Targeting Care: Understanding the Strategic Logic of Violence Against Humanitarian Health Providers

The deliberate targeting of healthcare providers in conflict settings presents an urgent and understudied humanitarian crisis. These attacks not only contribute to excess morbidity and mortality among already vulnerable populations but often force humanitarian providers to withdraw or suspend operations entirely, leaving critical gaps in care. Despite the severity and frequency of these events, little is known about the strategic motivations behind these attacks or how to effectively prevent them. This study aims to investigate predictors of violence against humanitarian healthcare providers and to design an operational intervention to reduce these risks. In collaboration with the Alliance for International Medical Action, the project will assess existing incident data collection and management systems and support qualitative interviews with health workers and community stakeholders. South Sudan has been selected as the study site due to its proximity to the Sudanese conflict and its own ongoing challenges with insecurity and large- scale displacement. This exploratory research will inform a grounded theory of strategic violence against healthcare providers and support the co-design of a scalable, context- sensitive intervention. Findings will lay the foundation for a future pilot evaluation aimed at protecting healthcare providers and maintaining service delivery in high-risk environments.