Says 5,700 killed, over 8,000 injured in 29 countries
Declares no one has been held accountable
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has listed Nigeria among countries where attacks on healthcare have been recorded over the past eight years, disclosing that more than 10,400 such incidents have been reported globally since 2018.
The attacks, which occurred across 29 countries and territories, resulted in approximately 5,700 deaths and more than 8,000 injuries, according to the United Nations (UN) organisation.
In its latest update published at the weekend, the UN health agency said more than 900 attacks were recorded between January and August 2026 alone, resulting in at least 900 deaths and over 1,400 injuries.
It listed Nigeria alongside Ukraine, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory, Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Russia and Syria among locations where attacks on healthcare had occurred this year.
The WHO’s surveillance system covered attacks on hospitals and other healthcare facilities, healthcare workers and patients, ambulances and other medical transport, as well as warehouses and medical supplies.
The agency said the incidents had taken different forms, including the use of heavy weapons, destruction of healthcare facilities and psychological violence against healthcare workers and patients.
Speaking during a briefing in Geneva, WHO Director for Humanitarian and Disaster Management, Altaf Musani, said the consequences of such attacks extended beyond those killed or injured during an incident.
He explained that attacks could leave patients without treatment, prevent ambulances from making referrals, keep healthcare workers away from work and disrupt the delivery of medicines and other supplies.
“When a hospital is attacked, the impact is not only on the people inside the hospital that day. It is the patient who cannot receive healthcare tomorrow. It is the ambulance that cannot make the next referral. It is the healthcare worker who cannot return to work, or medicine supply that can no longer reach facilities,” Musani said.
The WHO said it also recorded 44 incidents involving the abduction, arrest or detention of healthcare workers and patients between January and August, with healthcare worker detentions accounting for most of the cases and affecting 94 people.
“These are not simply statistics,” said Musani. “Behind every percentage is a patient. Behind every damaged facility is a service lost. Behind every interrupted service is someone who will be left without healthcare,” Musani added.
In Nigeria, terrorism has had a severe impact on healthcare, particularly in areas affected by insurgency and other forms of violent extremism. Attacks on hospitals, health workers and patients, as well as threats against medical personnel, have disrupted the delivery of essential services and forced some facilities to close or operate below capacity.
Besides, in conflict-affected communities, insecurity has also made it difficult for healthcare workers and patients to travel safely, while attacks on roads and other infrastructure have disrupted the movement of medicines, vaccines and other medical supplies.
According to Musani, the wider disruption caused by attacks on healthcare was reflected in a study of 69 attacks in northwest Syria, which found that outpatient consultations fell by 51 per cent the following day, with the decline continuing for up to 37 days.
“Most incidents occurred in Ukraine, Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territory, but other locations include Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, the DRC, South Sudan, Russia, Syria and Nigeria,” WHO stated.
It said 37 per cent of healthcare facilities in Sudan were reported to be non-functional in 2026, while only 3 per cent of assessed facilities had inpatient care.
In Gaza, all 36 hospitals had been damaged, with only half remaining partially functional, the WHO said.
The agency also disclosed that it had verified more than 3,000 attacks affecting healthcare facilities, ambulances, warehouses and supply chains in Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict.
In the DRC, the WHO said it had verified 12 attacks on healthcare since the country declared its current Ebola outbreak in May, disrupting efforts to contain the disease.
Despite the scale of the attacks, Musani said none of the more than 10,000 verified incidents had resulted in anyone entering an accountability process. “ To date no one has been held accountable,” Musani said.
He said the WHO did not have the mandate or expertise to hold parties to conflicts accountable, but noted that the organisation’s Director-General had repeatedly called for those responsible for attacks on healthcare to be held accountable.
WHO stressed that the figures represented more than statistics, warning that attacks could undermine public confidence, discourage people from seeking treatment and prevent healthcare professionals from reporting for duty.