The statement, issued ahead of World Humanitarian Day on Aug. 19, cited World Health Organization figures showing more than 1,300 attacks on medical facilities globally in 2025, killing over 1,900 people. Data for the first half of 2026 already show 786 such attacks, MSF said, suggesting the trend is continuing.
MSF said its own teams had recorded 255 attacks on medical transport, facilities, infrastructure and clearly marked vehicles between 2016 and April 2026, with more than a third occurring in 2024 and 2025 alone.
"Attacks on health care during conflicts are becoming normalized, international humanitarian law is being treated instrumentally, and perpetrators are not being held accountable", said Draginja Nadazdin, MSF's general director in Poland. She said states bear responsibility for most such attacks.
The charity said its staff had reported threats and attacks on facilities in recent months in Lebanon, Ukraine, Gaza and Haiti, among other places.
"These are places where access to care is already limited", Nadazdin said. "Attacks on medical facilities and workers mean that access is deteriorating further, and people's health and lives are in greater danger".
Medical personnel and facilities are granted special protection under international humanitarian law set out in the Geneva Conventions, MSF said, adding that states and warring parties are obliged to respect those protections even though violations are increasingly common in practice.
MSF called on governments to meet their legal obligations, pressure warring parties to comply with humanitarian norms, and launch swift, independent and transparent investigations into attacks on protected people and sites.
(jh)
Source: PAP