The eyes of a mother who has suffered the loss of a child can destroy the soul of anyone who gazes upon them. More souls become casualties of war than physical bodies.
Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
Medicine, in its entirety, is a one of the most noble, worthy and charitable professions. It is very close to human beings’ existence in alleviating pain and curing disease. Even in the worst conditions, in conflict stricken areas, healthcare workers continue to save lives. This was translated as a fundamental principle of the International Humanitarian Law to protect healthcare workers and health facilities in conflict zones.
Over the years conflicted parties have swapped locations of health care workers and facilities and agreed to keep them secure during conflict. Unfortunately it is not always possible to do so and targeting healthcare workers has been documented in many situations.
By its very nature, armed conflict is a dirty business and a risky place to be yet there are selfless people who put their lives at risk in the front line saving others’ lives. This is the ultimate generosity and beyond description. To target them is a war crime to say the least.
The consequences of such attacks are significant. Even one attack on a healthcare worker is too many! Each loss of life of a healthcare worker or healthcare facility is not just the loss of a life, which in itself is momentous. It is also the loss of many years of investment, the loss of a community’s social asset, the loss of a body of knowledge, the rupturing of the arterial mesh work of society, the very pulse of humanity and the theft and destruction of something sacred.
To statisticians, the sad story of the 21 year old nurse who was recently killed by the Israeli army while on duty saving lives is yet another number but can we make her life count?
This statistic is part of an increasingly worrying trend: the indiscriminate killing of healthcare workers and targeting of healthcare facilities in areas of conflict.
Razan An-Najjar was a 21-year-old female volunteering as a first responder, while carrying out her humanitarian duties with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS). Her death has once again questioned the sanctity of human life, the right to healthcare and the poorly observed International Humanitarian Law that assure this safety.
The WHO uses the Surveillance System of Attacks on Healthcare (SSA), a global standardized and systemic approach to collecting data of attacks on health care facilities and workers. In the first quarter of this year (2018) alone there have been 149 attacks on healthcare workers, 221 deaths and 261 injuries across 13 countries and territories. This is a huge underestimate of the scale of loss due to global violence.
All casualties of war are avoidable. Razan was a civilian, was unarmed, wearing her white paramedic coat and tending to the injured when she was shot in the back. What protection do healthcare workers get, what international or national laws governing their safety and amnesty can we hold people, ideologies, states and countries to account against?
When will the international community wake up and enforce stricter penalties for those who infringe the law, what will it take to regain humanity? If the white dove is a symbol of peace and the white flag is used as an international symbol of surrender or being unarmed then why can’t we make the white coat a symbol of #NotATarget? Healthcare professionals all around the world should raise this issue with their governing bodies, with their governments, with the public, at each World Humanitarian Day and at every opportunity.
We reiterate the British Medical Association’s demand to respect medical neutrality and call upon adversaries to secure the safety of healthcare workers and health facilities in the affected areas. Further considering the significant number of British healthcare workers who volunteer to work in conflict zones it is prudent as healthcare workers we highlight these issues and raise our concerns to ensure their safety is maintained whilst on duty.
“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
Ernest Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway: A Literary
Written by Dr Samia Latif, Consultant Communicable Disease Control and member of FPH’s Global Violence Prevention Special Interest Group (SIG), and Dr Bayad Nozad, co-chair of FPH’s Global Violence Prevention SIG.
Better Health For All 
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