The year 2022 set a grim record — 1,989 attacks on health-care facilities and their personnel, the worst total number in the decade since the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition began its sobering count. This year is on track to be even more devastating for the toll on health care. In many of the world’s ongoing conflicts — such as Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and now between Israel and Hamas — health care has been a target.

Amy Hagopian, professor emeritus of global health at the UW, is quoted.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 created a largescale humanitarian crisis that is intensifying as the conflict persists. Millions of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, have fled the country in what the United Nations calls the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Tens of thousands of people still in the country are finding themselves without access to food, water, power, or heat.

In Nigeria, anti-gay laws can lead to punishments including 14 years in prison or even death by stoning. Gay men and women are banned from holding meetings or organizing in groups, and anyone who supports the union of a gay couple could spend a decade behind bars.