WHO calls for the protection of health workers working in hazardous regions
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Médecins Sans Frontières was created specifically to provide medical care to citizens who have suffered from armed conflicts or natural disasters. But the doctor's work is dangerous and every day the lives of people who want to help their neighbors are endangered, for example, at least 14 people were killed by a missile attack and about 40 medical workers were injured in a hospital in Kunduz (Afghanistan).
In the south of Yemen, a few months after the air strike, 9 people died, including 2 employees of the organization "Doctors Without Borders".
Since 2012, in Syria, more than half of the institutions where medical assistance has been provided have been destroyed, and most physicians and paramedics either died or were forced to leave the dangerous region.
Today, starting from Ukraine and ending with Afghanistan, health workers are in danger, only over the past year from fighting clashes killed more than 600 health workers, about a thousand were injured.
Undoubtedly, the war and death that it carries with it is a tragedy, but the loss of medical personnel, hospitals leads to a decrease in the possibilities of helping ordinary people who find themselves in difficult conditions.
The head of the health workforce of the WHO said that the protection of medical personnel should become the main task of the international community, since there will be no people, there will be no medical assistance.
All attacks on health workers were not recorded using the standard method, so WHO developed a new system for collecting information, which is now being tested in the African Republic, Syria, Gaza. WHO plans to use the new system in all regions where health workers are at risk, as early as next year.
It should be noted that the purpose of the new project is not only the collection of data. According to experts, information obtained in this way will help prevent attacks on health workers and hospitals, as well as reduce the consequences of such attacks.
The looting, bombing of medical institutions, an attack on health workers impedes the provision of necessary assistance to the victims.
Since 2012, more than 30 people have died in Pakistan, helping to eradicate the outbreak of polio. Reduce the number of tragic cases was possible after it was decided to reduce the number of days spent by the company, in addition, the vaccinators were sent to a different, safer time. An analysis of the work in Pakistan showed how not only to facilitate, but also to secure the work of doctors.
But not only military conflicts pose a threat to the lives of health workers, for example, during the Ebola epidemic, panic and suspicion led to the killing of eight health workers who informed the population about the threat. In addition, more than 400 doctors and nurses during the treatment were infected with a deadly virus.
WHO plans to publish the first large-scale report on attacks on health workers and hospitals next year.
In December last year, the UN agreed to collect data on attacks on medical personnel, as well as to activate efforts to ensure the safety of doctors and nurses. WHO specialists also developed a plan to provide assistance to countries that are in a state of permanent emergencies.