Ten years after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2286 to protect medical services in conflict, attacks on healthcare have increased worldwide. On May 4, 2026, the World Health Organization, International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières issued a joint statement warning that violence against health workers, patients and facilities has intensified. They described the anniversary not as progress but as evidence of failed enforcement. The groups recorded 4,094 attacks on healthcare between 2016 and 2020, with 681 health workers killed, 1,524 injured and 401 kidnapped. During the same period, 978 health facilities were damaged or destroyed.
The statement stressed that when healthcare is unsafe, it signals a breakdown in the rules of war. It called on governments and armed groups to uphold international humanitarian law, investigate attacks and strengthen protections. The National Association of Resident Doctors condemned the April 13, 2026 assault on two doctors at Warri Central Hospital in Delta State. In Adamawa State, medical laboratory technician Salamatu Dauda survived a terrorist attack, according to an ICRC report. Humanitarian groups say such incidents disrupt fragile health systems and deter patients from seeking care.
The same global bodies that cite rising attacks on healthcare also note Nigeria's recent assaults on doctors in Warri and Madagali, yet offer no explanation for the pattern. Health workers in Nigeria face risks not only in declared conflict zones but in public hospitals and rural clinics. The data from 2016 to 2020 shows hundreds killed, injured or kidnapped, yet no accountability mechanisms are mentioned. If attacks on medical care are a sign of collapsing wartime rules, Nigerian health workers are already in the front lines without protection.
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