Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH) have conducted extensive research on attacks on health care in Ethiopia. Their August 2026 research brief, Stolen, Broken, Destroyed: How Impunity Has Fueled Ongoing Attacks on Health Care in Ethiopia, shows how years of impunity have turned attacks on health care into a normalized tactic of conflict in Ethiopia, where multiple armed groups continue to target health workers and health facilities. The publication draws on surveys of 602 health workers across Tigray, Amhara, and Afar, 40 interviews, four focus groups, and additional monitoring in 2025 and 2026.
Related PHR and OJAH research on the health and human rights consequences of conflict in Ethiopia includes:
- “You Will Never Be Able to Give Birth”: Conflict-Related Sexual and Reproductive Violence in Ethiopia, PHR/OJAH report, July 2025
- Broken Promises: Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Before and After the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in Tigray, Ethiopia, PHR/OJAH report, August 2023
Below is a Q&A about the attacks on health crisis in Ethiopia:
What has happened to health care in Ethiopia since the conflict in Tigray?
The conflict that began in Tigray in November 2020 devastated the region’s health system, with hospitals and clinics attacked, occupied, looted, and stripped of medicines and equipment. Health workers have been targeted, injured, and killed. The November 2022 peace agreement between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ended formal hostilities in Tigray but did not end attacks on health care elsewhere in Ethiopia. As conflict has continued or intensified in Amhara, Afar, and other regions, many of the same patterns continue to reappear. Research by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH) shows that health workers are facing ongoing violence, shortages of medicines and equipment, unpaid salaries, burnout, and trauma, while years of impunity have left health care vulnerable to further attacks.
Why are hospitals and health workers targeted in Ethiopia?
Health care has repeatedly come under fire in Ethiopia’s conflicts. Armed actors have occupied and looted facilities, destroyed equipment and records, attacked ambulances, and threatened or attacked health workers, including for providing impartial care. According to research by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH) these acts seek to destroy health care systems, terrorize communities, and limit their access to critical care after experiencing conflict-related violence. PHR and OJAH conclude that the absence of credible accountability for past violations has helped normalize attacks on health care; responsibility and intent in individual incidents require independent investigation.
What are health workers in Ethiopia reporting about attacks on health care?
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH) surveyed 602 health workers across Tigray, Amhara, and Afar, conducted 40 key-informant interviews and four focus groups, and supplemented the research with monitoring in 2025 and 2026. Among those surveyed about incidents occurring between 2020 and 2024, 63.5 percent reported attacks on ambulances, 61.1 percent reported theft or looting at their facilities, 57 percent reported an armed takeover of a health facility, and 28 percent said they had personally been targeted or experienced violence because of their work.
Who is carrying out attacks on health care in Ethiopia?
Every major armed party to Ethiopia’s recent conflicts has been implicated in attacks on health care in Ethiopia, including the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Eritrean Defense Forces, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Amhara Fano forces, regional police, and other armed or paramilitary forces, according to Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH). Responsibility varies by incident and must be established through independent investigation.
How are attacks on health care affecting patients and health workers in Ethiopia?
The effects on patients and health workers extend far beyond the immediate attack. Communities in Ethiopia have lost emergency, maternity, vaccination, HIV, nutrition, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) care and mental health services. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH) found severe strain among health workers: among 593 professionals assessed in 2024, 96 percent reported moderate burnout and 88 percent moderate secondary traumatic stress in the last 30 days.
How have global aid cuts affected health care in Ethiopia?
Global aid funding cuts have compounded damage to an already conflict-affected health system in Ethiopia. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has documented disruptions to HIV services, maternal and child health care, nutrition programs, and critical comprehensive care for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The August 2026 brief by PHR and OJAH Stolen, Broken, Destroyed: How Impunity Has Fueled Ongoing Attacks on Health Care in Ethiopia, shows that the sudden cessation of more than $380 million in foreign health assistance in 2025 further limited the ability of health systems to rebuild from war.
Do attacks on hospitals and health workers in Ethiopia violate international law?
Attacks on hospitals and health workers can violate international law. Under international humanitarian law, hospitals, ambulances, medical personnel, patients, and the wounded and sick are specifically protected during armed conflict. Intentionally directing attacks against protected hospitals, medical facilities, medical transport, or personnel may constitute a war crime. Whether a particular attack rises to that level depends on the facts and requires an independent investigation and credible legal process.
In 2016, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2286, which strongly condemns attacks and threats against medical facilities and personnel in armed conflict and calls on all parties to respect and protect health care. Crucially, the resolution also condemns impunity for such attacks, warning that a failure to hold perpetrators accountable can contribute to their recurrence. It calls on states to conduct independent, prompt, impartial, and effective investigations and, where appropriate, hold those responsible to account.
Why hasn’t there been accountability for attacks on health care in Ethiopia?
Outreach by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH) indicates that no prosecutions for violence have occurred since the conflict in Tigray began in 2020. International investigative mechanisms have closed, while Ethiopia’s transitional justice process has fallen short of international and regional standards and has not meaningfully addressed affected communities. PHR and OJAH warn that this impunity creates conditions for further attacks.
What should be done to stop attacks on health care in Ethiopia?
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH) call for all parties to stop attacks on health care and protect patients and medical personnel. They urge Ethiopian authorities to conduct independent investigations and establish credible, survivor-centered accountability and reparation processes, while international actors such as the UN and WHO should restore essential health funding, support reconstruction, strengthen independent monitoring, and pursue credible pathways to accountability.
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.