Please join us online on Wednesday 1 July at 15:00 hrs Geneva (14:00 hrs UK) to hear the findings of our recent review which identifies existing measures to address violence against health care and, critically, the key evidence gaps that need to be filled through rigorous research.
This event will be chaired by Professor Gilles Carbonnier, ICRC Vice President.
In the report's foreword, he underlines that "Contrary to the spirit of humanitarianism, attacks against healthcare are a complex problem defying simple solutions. Preventing attacks often requires a disruption of established behaviour on the part of armed actors, health personnel and civilians alike. Solutions are usually context-specific and technical, requiring high-level policy change and health system reform".
Responding to this challenge, the ICRC partnered with Elrha to commission the situation analysis and evidence review presented today. The objective is to take stock of global knowledge on violence against healthcare and its impact, and to determine the availability of preventive solutions.
In this context, research is a powerful tool to explore aspects of social reality and catalyze action to create positive change. The ICRC believes that health care providers and researchers in countries affected by armed conflict and other humanitarian crises - many of whom have first-hand experience of violence themselves - play a critical role in filling evidence gaps and finding practical solutions to violence against health care.
This report Researching Violence Against Health Care: Gaps and Priorities describes current approaches that prevent violence against health care and, importantly, identifies the evidence gaps that need to be filled through rigorous research. ICRC and Elrha are sharing the report with the aim of facilitating learning across the global community, with the hope that resources can be generated to support meaningful research that will see an end to violence against health care.
The launch of this report was postponed earlier in the year due to COVID-19. Since then we've continued to see attacks on healthcare workers and facilities, exacerbated by the global pandemic, reinforcing how vital this work is.
We hope you can join us.
