Attacks on health care reach record levels worldwide, report says
Credit: Copyright: ©WHO/Nicolò Filippo Rosso
Attacks on health care facilities and workers reached unprecedented levels in 2025, with a sharp rise in violence involving state actors across borders, according to a report by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition.
The coalition documented 2,546 attacks on health care in 33 countries last year. At least 790 health facilities were damaged or destroyed, while 455 health workers were killed, 218 kidnapped and 263 arrested.
The report said violence involving state actors was recorded in 26 countries and territories, nine more than the previous year. More than 80% of those incidents involved state military forces attacking health care services outside their own territories.
Most of the cross-border incidents were attributed to Israeli military operations in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as Russian military operations in Ukraine.
The report said the violence reflects a broader deterioration in the protection of civilian health systems during conflicts.
A 10-year analysis by Insecurity Insight found more than 17,500 attacks on health care between 2016 and 2025. More than 3,860 health workers were killed during that period, with local medical staff accounting for more than 65% of the fatalities.
The report also warned that the growing use of explosive weapons and armed drones has increased the risk to hospitals, clinics, ambulances and other civilian health infrastructure.
Recent incidents recorded between July 22 and Aug. 4, 2026, show that health services continue to face serious threats in conflict zones and areas affected by political and criminal violence.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 35 attacks have affected the response to a localized Ebola outbreak since May. Medical workers in Bunia went on strike over months of unpaid wages, disrupting patient care. In Butembo, misinformation contributed to the burning of two medical facilities, while an ambulance carrying an Ebola patient was attacked with stones in Beni.
In Ukraine, Russian aerial bombardment and shelling continued to damage health facilities. On Aug. 4, aerial bombs struck the Zaporizhzhia Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital, damaging its facade and shattering windows. In Kherson region, an ambulance driver was killed after the vehicle struck a landmine.
In Lebanon, Israeli forces destroyed a social affairs center in Bint Jbeil on July 25 that housed a medical clinic and nursery, according to the report.
In Yemen, restrictions imposed by Houthi authorities disrupted the transportation and distribution of childhood vaccines in areas under their control, affecting the country’s national immunization program.
Violence has also severely affected health services in the Americas. In Colombia, protesters burned a hospital ambulance during unrest in San Vicente del Caguán, while a doctor was killed in his office in Supía.
In Haiti, gang violence and blockades have left only 26% of medical facilities in Port-au-Prince operational, severely restricting ambulance movement between districts.
The coalition warned that attacks on health care are disrupting disease-response efforts and depriving vulnerable populations of essential medical services.
It called for stronger protection of health workers and medical facilities and greater respect for international humanitarian law to ensure health services can continue operating during conflicts and emergencies.
