Patterns of Attacks on Medical Personnel and Facilities: SDG 3 meets SDG 16

The document analyzes irregular violence targeting health services and aid workers, finding that while both follow similar patterns and are strongly driven by conflict intensity, attacks on medical personnel are significantly more lethal. Syria is identified as the primary location for these attacks, particularly those targeting health services. The authors highlight a critical lack of systematic data to determine actual risk levels and argue that addressing these attacks is essential for achieving Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 16.

• Attacks on medical personnel are significantly more lethal than those on aid workers, with at least 1,500 medical personnel killed over a four-year period, which is three times the number of aid worker victims.
• There is a strong correlation between the intensity of armed conflict and the frequency of attacks; for aid workers, increasing battle deaths from a medium intensity (400/year) to a high intensity (2,000/year) roughly doubles the expected annual attacks from 20 to over 40.
• Syria is the most affected country, accounting for nearly 40% of health care attacks in 2014–2015 and two-thirds of all such attacks in 2016, totaling 207 out of 302 events.
• The analysis found no statistical relationship between attacks on health services or aid workers and one-sided violence directed at general civilian populations.
• Current data on irregular violence is insufficient for accurate risk assessment because while the number of deaths is known, the total number of personnel at risk (the denominator) is unavailable.

APA

Nygård, H. M., Bahgat, K., & Gates, S. (2017). Patterns of Attacks on Medical Personnel and Facilities: SDG 3 meets SDG 16. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/b0dba1f9-0fa7-44c8-8c3f-c2fe1c227677/Gates Nygård Bahgat - SDG 3 meets SDG 16 Conflict Trends 4-2017.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv, Karim Bahgat, and Scott Gates. Patterns of Attacks on Medical Personnel and Facilities: SDG 3 meets SDG 16. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2017. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/b0dba1f9-0fa7-44c8-8c3f-c2fe1c227677/Gates Nygård Bahgat - SDG 3 meets SDG 16 Conflict Trends 4-2017.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nygård |first1=Håvard Mokleiv |last2=Bahgat |first2=Karim |last3=Gates |first3=Scott |title=Patterns of Attacks on Medical Personnel and Facilities: SDG 3 meets SDG 16 |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=April 2017 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/b0dba1f9-0fa7-44c8-8c3f-c2fe1c227677/Gates Nygård Bahgat - SDG 3 meets SDG 16 Conflict Trends 4-2017.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nygrd2017patterns, author = {Nygård, Håvard Mokleiv and Bahgat, Karim and Gates, Scott}, title = {{Patterns of Attacks on Medical Personnel and Facilities: SDG 3 meets SDG 16}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/b0dba1f9-0fa7-44c8-8c3f-c2fe1c227677/Gates Nygård Bahgat - SDG 3 meets SDG 16 Conflict Trends 4-2017.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }