10 years after UN resolution, protection must be led by action
May 3 will mark 10 years since the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2286. Over 80 member states committed to protect medical and medical humanitarian personnel, infrastructure, transport and equipment. Today, international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls on states to respect this commitment and protect medical care.
MSF has teams working in over 70 countries around the world, including in Palestine, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar, as well as other areas of conflict and war. In the last decade, 21 MSF staff have been killed in 15 incidents whilst undertaking their duties. In 2025 alone, the World Health Organization’s Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care reported a total of 1,348 attacks on medical facilities, resulting in the deaths of 1,981 people.
“We see a blatant disregard for the protection of the medical mission in countries at war. States who committed to protecting medical care back in 2016 must stop hiding behind excuses and finger-pointing, and act.”
Javid Abdelmoneim, physician and MSF international president
Over the last 10 years attacks on healthcare have been various and have included airstrikes on hospitals in Syria and Yemen, shelling of hospitals in Ukraine and Palestine, drone strikes on a hospital in Myanmar, and attacks on clearly marked ambulances in Cameroon, Haiti and Lebanon. The response from perpetrating states has often been denial, to claim a mistake, or accusations of loss of protection without proof. Health workers are also increasingly being treated as suspect rather than protected.
The immediate consequence of attacks is injuries and loss of life. Longer-term, the consequence is communities are often deprived of lifesaving care as health infrastructure is not rebuilt or humanitarian organizations suspend their activities because of security concerns. In 2025, MSF teams in Sudan carried out nearly 850,000 outpatient consultations, admitted just under 95,600 people to hospital and assisted almost 29,000 births. In Gaza, over the same period, teams undertook 913,000 outpatient consultations, admitted just under 54,000 people and ran 89,800 mental health sessions. In Ukraine in 2025, MSF ambulances referred 10,700 patients, 60 per cent of whom had war-related injuries, and teams provided 45,300 outpatient consultations via mobile clinics and undertook 9,750 physiotherapy sessions. When healthcare infrastructure is damaged or destroyed and if people are too scared to leave their homes to seek medical care, it is the communities that suffer.
“Medical care in conflict is under extreme threat, as attacks against healthcare workers and functioning health infrastructure have been seen in almost every conflict over the past decade. MSF demands that states respect their obligations and commitment under Resolution 2286 for greater protection and accountability. The protection granted to us and to our patients under international humanitarian law must be led by action, not just words.”
Healthcare under fire
Figures analyzing attacks from 2016 to 2026 affecting MSF medical facilities, transport and ambulances, showing patterns harming healthcare delivery in conflict contexts. They do not include all security incidents.
- During the reporting period 2016 to 2026, a total of 255 security incidents were recorded. Of these, 107 took place in medical facilities (hospitals, health centres, mobile clinics, Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centres (ITFCs), Outpatient Departments (OPDs), etc); 75 incidents involved ambulances (from checkpoints and delays to direct physical attacks); and 73 incidents were of forced intrusion.
- Recorded incidents peaked in 2024 and 2025, accounting for over one third of the total across the period. Preliminary data for 2026 indicates a similar level to the previous two years, although the trend for the rest of the year remains uncertain.
- Incidents were reported in 28 countries. However, more than half are concentrated in five countries: Haiti (41), Sudan (29), Yemen (25), CAR (23), and DRC (20).
