WMA condemns attack on Ukraine children’s hospital and repeats call for healthcare to be safeguarded in conflict zones
Following the missile attack on the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital, in Kyiv, Ukraine, and other recent attacks on healthcare personnel and health facilities in conflict zones, the World Medical Association expresses its support for the victims and their families, and calls upon all parties in conflicts to abide by and uphold international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions to unconditionally safeguard healthcare.
“Hospitals, other health facilities, healthcare personnel, ambulances and patients, whether they are babies, young children, teenagers, new mothers, or of any age, must not be targets,” said Dr. Lujain Alqodmani, President of the World Medical Association. “We demand that all health professionals and facilities in conflict zones are protected and respected in line with international humanitarian law, to ensure that they can continue to provide essential care to those who need it.”
The WMA call echoes the recent World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) Open letter requesting protection in conflicts to which it is a signatory. The WHPA Open Letter expresses unwavering condemnation of the escalating violence targeting healthcare facilities and personnel in various regions worldwide.
It demands that, where there is a conflict, all parties respect international humanitarian law without conditions, especially to “provide active protection of healthcare facilities and personnel, humane treatment for the wounded and sick, and prohibit the misuse of healthcare facilities and vehicles for military purposes.”
Health professionals worldwide are invited to sign the open letter to add their voice to these calls.
The World Health Professions Alliance, which speaks for more than 41 million health professionals worldwide, brings together the global organizations that represent the world’s dentists, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and physicians.