ENGLISH

Global Justice
Gaza after the ceasefire headlines: why WONCA (World Organization of General Practitioners/Family Physician) and SAAFP (The South African Academy of Family Phisicians) still need moral clarity
[Gaza after the ceasefire headlines: why WONCA and SAAFP still need moral clarity]
Date: April 28, 2026 Author: Shabir Moosa 

The world’s attention has shifted. Gaza no longer dominates headlines in the same way it did at the height of mass bombardment, and geopolitical attention is repeatedly redirected elsewhere. But the destruction of health care, civilian suffering, and coercive control in Gaza do not stop simply because international attention has moved on (1,2).

WONCA has not been silent. It has issued a crisis statement, a broader conflict statement, a supportive Palestine post, and later Gaza fundraising and support features (3-7). Its President has also written that accountability, equity, compassion, and the defence of health as a human right should guide WONCA’s leadership, and that attacks on health facilities and forced displacement strip people of care and dignity (8). That is precisely why the current gap matters. These interventions show acknowledgement, but they still do not amount to a coherent institutional response to Israeli conduct in Gaza or to the silence of the Israel Association of Family Physicians (9,10).

The bylaws make this gap harder to dismiss as merely rhetorical. WONCA’s mission includes respect for universal human rights, and its rules provide a process for complaint where a member organization’s policy may no longer accord with Article 4 (11) and revocation of membership based on Article 5.3.1.4. This means that asking WONCA to clarify its expectations of the Israel Association of Family Physicians is not an attempt to impose an alien agenda on the organization. It is a request that WONCA apply its own values and governance framework consistently (8,9,11).

Since September 2025, this issue has become even more difficult to evade. The UN Commission of Inquiry stated that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, and the fuller report later reaffirmed findings of genocidal acts, intent, and state responsibility (12,13). WHO’s report on 2025 in the occupied Palestinian territory states that Gaza continued to suffer catastrophic destruction through the end of the year, with 71,271 people reported killed and 171,233 injured cumulatively by 31 December 2025, over 930 documented attacks on health care, all 36 hospitals damaged, and no hospitals operational in North Gaza by late December 2025 (1). By October 2025, national medical associations were publicly stating that at least 94% of Gaza’s hospitals had been damaged or destroyed and that healthcare workers had been killed, detained, and abused (2).

In that setting, the question is no longer whether enough has been said in general. The question is whether WONCA’s language of accountability, equity, and human rights will be given institutional effect when a member body remains publicly silent in the face of overwhelming evidence (8,9,11). That is why calls to WONCA and SAAFP still matter (14,15).

References

1. World Health Organization. Report: WHO’s response in the occupied Palestinian territory (January–December 2025). 2026 Apr 13. Available from: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/report-whos-response-in-the-occupied-palestinian-territory-january-december-2025/
2. Healthcare in Gaza: a joint statement from national medical associations. BMA. 2025 Oct 7. Available from: https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/healthcare-in-gaza-a-joint-statement-from-national-medical-associations
3. World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). WONCA Statement on Israeli and Palestinian crisis. Available from: https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/WONCAStatementonIsraeliandPalestiniancrisis.aspx
4. World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). Statement on Protecting Health Workers and Patients in All Conflict Settings. 2025 Aug 27. Available from: https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/WONCA_Statement_August_2025.aspx
5. World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). Supporting Our Physician Colleagues in Palestine. Available from: https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/SupportingOurPhysicianColleaguesinPalestine.aspx
6. World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). Support Gaza healthcare workers: WONCA backs MSF emergency fund. 2025 Oct 17. Available from: https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/MSFemergencyfundGaza.aspx
7. World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). Support Oxfam’s Emergency Response in Gaza. 2025 Oct 17. Available from: https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/OxfamEmergencyResponseGaza.aspx
8. World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). From the President: Family Medicine for a Changing World. September 2025. Available from: https://www.globalfamilydoctor.com/News/FromthePresidentSeptember2025_2.aspx
9. WONCA Europe. Israel Association of Family Physicians. Available from: https://www.woncaeurope.org/institutes/display/557f8bbc-a365-4ccb-a3c7-1aff105ace09/Israel-Association-of-Family-Physicians
10. Moosa S. WONCA’s Statement on Gaza Is Not Enough — We Need Moral Clarity, Not Equivalence. ProfMoosa. 2025 Aug 31. Available from: https://profmoosa.com/woncas-statement-on-gaza-is-not-enough-we-need-moral-clarity-not-equivalence/
11. WONCA Association. Bylaws. September 2025. Approved by the WONCA Council by Ordinary General Meeting September 2025.
12. UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry. Report of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. A/HRC/60/CRP.3. Geneva: UN; 2026 Mar 8. Available from: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/commission-of-inquiry-report-genocide-in-gaza-a-hrc-60-crp-3/
13. Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, UN Commission finds. 2025 Sep 16. Available from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds
14. South African Academy of Family Physicians. Gaza, SAAFP, social activism and the world. [Internal communication]. 2026 Apr 2.
15. Moosa S. A Landmark Victory: SAAFP Adopts Historic Motion on Palestine. ProfMoosa. 2025 Sep 9. Available from: https://profmoosa.com/a-landmark-victory-saafp-adopts-historic-motion-on-palestine/

ESPAÑOL