(Geneva/New York, 19 August 2024) Aid workers on the frontlines of conflicts around the world are being killed in unprecedented numbers, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day.

With 280 aid workers killed in 33 countries last year, 2023 was the deadliest year for the global humanitarian community.

This unprecedented number represents a 137 percent increase compared to 2022, when 118 aid workers were killed.

Things could get even deadlier in 2024. As of August 7, 172 aid workers had already been killed, according to the preliminary count of the Aid Worker Security Database.

More than half of the 2,023 deaths occurred in the first three months of fighting in Gaza – October to December – most of them as a result of air strikes. Since October, more than 280 aid workers have been killed in Gaza alone – most of them employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The extreme levels of violence in Sudan and South Sudan have contributed to the tragic death toll in both 2023 and 2024.

In all these conflicts, most of the victims are among national employees.

In addition, many humanitarian workers are still being held in Yemen.

“The normalisation of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously damaging to aid operations everywhere,” said Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “Today we reiterate our call for those in power to take action to end the abuses against civilians and the impunity with which these heinous attacks are committed.”

On this World Humanitarian Day, aid workers and their supporters around the world have organised events to show solidarity and raise awareness of the terrible consequences of armed conflict, which also affect humanitarian workers. In addition, humanitarian leaders will send a joint letter to member states of the UN General Assembly, calling on the international community to stop attacks on civilians, protect all aid workers and hold perpetrators to account.

Everyone can add their voice by joining and amplifying the digital campaign using the hashtag #ActforHumanity.

Additional resources:

Safety database for support staff

World Humanitarian Day

A video calling on world leaders to act, narrated by Muzoon Almellehan, an education activist, Syrian refugee and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, is available here.

The joint letter from the heads of humanitarian organizations to the member states of the UN General Assembly can be found here.

Media contact:
In Geneva: Jens Laerke, [email protected], +41 79 472 9750

OCHA press releases can be found at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int