/R E P E A T -- Interview Opportunities: Experts meet to address threats to health care in armed conflict/

OTTAWA, Sept. 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Violence against health care takes many forms: the wounded and sick being denied access to health care, armed attacks against doctors and nurses, the shelling of hospitals and the deliberate obstruction of ambulances at checkpoints. It is one of the most critical humanitarian problems today, and the consequences are significant.

Some sixty experts from a number of different countries and specialties are coming together for a two-day workshop in Ottawa today to address this urgent, global problem that leaves patients untreated, clinics shut down and the wounded and sick left to die.

In 2012 alone, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recorded 70 killings and 57 kidnappings of healthcare personnel in 22 countries. Threats also remained a dominant issue, with 238 healthcare personnel threatened that year.

Who: Khaled Erksoussi, Director of Operations for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC)

When: Friday, September 27, in the a.m. until 10:30 (EST)

Where: Phone or in person (Ottawa, ON), or via Skype

Canadian Red Cross Media Line:
613-740-1994

Interview opportunities with representatives from the ICRC and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) are also available.

ICRC Media Contact:
Anna K. Nelson
Cell: ([phone]

MSF Media Contact:
Claudia Blume
Cell: 416-312-3960

Representatives from the Canadian Red Cross, the ICRC and the MSF are also speaking at a public panel discussion on the issue of violence against health care, at the University of Ottawa on Friday, September 27. The event will be available by Livestream. To register: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/8368659887

The Canadian Red Cross is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which includes the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 187 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Our mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world.

SOURCE: Canadian Red Cross

Canadian Red Cross Media Line [phone]