The world is upside down: A campaign promoting respect for health care in Colombia

Regardless of who the attacker is, no one could doubt that while there are attacks on health care, the world is upside down.

Violence against health care has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the problem has been further compounded by the addition of new threats, such as stigma and discrimination against health-care workers, breaches of patient confidentiality and attempts to obstruct the passage of ambulances and the delivery of medical supplies.

Around 40% of the attacks reported in the first nine months of the year in Colombia are related to the current pandemic situation.

Armed with masks, shields, fluid-resistant gowns and an abundance of vocation and compassion, thousands of people working at health-care centres, clinics and hospitals in cities, towns and rural communities throughout Colombia have been the first to see the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic which, in less than six months, has claimed over 17,000 lives and infected 562,000 people across the country.

Paradoxically, health-care workers have also been the first to bear the brunt of attacks, rejection and discrimination not only at their place of work but also in supermarkets, at home and on public transport, in the midst of a climate of disinformation that has resulted in the spread of fake news.

Reporting cases in Colombia

If you have been the victim of any kind of attack in the course of your duties as a health worker, we encourage you to follow the procedure for reporting such incidents.

1. Notify the incident to the health-care institution.

2. The health-care institution is required to report the case to the relevant health department, using this form. 

3. The health departments, together with their regional health-care committees, have an obligation to issue an alert, establish preliminary measures to protect the people affected and monitor the case.

4. The National Health-Care Committee, which reports to the Ministry of Health and is formed by a number of organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Colombian Red Cross Society, will then establish further protection measures, if necessary, issue recommendations and provide monitoring.

"The world is upside down" is a campaign launched by the ICRC, the Colombian Red Cross Society and the Norwegian Red Cross and supported by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.

We would like to thank our other partners, including San Ignacio Hospital, El Espectador, Casa Editorial El Tiempo, Caracol Radio, Caracol Televisión, JCDecaux, Bogotá Health Department, Fundación Cardioinfantil, Simón Bolívar Hospital (Bogotá) and Engativá Hospital, for their support and The Juju agency for its creative input.

← back to icrc in colombia