WHO confirms 18 attacks on healthcare sites in Iran
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A member of the Iranian medical staff seen in front of the destroyed Gandhi Hospital in Tehran, on March 7.
PHOTO: AFP
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The World Health Organization on March 11 said it has verified 18 attacks on healthcare centres in Iran since the start of the US and Israel war on Iran on Feb 28, which has resulted in eight deaths among health workers.
“These attacks not only cost lives but deprive communities of care when they need it most. Health workers, patients and health facilities must always be protected under international humanitarian law,” the WHO said in a statement.
During the same period, 25 attacks on healthcare centres in Lebanon resulted in 16 deaths and 29 injuries, the agency said.
The conflict has triggered a large-scale population movement, the WHO added.
It estimates more than 100,000 people in Iran have relocated, and up to 700,000 people in Lebanon have been internally displaced, many sheltering in crowded buildings with scarce access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
Such conditions risk outbreaks of respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases, the WHO warned, particularly among women and children.
On March 10, the agency said the “black rain” and toxic compounds in the air in Iran after strikes on its oil facilities could cause respiratory problems, and backed Iran’s advisory urging people to remain indoors.
In Lebanon, 49 primary healthcare centres and five hospitals have shut following evacuation orders issued by Israel’s military, reducing the availability of essential services while medical needs rise, the WHO said on March 11.
Across the eastern Mediterranean region, 115 million people require humanitarian assistance, while 70 per cent of the humanitarian health appeals remain underfunded, the health organisation said. REUTERS
