Humanitarian Action and Healthcare Under Fire
In 2000, there were just over 40 significant attacks on aid workers recorded across the globe. By 2014, that number had risen to 190. In just 15 years, over 3000 aid workers have been killed, injured or kidnapped. Since 2015 alone, over 100 medical facilities belonging to or supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have been bombed. Looking only at the conflict in Yemen, more than 70 health facilities have been destroyed by a series of airstrikes. These numbers are frightening and should be a cause for concern, not only because they are increasing, but because they are part of an increasing trend in attacks on healthcare facilities and humanitarian aid activities in some of the most conflict affected areas in the world. The vast majority of attacks were in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Sudan, all countries which are currently affected by long running conflicts. Lately the barrage of attacks not only on humanitarian actors but also on healthcare facilities has been brought ...
