The protections for healthcare enshrined in international humanitarian law are under severe strain in an increasingly war-torn world

The BMJ Pub Date : 2025-07-25 DOI:10.1136/bmj.r1242

Dominic Norcliffe-Brown, Andrew Green

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Abstract

Attacks on healthcare and violations of medical neutrality—the fundamental principle that medical care must operate free of political or military interference—have become alarmingly unexceptional in modern conflicts. Patients have been dragged from hospital beds by security forces. Medical supplies have been looted and blockaded. Hospitals are bombed while others are repurposed for military uses. Doctors are arbitrarily detained, tortured, or even killed. All of these actions represent clear violations of international humanitarian law. Simultaneously, wars are becoming more common, with the number of conflicts increasing dramatically since 2010.1 The Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law records over 110 conflicts in the world today.2 From 2021 to the end of 2024, conflict-affected areas increased by two-thirds, encompassing a land mass nearly double the size of India.3 UNICEF has stated that nearly one in five children now live in conflict zones, a record high.4 These two trends—the decrease in respect for medical neutrality and increase in conflict zones—are combining with lethal impact. The recently published Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition report for 2024 indicated it was the worst year on …

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在一个日益饱受战争蹂躏的世界里，国际人道主义法对医疗保健的保护受到了严重的压力

攻击医疗机构和违反医疗中立性——医疗服务必须在没有政治或军事干预的情况下运作的基本原则——在现代冲突中已成为令人震惊的普遍现象。病人被安全部队从医院病床上拖走。医疗用品遭到抢劫和封锁。医院遭到轰炸，而其他医院则改作军事用途。医生被任意拘留、折磨，甚至被杀害。所有这些行动都明显违反了国际人道主义法。与此同时，战争正变得越来越普遍，自2010年以来冲突数量急剧增加。日内瓦国际人道法学院记录了当今世界110多起冲突从2021年到2024年底，受冲突影响的地区增加了三分之二，涵盖的土地面积几乎是印度的两倍。联合国儿童基金会表示，现在有近五分之一的儿童生活在冲突地区，创历史新高这两种趋势——对医疗中立的尊重减少和冲突地区的增加——正在产生致命影响。最近发布的“在冲突中维护健康联盟”（safeguard Health in Conflict Coalition） 2024年报告显示，这是有史以来最糟糕的一年。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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The BMJ

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