The targeting of healthcare structures has become part of the strategy and tactics of modern warfare. From March 2015 to November 2024, over 7.6 thousand attacks against healthcare were registered around the world. According to the World Health Organization, attacks on healthcare relate to any act of verbal, physical, or threat of violence, or obstruction that interferes with the availability, access, and delivery of curative and/or preventive health services during emergencies.
Where are attacks on healthcare happening?
According to the surveillance system for attacks on health care (SSA), the highest
annual number of attacks against healthcare across the globe was recorded in 2022. This was the year the still ongoing
Russia-Ukraine war began, and 1,367 of a total of 1,776 global attacks that year were recorded in Ukraine alone. Still, according to the
number of reported attacks against healthcare per country or territory, most attacks on healthcare took place in the occupied Palestinian territories. The recent
Israel-Hamas war having increased attacks in this area again.
What is the most common type of attack?
The nature and type of attacks vary across contexts and can range from violence with heavy weapons to psychological threats or intimidation. These attacks target healthcare availability, access, and delivery. During this period, according to the
common type of impact against healthcare, most of these attacks impacted healthcare personnel and facilities. Medical transport, and supply stores were also targeted. As of November 2024, most of these attacks were classed as involving heavy weapons or individual weapons, while the third
most registered type of attack on healthcare was obstruction.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
