March 13, 2022
IFHHRO | Medical Human Rights Network is deeply concerned about the war in Ukraine, and the brutal attacks by Russian military forces. The World Health Organization has confirmed several attacks on healthcare centres in Ukraine and is investigating other, the agency’s chief said on Sunday. The attacks caused multiple deaths and injuries, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added in a Twitter message. “Attacks on healthcare facilities or workers breach medical neutrality and are violations of international humanitarian law,” he said. (Source: Reuters).
The gruesome reality of attacks on healthcare facilities fits in a long history of violations of the Geneva Conventions. Former PHR Director and IFHHRO Advisor Len Rubenstein recently conducted an extensive study on this topic, published in the book: Perilous Medicine, The Struggle to Protect Health Care from the Violence of War. Adriaan van Es, our Secretary, wrote a review about this important book for the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, which appeared today.