The United Nations has urged governments to protect and support aid workers in honour of World Humanitarian Day, Today.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that humanitarian personnel are under unprecedented threat, with at least 383 aid workers killed in 2024 — nearly half of them in Gaza.
“Aid workers are the last lifeline for over 300 million people caught in conflict or disaster,” Guterres said in a video message.
Record Surge in Violence
According to the UN data, the number of aid workers killed rose by 31% between 2023 and 2024, driven largely by the war in Gaza. State actors remain the most frequent perpetrators.
The Aid Worker Security Database recorded the highest numbers of major attacks in:
- Palestinian territories: 194
- Sudan: 64
- South Sudan: 47
- Nigeria: 31
- Democratic Republic of Congo: 27
As of August 2025, at least 265 aid workers have already been killed, showing no signs of the violence slowing.
Attacks on Humanitarians Are Attacks on Humanity
Guterres stressed that international law requires humanitarians to be respected and protected, calling this principle non-negotiable.
“Yet red lines are crossed with impunity,” he said, urging political leaders to show “the moral courage” to end the targeting of aid workers.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution in May 2024 reaffirming the obligation of all parties to protect humanitarian personnel and calling for independent investigations into violations.
Funding Cuts Deepen the Crisis
The humanitarian sector also faces a severe funding crisis.
- In March, the Trump administration cut 83% of USAID programmes, before shutting down the agency entirely in July.
- Several European countries have also reduced aid budgets, worsening the strain.
UN relief chief Tom Fletcher warned earlier this year that the global humanitarian system had reached “a breaking point”.
“The pace and scale of the funding cuts are a seismic shock … many will die because aid is drying up. Programmes are shutting down, staff are being laid off, and we are being forced to choose which lives to prioritise,” he said.
Remembering World Humanitarian Day
World Humanitarian Day is marked every year on 19 August. It was established in 2008 to honour the victims of a 2003 bomb attack in Baghdad that killed 22 humanitarian aid workers.
“On this World Humanitarian Day, let’s honour the fallen with action,” Guterres declared. “An attack on humanitarians is an attack on humanity.”
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