30 April, 2026 – The 3 May 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 organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (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 the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 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 (SSA) reported a total of 1,348 attacks on medical facilities, resulting in the deaths of 1,981 people.
Over the last 10 years attacks on healthcare have been various and have included airstrikes on hospitals in Syria and Yemen, shellings of hospitals in Ukraine and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 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 that communities are often deprived of life-saving care as health infrastructure is not rebuilt or humanitarian organisations 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.
“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.”
MSF is an international, medical, humanitarian organisation that delivers medical care to people in need, regardless of their origin, religion, or political affiliation. MSF Australia was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF sections committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to people in crisis. Every year more than 120 Australians and New Zealanders go on assignment with Médecins Sans Frontières working as: doctors, midwives, psychologists, laboratory technicians, human resource/finance coordinators, pharmacists, mental health specialists and logisticians. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au