UNITED NATIONS — The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross said it has recorded 208 coronavirus-related attacks against health workers and installations in 13 countries since March, a striking contrast to the cheers and clapping in gratitude for their work in many nations.
Peter Maurer said Wednesday that health workers are being attacked and abused and health systems are being targeted at a time when they are most needed.
“The covid-19 crisis is fast threatening to become a protection crisis,” he told the U.N. Security Council.
Maurer told reporters the Red Cross committee compiled data from 13 countries in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Africa where it operates, and it’s “likely the actual numbers are much higher than what we calculated.”
He said the incidents range from verbal threats to burning down facilities reportedly housing covid-19 patients.
Maurer said 23% of incidents included physical assaults, 20% were discriminatory-related attacks on health workers, and the rest included the deliberate failure to provide or deny assistance, verbal assaults and threats, and a disregard for health personnel protective measures.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and a dozen other global organizations representing millions of doctors, nurses and health care professionals issued a declaration Wednesday calling the recent displays of public support for covid-19 responders “heart-warming.” But they said “unfortunately, the sad reality is that health workers have for a long time been subject to many shocking forms of violence.”
The organizations pointed to harassment, stigmatization, physical violence and the killing of some health care professionals and the people they were caring for, as well as the 208 incidents reported by the Red Cross committee since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We urge governments, communities and weapon bearers to respect and protect health care at all times, and to contribute to creating a protective environment in which health care can be provided safely,” the groups including the International Council of Nurses, the International Hospital Federation, and Physicians for Human Rights said.