Health Care In Danger is a campaign organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross that highlights violent attacks on patients, healthcare workers, and healthcare facilities in conflict zones. [1] [2]
The campaign was launched in 2011 with the publication of a report detailing attacks on healthcare facilities and workers and analyzing the health impacts for communities as healthcare workers flee.
Global appreciation about the neutral and impartial role that humanitarian aid organizations take in situations of armed conflict diminished in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. [2]
The International Committee of the Red Cross launched the Health Care In Danger campaign in 2011 with the publication of a report detailing 655 [3] attacks on healthcare facilities in sixteen countries, noting them as breaches of the Geneva Conventions. [4]
The report explained how attacks on healthcare facilities and healthcare workers in conflict zones reduced the ability of humanitarian aid organizations to deliver humanitarian health services to people with healthcare needs. [3] [4] The report included the slogan "Violence against health care must end". [4]
The campaign aimed to improve the delivery of healthcare in conflict zones and other contexts, [5] and to improve protections afforded to health care staff, facilities, and patients, during conflict and other emergencies. [2] It cites examples including how one attack in Somalia prevented 150,000 medical consultations per year, and calculated that the consequences of violence against healthcare workers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo results in excess mortality of 40,000 people per month. [3] Other examples include the killing of 628 healthcare workers in Iraq and the fleeing of 18,000 doctors in the aftermath of the US-led invasion in 2003. [3]
The report documented that 33% of the attacks were undertaken by armed forces of sovereign states and 36.9% of attacks were done by non-state armed groups. [3] NGOs were the target of 34.5% of attacks, 25.6% of targets were locally run healthcare facilities, and 16.8% of targets were part of the Red Cross movement. [3]
The campaign includes workshops between the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Canadian Red Cross, the Iranian Red Crescent, the Norwegian Red Cross, organized to collect ideas to improve the safety and protection of healthcare workers, facilities and patients. [2]
The Health Care In Danger campaign leadership reported to The Lancet in 2020 that there were 611 attacks on healthcare workers and facilities in between 1 February 2020 and 31 July 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. [6] 67% of the 611 incidents were physical attacks on healthcare staff. [6]
Since the 2011 launch of the campaign, which was the first of its kind, other organizations have launched similar campaigns. [7] Médecins Sans Frontières run a comparable campaign called Medical Care Under Fire and Physicians for Human Rights document attacks on medical doctors and health facilities during the Syrian civil war. [6] Humanitarian Outcomes compile the Aid Worker Security Database, which documents attacks on humanitarian workers. [6]
Médecins Sans Frontières, named Doctors Without Borders in English, is a charity that provides humanitarian medical care. It is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. The organisation provides care for diabetes, drug-resistant infections, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, tropical and neglected diseases, tuberculosis, vaccines and COVID-19. In 2019, the charity was active in 70 countries with over 35,000 personnel; mostly local doctors, nurses and other medical professionals, logistical experts, water and sanitation engineers, and administrators. Private donors provide about 90% of the organisation's funding, while corporate donations provide the rest, giving MSF an annual budget of approximately US$1.63 billion.
In medicine, triage is a process by which care providers such as medical professionals and those with first aid knowledge determine the order of priority for providing treatment to injured individuals and/or inform the rationing of limited supplies so that they go to those who can most benefit from it. Triage is usually relied upon when there are more injured individuals than available care providers, or when there are more injured individuals than supplies to treat them.
Humanitarian aid workers belonging to United Nations organisations, PVOs / NGOs or the Red Cross / Red Crescent are among the list of protected persons under international humanitarian law that grant them immunity from attack by belligerent parties. However, attacks on humanitarian workers have occasionally occurred, and become more frequent since the 1990s and 2000s. In 2017, the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) documented 139 humanitarian workers killed in intentional attacks out of the estimated global population of 569,700 workers. In every year since 2013, more than 100 humanitarian workers were killed. This is attributed to a number of factors, including the increasing number of humanitarian workers deployed, the increasingly unstable environments in which they work, and the erosion of the perception of neutrality and independence. In 2012 road travel was seen to be the most dangerous context, with kidnappings of aid workers quadrupling in the last decade, reaching more aid workers victims than any other form of attack.
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Humanitarian relief efforts are provided for humanitarian purposes and include natural disasters and human-made disasters. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It may, therefore, be distinguished from development aid, which seeks to address the underlying socioeconomic factors which may have led to a crisis or emergency. There is a debate on linking humanitarian aid and development efforts, which was reinforced by the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. However, the conflation is viewed critically by practitioners.
A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care provider.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a US-based not-for-profit human rights NGO that uses medicine and science to document and advocate against mass atrocities and severe human rights violations around the world. PHR headquarters are in New York City, with offices in Boston, Washington, D.C., as well as Nairobi. It was established in 1986 to use the unique skills and credibility of health professionals to advocate for persecuted health workers, prevent torture, document mass atrocities, and hold those who violate human rights accountable.
Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin) is a former British international non-governmental health charity which sends medical experts to global emergencies. In July 2013, Merlin merged with Save the Children.
A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician, physician assistant, registered dietitian, veterinarian, veterinary technician, optometrist, pharmacist, pharmacy technician, medical assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist, dentist, midwife, psychologist, audiologist, healthcare scientist, or who perform services in allied health professions. Experts in public health and community health are also health professionals.
The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. It may mean:
The emerging field of conflict epidemiology offers a more accurate method to measure deaths caused during violent conflicts or wars that can generate more reliable numbers than before to guide decision-makers.
Workplace safety in healthcare settings is similar to the workplace safety concerns in most occupations, but there are some unique risk factors, such as chemical exposures, and the distribution of injuries is somewhat different from the average of all occupations. Injuries to workers in healthcare settings usually involve overexertion or falling, such as strained muscles from lifting a patient or slipping on a wet floor. There is a higher than average risk of violence from other people, and a lower than average risk of transportation-related injuries.
Medical neutrality refers to a principle of noninterference with medical services in times of armed conflict and civil unrest: physicians must be allowed to care for the sick and wounded, and soldiers must receive care regardless of their political affiliations; all parties must refrain from attacking and misusing medical facilities, transport, and personnel. Concepts comprising the principles of medical neutrality derive from international human rights law, medical ethics and humanitarian law. Medical neutrality may be thought of as a kind of social contract that obligates societies to protect medical personnel in both times of war and peace, and obligates medical personnel to treat all individuals regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or political affiliation. Violations of medical neutrality constitute crimes outlined in the Geneva Conventions.
Choosing Wisely is a United States-based health educational campaign, led by the ABIM Foundation, about unnecessary health care.
Syrian American Medical Society is a non-profit, non-political, professional organization representing thousands of Syrian-American medical professionals in the United States that provides humanitarian assistance to Syrians in need. Since the Syrian Conflict began, SAMS has supported field hospitals, clinics, and surgical centers in Syria while assisting Syrian doctors, nurses, and health workers by paying salaries and providing training.
Abuse during childbirth is generally defined as interactions or conditions deemed humiliating or undignified by local consensus and interactions or conditions experienced as or intended to be humiliating or undignifying. Bowser and Hill's 2010 landscape analysis defined seven categories of abusive or disrespectful care, including physical abuse, non-consented clinical care, non-confidential care, non-dignified care, discrimination, abandonment, and detention in health facilities.
The Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) is a project of the international research group Humanitarian Outcomes. Funded by USAID, it records major incidents, from 1997 to present, of attacks on humanitarian workers worldwide. As cited in the New York Times, "it is widely regarded as an authoritative reference for aid organisations and governments in assessing trends in security threats." Since its inception in 2005 as the first fully comprehensive compilation of this data, the AWSD has been a source of quantitative evidence on matters related to the security of humanitarian operations in conflict, referenced in policy debates and cited in official United Nations statements, United Nations General Assembly resolutions, United Nations Security Council documents, and reports of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted hospitals around the world. Many hospitals have scaled back or postponed non-emergency care. This has medical consequences for the people served by the hospitals, and it has financial consequences for the hospitals. Health and social systems across the globe are struggling to cope. The situation is especially challenging in humanitarian, fragile and low-income country contexts, where health and social systems are already weak. Health facilities in many places are closing or limiting services. Services to provide sexual and reproductive health care risk being sidelined, which will lead to higher maternal mortality and morbidity. The pandemic also resulted in the imposition of COVID-19 vaccine mandates in places such as California and New York for all public workers, including hospital staff.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted healthcare workers physically and psychologically. Healthcare workers are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection than the general population due to frequent contact with infected individuals. Healthcare workers have been required to work under stressful conditions without proper protective equipment, and make difficult decisions involving ethical implications. Health and social systems across the globe are struggling to cope. The situation is especially challenging in humanitarian, fragile and low-income country contexts, where health and social systems are already weak. Services to provide sexual and reproductive health care risk being sidelined, which will lead to higher maternal mortality and morbidity.
Global Humanitarian Overview is an annual report published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
A significant number of attacks on healthcare facilities occurred during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war. During the first week of the war, there were 94 attacks on health care facilities in Israel and Gaza, killing 29 health care workers and injuring 24. The attacks on healthcare facilities contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. By 30 November, the World Health Organization documented 427 attacks on healthcare in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, resulting in 566 fatalities and 758 injuries.
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