"The consolidated figures for 2014 include 338 records of attacks on health care in 19 countries facing acute or protracted emergencies. For 2015, the records indicate 256 attacks in 16 countries with acute or protracted emergencies," an extract from the study reads.
Medical facilities in Syria, Iraq, the Gaza Strip and Yemen were most affected, WHO said.
According to the survey, half of the attacks were committed by governmental troops, in over 60 percent of the reported incidents health care facilities were intentionally targeted.
"The number of reported attacks reflected in this report is tragic. The high tolls of death and injury to our health colleagues and the inevitable impact on health service delivery call for greater action," WHO urged in the report.
In 2014, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing the severity of attacks on health care workers and medical facilities. However, the number of attacks on medical institutions has drastically increased in recent months. The latest incident occurred in May when Syrian opposition forces assailed a hospital in the war-torn province of Aleppo.
