WISH 2024 to highlight impact of conflicts on healthcare

The upcoming World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) 2024 will highlight the impact of conflict on healthcare under the theme 'Humanising Health: Conflict, Equity, and Resilience'.

Taking place on November 13 and 14, the summit will focus on how wars have a massive and direct impact on families, besides the destruction of infrastructure, degradation of education and healthcare systems among others.

WISH, a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), in collaboration with the WHO is developing a report on protecting health in armed conflict. The report, according to an article on QF website will present the most recent trends in attacks against healthcare facilities and workers with a focus on the scale, nature, and distribution of these attacks.

It will propose mechanisms for the protection of healthcare in armed conflict, looking at existing legal frameworks such as International Human Rights Law, and accountability measures including the criminal prosecution of atrocity crimes, and UN accountability mechanisms.

The report will also provide policy recommendations for the prevention, mitigation and accountability of these crimes from a global, regional, and national perspective.

Maha El Akoum, acting director of research and content at WISH, said: “This year's alarming rise in attacks against healthcare workers and facilities underscores the pressing need for a transformative response to safeguard health in conflict zones. Health workers, who are at the centre of our health systems, are disproportionately affected by violence, often working under perilous conditions with overwhelming workloads and scarce resources, all while worrying about the safety of their own families.”

“As families bear the brunt of these crises, psychologically and socially, it is imperative that we mobilize governments, UN agencies, and civil society to protect not only medical services but also the very fabric of family life. Together, we can forge a future where health and safety are recognized as fundamental rights for every individual and family, even in the most challenging environments,” noted, El Akoum.

While a study by Doha International Family Institute (Difi) titled 'Wars, Conflicts, and Their Impacts on Arab Families' highlights that despite the current situation in Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and other Arab countries, the Arab family continues to exemplify values of compassion and solidarity, and provides care for children and the elderly.

“During peaceful times, every individual in the family has their role and responsibilities clearly defined,” Dr Sharifa al-Emadi, executive director of Difi, says. “However, in times of war, when educational and healthcare facilities are attacked and families are directly targeted, the weight of the responsibilities of parents in providing protection and care for their children or the elderly becomes enormous and extremely difficult.”

Dr al-Emadi says that researchers have noted that during the war on Gaza, with entire families being wiped out and their members martyred, many children find themselves alone, leading to the emergence of the phenomenon of these children being taken in by families with no blood relation to them.