, we have documented more than 8500 attacks in 22 countries or territories, with more than 3800 deaths and 6200 injuries of health workers and patients.
Over the past three years we have seen an increase in the frequency, scale and impact of attacks on health care.
Since the conflict began in Gaza, WHO has documented 720 attacks on health care, with 917 people killed, and 1406 injured.
Combined with the aid blockade, these attacks have left only 63 out of 156 primary health-care centres, and only 20 of 36 hospitals functioning even partially.
In Ukraine, WHO has documented 212 attacks so far this year, and five in Russia, killing 5 and injuring 57 health workers and patients.
And in Sudan, in May alone six attacks led to 313 deaths and 74 injuries.
WHO's Health Cluster Coordinator for Sudan, Mr Fawad Khan, will provide more information later in this session.
These attacks take many forms, from bombing hospitals to intimidating health workers, to blocking medical access.
They can be the result of collateral damage, or health care can be targeted as part of a strategy to undermine social systems.
Sometimes health care is attacked by civilians due to fear, misinformation or misunderstanding of disease outbreaks.
These attacks kill and maim;
They deprive vulnerable people of the health services they need, when they need them most;
They destroy hospitals, clinics, ambulances;
And they undermine something less tangible, but more fundamental: hope.
And sometimes, that's the point: to demoralize, degrade and dehumanize.
A WHO study in Cameroon also highlighted the long-term mental health impact of these attacks, leading to increased absenteeism and inability to work among health workers, even 6 months after an attack.
WHO has documented good practices for preventing and protecting against attacks.
For example, in northeast Nigeria, following years of conflict, health facilities struggled to function and the provision of local health services was disrupted.
Health teams found that involving communities in their health operations led to increased ownership of health services by the communities, and fewer attacks.
Examples like these show what can be done to better protect health care.
Attacks on health care are a violation of the right to health, and a violation of international law, that can amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
And yet, these attacks happen with increasing frequency, and no accountability.
What is the point of international law, and resolution 2286, if they are routinely ignored?
We need for a more systemic and collective approach to understanding, preventing, and addressing this issue.
We need to move the discussion beyond what we already know and what we have discussed countless times in the past.
Last year, WHO and partners published a report with recommendations on strengthening accountability for those who perpetrate these unspeakable attacks.
Today is a good opportunity to explore how to engage all actors with their respective mandates to take coordinated action to stop attacks on health care.
Ultimately, the best way to stop attacks on health care is to stop the conflicts in which they happen.
When the conflicts in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine stop, so will the attacks on health care.
The best medicine is peace.
I thank you.