International WHO: 10,000 attacks on clinics and aid workers in ten years
The United Nations and aid organizations have documented almost 10,000 attacks on healthcare facilities and personnel in just over ten years. The occasion for the assessment is today's 10th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 2286.
03.05.2026, 05:42
SDA
With this resolution, the international community committed itself to protecting medical and humanitarian personnel as well as their infrastructure, means of transportation and equipment.
"States have failed in their obligation," says Michael Keeffe from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The international president of Doctors Without Borders, Javid Abdelmoneim, has seen a sharp increase in attacks over the past two years. "What was once considered an exception has now become the norm."
Around 5200 deaths among healthcare workers
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded and verified almost 10,000 attacks in a database since 2015, as well as around 5,200 deaths of healthcare workers and almost 8,000 injuries in 26 countries and territories. In the first few years, however, the data was still sparse. In any case, the WHO assumes that the true figure is significantly higher because not all countries are able to systematically record cases.
According to the report, there were around 1400 attacks last year. Almost 2,000 people were killed, around twice as many as in the previous year. The organizations make no distinction as to whether a clinic or a paramedic was specifically attacked or whether they were hit as collateral damage during an attack on another target.
What applies in the event of attacks
The obligations arising from the resolution and international law are clear, says ICRC lawyer Supriya Rao: "If a clinic or ambulance is nearby, an attack is only justified in the rarest of cases. If there is reason to believe that an enemy is using a hospital as a hideout, it is also necessary to weigh up how much damage an attack would cause to bystanders.
According to the ICRC, there is an increasing lack of political will to comply with the obligations. Time and again, attacks are justified on the grounds that healthcare staff "support the enemy", says Keeffe. However, people who help the wounded should always be protected, regardless of which side of a conflict they may be on.
Who is responsible for attacks
"What is particularly alarming is that states themselves are increasingly responsible for this violence," says MSF. According to ICRC figures, around 85 percent of attacks are not carried out by rebel groups, but by state armies.
The ICRC calls on states with influence on conflict parties to urge them to comply with international humanitarian law and Resolution 2286. Neither the ICRC nor MSF are naming individual countries.
