As the world marks World Humanitarian Day, the United Nations is urgently calling for action following a record-breaking number of aid worker deaths in 2023. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 280 aid workers were killed across 33 countries last year, marking a staggering 137% increase from the 118 fatalities recorded in 2022.
Tragically, 2024 may surpass this grim milestone, with 172 aid workers already killed as of August 7, based on provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database. More than half of the 2023 deaths occurred during the first three months of hostilities in Gaza, largely due to airstrikes. Since October alone, over 280 aid workers—most of them UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East staff—have been killed in Gaza.
In addition to Gaza, extreme violence in Sudan and South Sudan has significantly contributed to the rising death toll of aid workers in both 2023 and 2024. Most of these casualties are among national staff, who continue to face grave risks on the frontlines.
Meanwhile, numerous humanitarian workers remain detained in Yemen, highlighting the ongoing dangers faced by those delivering life-saving aid in conflict zones.
“The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable, and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere,” said Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. She urged global leaders to take immediate steps to end violations against civilians and to hold perpetrators accountable for these heinous attacks.
On this World Humanitarian Day, aid workers and their supporters are organizing events worldwide to stand in solidarity and draw attention to the devastating impact of armed conflicts on humanitarian staff. In a powerful gesture, leaders of humanitarian organizations will also send a joint letter to the Member States of the UN General Assembly, calling for the international community to protect civilians, safeguard aid workers, and ensure justice for those who have been attacked.
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