When healthcare collapses

On the second day of this year’s RCOG World Congress, Dr Deborah Harrington shared powerful insights from her time working in Gaza and the realities of delivering healthcare in conflict zones.

Her keynote talk, delivered to a packed auditorium, left a lasting impact on everybody in attendance.

Deborah has graciously permitted us to make this powerful talk available to the RCOG membership. 

Introduction by Professor Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists:

"It is my honour to introduce this powerful and deeply moving speech, When Healthcare Collapses, delivered by Dr Deborah Harrington, who draws on years of extraordinary experience providing healthcare in some of the world’s most challenging and dangerous conflict zones.

Presented to a full audience at this year's RCOG World Congress and received with a standing ovation, this talk bears witness to the devastating human cost when health systems break down — and to the extraordinary courage of those who continue to care for others in the face of violence, destruction and loss.

As a College whose mission is to improve the health of women and girls, we stand firmly against violence in all its forms. The suffering endured in war — particularly by women, children, and future generations — must never be forgotten. We remain committed to supporting access to care without threat, and to standing in solidarity with health professionals working on the front lines of conflict."

Biography

Deborah Harrington is a consultant obstetrician and subspecialist in maternal and fetal medicine at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

She has a strong interest in medical education and is the immediate past head of school of obstetrics and gynaecology for NHSE Thames Valley Deanery and is director of medical education at Oxford University Hospitals.

She has been visiting Gaza since 2016 as part of a group of medical teachers led by Professor Nick Maynard, to provide clinical teaching to medical students and postgraduate doctors in training.

She was part of the first UK Emergency Medical Team allowed into Gaza in December 2023-January 2024 with Medical Aid for Palestinians and the International Rescue Committee, where she worked at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah alongside Palestinian colleagues.

Since returning she has continued humanitarian advocacy through testimony to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, United Nations, as well as giving talks and media interviews on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, described by the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva as ‘hell on earth.’