‘Global crisis’ of violence: 161 healthcare workers were killed last year, study finds

A maternity hospital hit by shelling in Mariupol, Ukraine, in March. The WHO has documented more than 200 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine. Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

Violence against healthcare workers has become a “global crisis”, with 161 medics killed and 188 incidents of hospitals being destroyed or damaged last year, according to a new report.

Data collected from 49 conflict zones by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC), also found that 320 health workers were wounded in attacks, 170 were kidnapped and 713 people were arrested in the course of their work.