Health Care in Danger

This document is the third in a series of reports published by the ICRC on violent incidents affecting provision of and access to health care in situations of armed conflict and other emergencies; the data were collected by ICRC field teams. These reports build on a study that was launched in 2008 and was based on the collection of data from media sources on incidents affecting health care. The study documented incidents from 16 countries over a three-year period. The 16-country study was presented at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in 2011 and was the catalyst for a Resolution which gave the ICRC a mandate7 to work on the issue. In the same year the ICRC initiated the Health Care in Danger project in collaboration with the National Societies and their Federation and with other global partners concerned with the safe delivery of health care. Since 2012 the ICRC has been collecting data on incidents in more than 20 contexts in which the institution has an operational presence and has issued a yearly report based on aggregated information. Other health-care organizations, academic institutes and other stakeholders have studied the issue in specific contexts, publishing analytical and qualitative reports. The ICRC reports seek to complement such studies and to inspire possible future research.