Brain Association IasiConflict deepens health crisis across Middle East, WHO says
More than ten days into the latest escalation of conflict in the Middle East, health systems across the Region are coming under strain as injuries and displacement rise, attacks on health care continue, and public health risks increase.
National health authorities in Iran report more than 1300 deaths and 9000 injuries, and in Lebanon report at least 570 deaths and more than 1400 injuries. In Israel, authorities report 15 deaths and 2142 injuries.
At the same time, the conflict is affecting the very services meant to save lives. In Iran, WHO has verified 18 attacks on health care since 28 February, resulting in 8 deaths among health workers. Over the same period in Lebanon, 25 attacks on health care have resulted in 16 deaths and 29 injuries. These attacks not only cost lives but deprive communities of care when they need it most. Health workers, patients and health facilities must always be protected under international humanitarian law.
Beyond the immediate impact, the conflict is creating wider public health risks. Current estimates indicate more than 100 000 people in Iran have relocated to other areas of the country due to insecurity, and up to 700 000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon, with many in crowded collective shelters under deteriorating public health conditions, with limited access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. These conditions increase the risk of respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, and other communicable illnesses, especially for the most vulnerable populations, such as women and children.
Environmental hazards are also a raising concern. In Iran, petroleum fires and smoke from damaged infrastructure exposed nearby communities to toxic pollutants that potentially cause breathing problems, eye and skin irritation, and contaminated water and food sources.
Access to health services is becoming increasingly constrained across several countries. In Lebanon, 49 primary health-care centres and five hospitals have shut following evacuation orders issued by Israel’s military, reducing the availability of essential services as medical needs rise.
In the occupied Palestinian territory, increased movement restrictions and checkpoint closures are delaying ambulance and mobile clinics’ access across several governorates in the West Bank. In Gaza, medical evacuations remain suspended since 28 February, while hospitals continue to operate under strain amid ongoing shortages of medicines, medical supplies and fuel, which is being rationed to prioritize essential health services such as emergency and trauma care, maternal and neonatal services, and management of communicable diseases.
Temporary airspace restrictions have disrupted the movement of medical supplies from WHO’s global logistics hub in Dubai. More than 50 emergency supply requests, intended to benefit over 1.5 million people across 25 countries, are affected, resulting in significant backlogs. Current priority shipments include supplies planned for Al Arish, Egypt, to support the Gaza response, as well as Lebanon and Afghanistan. The first shipment, containing cholera response supplies for Mozambique, is expected to depart from the hub in the coming week.
The escalation comes at a time when humanitarian needs in the Eastern Mediterranean Region were already among the highest in the world. Across the Region, 115 million people require humanitarian assistance – almost half of all people in need globally – while humanitarian health emergency appeals remain 70% underfunded.
Without protection for health care, sustained humanitarian access and stronger financial and operational support for the humanitarian health response, the strain on vulnerable populations and already fragile health systems will continue to grow.
WHO calls on all parties to protect civilians and health care, ensure unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, and pursue de-escalation of the conflict so communities can begin to recover and move towards peace.
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Attacks on Ukraine’s health care increased by 20% in 2025
As Ukraine enters the fifth year of full-scale war, its people have endured the highest number of attacks on their health care in 2025 – increasing by nearly 20% compared to 2024.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war on 24 February 2022, WHO has documented at least 2881 attacks on health care in Ukraine, affecting health workers, facilities, ambulances, and medical warehouses.
Health services are under intense pressure in two fronts: direct attacks on health care, and the cascading effects of strikes on civilian infrastructure, including thermal power plants that underpin the country's power grid. These have left deep gaps in people’s health. According to a WHO assessment conducted in December 2025, 59% of people in frontline areas reported their health as poor or very poor, compared to 47% in non-frontline areas.
"After four years of war, health needs are increasing, but many people are unable to get the care they need, in part because hospitals and clinics are routinely attacked," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "WHO is working alongside Ukraine's dedicated health workers to keep hospitals supplied with the means to stay warm, and the medicines people rely on the most. Ultimately, the best medicine is peace.”
In 2025, WHO’s support reached 1.9 million people across Ukraine through service delivery, medical supplies, referrals and capacity-building, with a strong focus on frontline and hard-to-reach locations.
"Four years of war has created a serious health crisis in Ukraine," said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. "Mental health needs are staggering: 72% of people surveyed experienced anxiety or depression in the past year, yet only one in five sought help. Cardiovascular disease is surging, with one in four Ukrainians experiencing dangerously high blood pressure. And 8 out of 10 people report they can’t access the medicines they need. This is not abstract – it's a heart patient who can't find blood pressure medication, an amputee waiting months for a prosthetic, a teenager too afraid to leave the house. Ukraine's health system needs our sustained support.”
Attacks on health careIn a year marked by hope for peace talks, the reality on the ground told a different story. Attacks on health care intensified, reaching a peak in the third quarter of 2025, when 184 attacks claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 110 health workers and patients.
At the same time, attacks on medical warehouses tripled in 2025 compared with the previous year, disrupting logistics and supply chains that are critical to delivering care across the country. Over the past four years, 233 health workers and patients have been killed and 930 injured in attacks on health care. Such attacks constitute violations of international humanitarian law.
Impact of destruction on essential health servicesThis winter has been the harshest since the war began, with multiple strikes on energy infrastructure leaving millions without heating, electricity, and water. Many of Ukraine's combined heat and power plants have been damaged or destroyed. In Kyiv alone, a January 2026 attack left nearly 6000 buildings without heat in subzero conditions, prompting an estimated 600 000 residents to flee the capital.
"What we are witnessing in Ukraine is a devastating cycle. A heating station is struck and thousands of homes lose heat within hours. At – 20°C, water in the pipes freezes, bursts them, floods buildings with ice. Repairs are made, then the next attack starts it all over again. Behind every one of these system breakdowns are families, elderly residents, and health-care workers who must keep saving lives while their own homes are without heat, water, or electricity. The burnout after four years of war is immense – and the demand for health care has never been higher," said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative to Ukraine.
The impact does not end at the hospital door. New mothers discharged after giving birth, patients recovering from injuries or heart attacks, and those awaiting or recovering from critical cancer surgeries return home to apartments without heating, electricity, or running water. Care that begins in a functioning hospital is undermined when patients recover in freezing, dark homes, turning medical progress into a daily struggle for survival.
Growing health needsThe rise in war-related trauma injuries has driven a growing demand for surgery, blood products, infection prevention and control, prevention of antimicrobial resistance, mental health services, and rehabilitation.
Access to rehabilitation remains severely limited. Only 4% of hospitals providing inpatient rehabilitation and only 3% of facilities offering assistive technologies such as prosthetics and corrective devices.
Access to medicines is among the most persistent barriers to health in Ukraine, with 4 out of 5 people reporting difficulties, primarily due to high prices (71%). In frontline regions, closed pharmacies, security risks, and financial constraints make the situation even more acute.
WHO’s work in UkraineIn 2025, WHO worked to reach communities through multiple mechanisms, by prioritizing the most vulnerable people in hard-to-reach areas. The work spanned the full continuum of health:
- Crisis response: delivered trauma care and medical supplies to 954 facilities, supported over 1200 medical evacuations, and run outreach in 131 hard-to-reach locations;
- Recovery: sustained primary health care, noncommunicable disease treatment and mental health services for displaced and conflict-affected populations; and
- Rehabilitation: rebuilt damaged facilities, installing modular clinics, and training over 2500 health workers to restore and strengthen a battered health system.
To help maintain essential health services, WHO has provided 284 generators to health facilities across 23 oblasts in Ukraine. For 2026, WHO is appealing to raise US$ 42 million in funding to sustain its work in Ukraine and to protect access to care for 700 000 people.
