A new article published in the International Journal of Health Policy and Management warns that the damages to the Pasteur Institute of Iran threatens to disrupt key public health functions across the Eastern Mediterranean region. The article, co-authored by researchers from eight countries, highlights how the systematic destruction of academic infrastructure—termed "scholasticide"—has become normalized in the region over more than two decades through targeted assassinations of scholars and physical destruction of institutions.

According to the paper, the airstrikes as of February 28, 2026, have destroyed or damaged 32 Iranian universities and killed at least 10 professors and 60 students. The strikes also severely damaged the Pasteur Institute of Iran, a WHO Collaborating Center founded in 1920 that has been vital for vaccine development, infectious disease surveillance, and public health research. The authors argue that destroyed labs erase not just physical infrastructure but ongoing research, sample collections, and institutional knowledge that cannot be rebuilt through publications alone.

The article calls on the global community to act through international mechanisms to stop this cycle, warning that failure to do so risks losing moral authority to protect education, science, and health in any future conflict. It stresses that these human rights are non-negotiable and demand consistent, concrete action—not just condemnation.

Source: https://www.ijhpm.com/article_4871.html