Global Health and Education Watch: Conflict deepens health crisis across Middle East, WHO says

On March 11, 2026, one of the clearest global signals came through WHO.INT: Conflict deepens health crisis across Middle East, WHO says. The line may read like a headline, but the implications are operational. More than ten days into the latest escalation of conflict in the Middle East, health systems across the Region are coming under strain as injuries and displacement rise, attacks on health care continue, and public health risks increase. National health authorities in Iran report more than 1300 deaths and 9000 injuries, and in Lebanon report at least 570 deaths and more than 1400 injuries. In Israel, authorities report 15 deaths and 2142 injuries. At the same time, the conflict is affecting the very services meant to save lives. In Iran, WHO has verified 18 attacks on health care since 28 February, resulting in 8 deaths among health workers. Over the same period in Lebanon, 25 attacks on health care have resulted in 16 deaths and 29 injuries. These attacks not only cost lives but deprive communities of care when they need it most. Health workers, patients and health facilities must always be protected under international humanitarian law. Beyond the immediate impact, the conflict is creating wider public health risks. Current estimates indicate more than 100 000 people in Iran have relocated to other areas of the country due to insecurity, and up to 700 000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon, with many in crowded collective shelters under deteriorating public health conditions, with limited access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. These conditions increase the risk of respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, and other communicable illnesses, especially for the most vulnerable populations, such as women and children. Environmental hazards are also a raising concern. In Iran, petroleum fires and smoke from damaged infrastructure exposed nearby communities to toxic pollutants that potentially cause breathing problems, eye and skin irritation, and contaminated water and food sources. Access to health services is becoming increasingly constrained across several countries. In Lebanon, 49 primary health-care centres and five hospitals have shut following evacuation orders issued by Israel’s military, reducing the availability of essential services as medical needs rise. In the occupied Palestinian territory, increased movement restrictions and checkpoint closures are delaying ambulance and mobile clinics’ access across several governorates in the West Bank. In Gaza, medical evacuations remain suspended since 28 February, while hospitals continue to operate under strain amid ongoing shortages of medicines, medical supplies and fuel, which is being rationed to prioritize essential health services such as emergency and trauma care, maternal and neonatal services, and management of communicable diseases. Temporary airspace restrictions have disrupted the movement of medical supplies from WHO’s global logistics hub in Dubai. More than 50 emergency supply requests, intended to benefit over 1.5 million people across 25 countries, are affected, resulting in significant backlogs. Current priority shipments include supplies planned for Al Arish, Egypt, to support the Gaza response, as well as Lebanon and Afghanistan. The first shipment, containing cholera response supplies for Mozambique, is expected to depart from the hub in the coming week. The escalation comes at a time when humanitarian needs in the Eastern Mediterranean Region were already among the highest in the world. Across the Region, 115 million people require humanitarian assistance – almost half of all people in need globally – while humanitarian health emergency appeals remain 70% underfunded. Without protection for health care, sustained humanitarian access and stronger financial and operational support for the humanitarian health response, the strain on vulnerable populations and already fragile health systems will continue to grow. WHO calls on all parties to protect civilians and health care, ensure unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, and pursue de-escalation of the conflict so communities can begin to recover and move towards peace.   In moments like this, the real question is not only what happened, but what gets delayed next: a vaccination schedule, a school meal chain, a maternal referral, or a teacher posting in a district where one interruption can close an entire service corridor.