 If people, they go to the hospital, they are tortured and even killed. There were a lot of shootings with the rebels, they wanted to enter the hospital because they wanted to get nurses and drugs. Healthcare is considered by the government as a weapon. One of the first victims of war and violence is the healthcare system itself. The law says hospitals, ambulances and health workers have the right to protection and should never be targeted as they carry out their regular duties. This is often far from the reality. The lack of safe access to healthcare is causing untold suffering to millions of people worldwide. Benadir University, Somalia. Students gather for their graduation ceremony. In 20 years of conflict, this is only the second group of medical students to graduate in Somalia. A suicide bomber kills 25 people including medical students and doctors. This loss of medical knowledge will be felt by hundreds of thousands of Somalis in the future. Being part of the healthcare team that goes to the front line is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Such as 20-year-old Omar's work as a volunteer ambulance driver during the Libyan conflict. This day, things went well. Omar survived and got the injured patients safely to hospital. But six months later, Omar was seriously wounded. In the city of Mizrata alone, seven ambulances of the Libyan Red Crescent were completely destroyed by rocket fire in 2011. Dr. Yusuf runs Medina Hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia. His team treats over 3,000 war-wounded casualties a year. Operations to remove bullets are common. We cannot count. There are many. Dr. Yusuf himself has been targeted. He has survived an assassination attempt and still receives death threats. Yet he refuses to leave his country. Maintaining the hospital's impartiality is not easy. Dr. Yusuf is often put under pressure about who he treats first. While you are treated, your soldiers come and you don't treat their patients. As they are telling you, leave that one and come to my patient and you don't do it, then there will be a problem. While medical staff may be harassed about who they treat, the reverse can also be true. Some healthcare workers may show bias, choosing to treat one patient or faction over another. These soldiers were left untreated for hours because of who they were fighting for. The intentional denial of medical care can amount to a war crime. Just as healthcare workers may be targeted, so can healthcare facilities. As violence erupted in Côte d'Ivoire in 2011, people fled to the bush to hide as their villages were looted and healthcare centres ransacked. The soldiers used this clinic as their base for battle. All the health personnel here caring for 100,000 people fled. This man has a prostate condition. During the fighting, he hid in the bush for 10 days, too afraid to venture out for medical help. In some cases, to avoid attacks, surgeons and nurses decide their only option is to take medical treatment underground to make shift operating theatres. Without proper medical supplies, the patient's survival relies on the ingenuity of these surgeons. The sick and the wounded have the right to safe access to healthcare. To ensure this, armed groups and states are responsible for applying existing laws. But when this is not the reality, the patient's life is at risk. When security forces enter for law enforcement, they must not interfere with healthcare. This should be standard operating procedure. The medical staff and the nurses are responsible for applying existing laws. But when this is not the reality, healthcare teams can take steps to protect themselves. Coating windows with plastic adhesive prevents glass shattering during an explosion. A no weapons rule keeps arms out of hospitals. This should be standard operating procedure. Staff and patients need access to shelter, ideally underground, if there is a risk of bombardment. These basic steps are just a start. Medical, military and humanitarian organisations are now coming together to find new approaches, new solutions. Beyond direct attacks on healthcare workers and facilities, obstructions to healthcare can be just as dangerous. In Afghanistan, simply making the journey to hospital can be life-threatening. Many local clinics here have closed because of attacks and intimidation of staff. There is no ambulance service. In many parts of the world, checkpoint delays make it even harder for people to reach healthcare. In the West Bank, in the occupied Palestinian territories, complex permit systems exacerbate the problem. Nine-year-old Fouad has severe kidney problems and needs dialysis every other day. The nearest hospital providing dialysis is in East Jerusalem. To get there, he and his uncle must pass checkpoints and have a permit from the Israeli authorities, despite their entitlement as Palestinians, to freely access East Jerusalem. To improve access to healthcare, there are steps, states and other armed groups need to take, such as fast-tracking the transport of sick and wounded at checkpoints. At a moment where every second counts, any security procedures should be carried out rapidly. Medical treatment should be given priority over possible questioning or arrest. In some areas of the world, decades of conflict have made it impossible to provide even basic healthcare. Along the Cagowan River in southern Colombia, 40 years of fighting means it's a no-go area for national health workers. Violence between armed groups struggling for control has led to threats, attacks and even deaths of healthcare staff. The villagers have to rely on occasional visits from the Red Cross mobile health team. Juliette has travelled two hours on horseback with her sick baby. We need a doctor to take care of her. We need a doctor to take care of her. We need a doctor to take care of her. We need a doctor to take care of her. We need a doctor to take care of her. Juliette has travelled two hours on horseback with her sick baby. We need a doctor to take care of her. We need a doctor to take care of her. Conflict also disrupts prevention programs such as routine vaccination sessions. This means setbacks to eradicating diseases such as measles and polio. Today's armed violence is more frequently urban and engulfs civilian health infrastructures. Law states that the wounded and sick have the right to medical assistance. Healthcare facilities, transport and personnel must be respected. Healthcare teams must treat patients impartially, regardless of race, religion or political opinion. Violence against healthcare workers and facilities in conflicts and violent upheavals across the world are today threatening the lives and health of millions. The human cost is incalculable. Such violence must end.