Violence Against Health Workers Must End, Oreh Warns

Violence against healthcare workers is a growing crisis in Nigeria and across the world, and urgent measures are needed to protect those who risk their lives daily to save others, public health expert Dr. Adaeze Oreh has warned.

Her comments follow a disturbing incident earlier this year at Specialist Hospital Damaturu in Yobe State, where a female health worker was physically assaulted by a male patient during a dispute over medical attention.

Such attacks are far from isolated. Surveys in Nigerian hospitals reveal alarming trends: 64% of healthcare workers in Kaduna State and 88% in Abia State have experienced workplace violence. Many victims suffer in silence, often accepting abuse as “part of the job” due to poor reporting mechanisms and weak protections.

Dr. Oreh recalled her own experience as a young doctor in 2004, when she narrowly escaped serious injury after being attacked by a patient’s relative in the children’s ward. “I chose not to prosecute, out of sympathy for the grieving family. But in hindsight, this culture of silence only emboldens future attacks,” she said.

The problem is not unique to Nigeria. Reports of attacks on health workers have surged globally in recent years, from Ireland and Britain to China, Germany, Turkey, and the United States. In Italy, a 2019 study revealed that 11% of nurses had suffered physical violence at work, while nearly half endured verbal aggression.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as many as 38% of healthcare workers worldwide experience physical violence during their careers — a figure that excludes the widespread verbal threats and intimidation many face daily.

Several factors fuel the crisis. Long wait times, staff shortages, poor communication, and underfunded health systems frustrate patients and their families, sometimes leading to aggression. Health workers, many of them young women, often operate in open, understaffed environments that make them vulnerable — especially when dealing with psychiatric patients or those under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The risks intensify in conflict and disaster zones, where healthcare workers may also become deliberate targets of political or communal violence. During the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation and the dehumanisation of frontline staff led to a spike in attacks globally.