The Solidarity and Health Neutrality of Physicians in War & Peace

Commentary As physicians, we are reminded of Sir William Osler’s 1906 speech to graduating medical students when he asserted that: “Medicine is the only world-wide profession, following everywhere the same methods, actuated by the same ambitions, and pursuing the same end. This homogeneity, its most characteristic feature, is not shared by the law or religion”, nor the “extraordinary solidarity which makes the physician at home in any country.”1 In the century that followed, no other profession has exhibited the influential number of international associations, societies and collaborative efforts as has medicine. The end of the Cold War brought multiple humanitarian crises and the development of international academic and educational training programs designed to prepare humanitarian workers for these complex global tasks. The rigorous curriculum includes the unique roles and responsibilities that healthcare providers have under the Post-World War II Geneva Convention (GC) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) which ensures their right to international health neutrality. Historically, war has caused the loss of countless lives and has ravaged the most vulnerable populations, especially women, children, the elderly and disabled. The humanitarian crises that wars create, and the manner in which the world responds, have changed with every generation.2 Present-day healthcare workers in public hospitals and non-governmental organizations in conflict zones have nev...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Source Type: research