WHO Warns as Attacks on Health Care Kill 911 People in 2026

What the report says

The World Health Organization has warned that attacks on health care continue to take a heavy toll in conflict and humanitarian crisis settings. In a message tied to World Humanitarian Day on August 19, WHO said 914 attacks on health care had been recorded in 2026, leaving 911 people dead and 1,486 injured, according to its Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care.

Nile Post reported that the hardest-hit places this year include Ukraine, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory and Myanmar. WHO said the figures include violence against health workers and patients, as well as damage to facilities, medical transport and the delivery of services. The agency stressed that each death affects not only an individual worker, but also families, communities and already strained health systems.

WHO said it has tracked such incidents since December 2017 and has documented more than 10,400 attacks across 29 countries and territories, with more than 5,700 deaths and 8,500 injuries over that period. The organisation used the occasion to reinforce its call for stronger protection of health staff, patients and medical infrastructure under international humanitarian law. More broadly, the warning reflects a continuing concern among global health and humanitarian groups that condemnation alone has not stopped repeated assaults on medical care in war-affected areas.