Caring under fire | Episode 8

According to the United Nations, 2024 was the deadliest year for humanitarian workers recorded in recent history. From Gaza to Sudan, Ukraine to Myanmar, humanitarian and healthcare workers are targeted in direct violation of international law.

This episode features Medical Ethics Committee Chair, Dr Andy Green, and International Committee Chair, Dr Kitty Mohan. 

They discuss how working to protect healthcare internationally goes hand-in-hand with the BMA’s work as a trade union to protect healthcare within the UK. They also share testimonies from the BMA’s powerful new report, ‘Medicine under attack’, that analyses the current rise in attacks on medical facilities and personnel, and how this undermining of healthcare has ripple effects on population health. 

Lastly, Dr Mohan and Dr Green discuss what we can do to pressure governments, institutions and medical associations to uphold the protections afforded to healthcare under international law. 

Content warning: this episode contains descriptions of violence from 14:30 to 15:28. 

This episode is accompanied by the article ‘Caring under fire’ by Tim Tonkin, featured in The Doctor.

You can read the article here:

https://thedoctor.bma.org.uk/articles/health-society/caring-under-fire/

You can read the BMA’s ‘Medicine under attack’ report here: 

https://www.bma.org.uk/what-we-do/working-internationally/our-international-work/medicine-under-attack-the-increasing-assault-on-healthcare-in-conflict-zones 

For more stories from The Doctor, follow @TheDrMagazine on X (formerly Twitter), or visit thedoctor.bma.org.uk. 

This podcast is produced by the British Medical Association – for more information visit bma.org.uk 

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