An attack on healthcare every six hours, and no one held to account

Across the world, healthcare has suffered more than 10,000 attacks in the past eight years, including during the brutal conflict in Ukraine and efforts to contain the current Ebola outbreak spreading rapidly in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). That information comes from the World Health Organization (WHO) which on Friday reiterated that the critical sector must not be targeted. The UN agency maintains a surveillance system for attacks on healthcare, which includes hospitals and other facilities, personnel and patients, ambulances and other transport, as well as warehouses and supplies. Since 2018, more than 10,400 attacks have been reported across 29 countries and territories, resulting in approximately 5,700 deaths and over 8,000 injuries. To date, no one has been held accountable. Death, destruction and psychological violenceBetween January and August of this year alone, WHO recorded more than 900 attacks resulting in at least 900 deaths and more than 1,400 injuries – a rate of more than four attacks a day. Most incidents occurred in Ukraine, Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territory, but other locations include Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, the DRC, South Sudan,...