Armed conflict and the pandemic accord: what states should do next for conflict-affected populations

ICRC Humanitarian Law and Policy Blog · Sep 5, 2023 · 11m

Armed conflict and other humanitarian emergencies disrupt health systems in many ways: making healthcare less accessible to people in need; reducing the capacities of the health workforce; weakening health infrastructure and causing the degradation or collapse of other essential services on which health systems depend. Sometimes during conflict, health structures are themselves targeted, increasing the vulnerability of health systems. All this makes addressing pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR) in such settings extremely difficult, and means that, in reality, responses to…