Global bodies warn of unprecedented levels of violence, urging governments to ensure accountability, safeguard those on frontlines of crises
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations on Tuesday marked World Humanitarian Day with urgent appeals to protect aid workers, warning of record numbers of attacks that left thousands dead and injured across the globe.
According to the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), a record 383 aid workers were killed in 2024, while provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database has already recorded 265 deaths as of mid-August this year.
Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), told reporters in Geneva that violence against healthcare had reached alarming levels in 2025.
"Since the beginning of this year, WHO has verified 821 attacks on health across all regions of the world, with 1121 deaths and 645 injuries among health workers and patients across 16 countries or territories so far this year," he said.
The countries most affected include Ukraine, with 325 attacks resulting in 10 deaths and 114 injuries; the occupied Palestinian territory, with 304 attacks leading to 61 deaths and 165 injuries; the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 38 attacks and eight injuries; Sudan, with 38 attacks causing 933 deaths and 148 injuries; and Myanmar, with 33 attacks resulting in 51 deaths and 90 injuries.
"Let's be clear, every single attack on health is one too many," Lindmeier said, adding that in 2024, WHO recorded 1,647 attacks on healthcare from 16 countries or territories, with nearly 1,000 deaths and 1,779 injuries.
He called on "all actors to take accountable actions in legal, operational and policy measures to prevent and protect against attacks and ensure the right to health."
The UN human rights office also marked the day with a tribute to those on the frontlines. Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan quoted High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk as saying: "We will never stop insisting that governments work together to ensure that they provide full humanitarian access to people in need, and that there is accountability for grave violations of international human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law."
"Humanitarian workers and UN personnel must be protected," Turk added.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) also issued a joint statement underscoring the deadly toll faced by aid workers.
In 2025 alone, 18 staff and volunteers of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement were killed while carrying out their lifesaving work in Gaza, in Sudan, in South Sudan, in Iran, in Ethiopia and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the statement said.
"Deliberately targeting humanitarian organisations through false and harmful information adds to the threats faced by aid workers, notably by portraying them as legitimate targets," it added. "Courage is not protection, and dedication does not deflect bullets."
The statement urged governments to back the Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, saying: "The rules of war are clear: humanitarian personnel must be respected and protected. Every attack is a grave betrayal of humanity."
On the US social media platform X, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director General Amy Pope echoed the call: "They (humanitarian workers) don't take sides – they save lives. Yet, they're too often left unprotected."
"Their safety is non-negotiable," she urged.
Marked each year on Aug. 19, the day commemorates humanitarian staff who have been killed or injured in the line of duty and honors those who continue to deliver life-saving aid despite the risks. It was designated by the UN in 2008 in memory of the 2003 bombing of its headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 humanitarian workers, including the UN special representative to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
