Under international humanitarian law, all parties to a conflict must protect health workers, medical facilities, transport and supplies. Yet the year 2024 has been marked by incredible tragedies for the medical profession, with healthcare professionals killed in conflicts across the world.
As the year comes to a close, we remember those caregivers who lost their lives while working to save others. When a healthcare worker is killed, their community loses not only a caregiver, but also all the years of care they could have provided. This loss is immeasurable.
To those who knew them not as a doctor, nurse, ambulance driver or vaccinator, but as a child, partner, parent or friend, we send our most sincere thoughts. We honor the memory of your deceased loved ones by supporting healthcare heroes who continue their life-saving mission.
Gaza
On December 4, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) announced that Alaa Al-Derawi, a member of the emergency medical team of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS ), had been fatally shot in Gaza after transporting patients for treatment, while returning to his base.
“Under international humanitarian law, hospitals, ambulances, healthcare workers and their patients must be respected and protected in all circumstances,” the IFRC said in a statement. “Any attack on caregivers, ambulances and medical facilities is unacceptable. »
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that on December 12, Dr. Saeed Judeh, the last orthopedist in North Gaza, was killed while traveling from Kamal Adwan Hospital to the Al Awda hospital to treat patients. A nurse was also killed on her way to Kamal Adwan Hospital, which OCHA and media reports say has been and remains under attack.
These deaths represent only part of the 1,057 health workers killed since October 2023 in the Gaza Strip, where human rights organizations have documented the detention of more than 250 health workers, as well as abuse and torture. in detention, while health infrastructure was destroyed. As of December 4, the WHO had recorded 591 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, including 23 since November 20.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, attacks against health professionals, particularly polio vaccinators, continue. In September, the newspaper Dawn reported that 17 caregivers had already lost their lives this year in the country. On October 29 and November 1, attacks on polio vaccination teams left eight people dead, including five children. In December, President Asif Zardari denounced those responsible as “enemies of the country’s future” after an attack on a vaccination team in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.
Sudan
On July 29, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 22 attacks on healthcare in Sudan over the previous eight weeks, for a total of 88 attacks since April 2023. “Attacks on healthcare are deplorable and constitute a violation of international humanitarian law. Access to healthcare is already severely limited in Sudan due to the war which has lasted for more than a year. »
In September, the WHO announced that the number of attacks on health care in Sudan had reached 108. “Under international humanitarian law, medical facilities and health care providers enjoy special protection in times of conflict, in order to ensure the provision of vital care to the civilian population and to protect health infrastructure essential to the survival of communities. »
On December 20, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report detailing attacks on three health facilities in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. These attacks affected:
- The last public hospital capable of performing surgeries and providing sexual and reproductive health services;
- A medical center where 23 people were killed and 60 injured in August;
- A hospital where 2 people were killed and 14 injured in May.
Ukraine
On August 19, World Humanitarian Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 1,940 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine – the highest number ever recorded by the WHO in a global humanitarian emergency to date.
In October, a report from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) indicated, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, that since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022:
- More than 100 health workers have been killed;
- 1,877 health facilities and 876 pharmacies were destroyed or damaged;
- 20% of the country’s ambulances suffered damage.
Lebanon
Meanwhile, on November 22, a WHO press release revealed that the Health Care Attack Monitoring System (HCAS), an independent global monitoring mechanism established by WHO in 2017, found that proportionally, more caregivers and patients had been killed in Lebanon than in Gaza and Ukraine.
“In comparison, the global average is 13.3%, according to SSA data from 13 countries or territories that reported attacks over the same period, from October 7, 2023 to November 18, 2024 – among them, Ukraine, Sudan and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). In the case of OPT, 9.6% of the total number of incidents resulted in the death of at least one healthcare professional or patient. »
