By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
The United Nations on Tuesday reported that a record 383 humanitarian workers were killed in 2024, a 31% increase from the previous year, describing the figures as a “shameful indictment” of global inaction.
Already in 2025, 265 deaths have been recorded as of August 14, raising deep concern over worsening threats.
Conflicts in Gaza (181 deaths) and Sudan (60 deaths) accounted for most of the fatalities, with the UN noting that state actors were the primary perpetrators.
The majority of victims were local staff, killed while on duty or at home.
Beyond the fatalities, 308 aid workers were wounded, 125 kidnapped, and 45 detained in 2024, underscoring the escalating dangers of humanitarian work in conflict zones.
“Even one attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and the people we serve,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher. “Attacks on this scale, with zero accountability, are a shameful indictment of international inaction and apathy.”
Fletcher stressed that violence against humanitarian workers violates international law and disrupts lifelines for millions in crises.
He urged governments and armed groups to protect civilians and aid personnel and ensure justice for perpetrators.
The UN also drew attention to mounting attacks on healthcare workers.
The World Health Organization (WHO), reported more than 800 attacks across 16 territories in 2025, killing over 1,110 health workers and patients, with hundreds more injured.
“Each attack inflicts lasting harm, deprives entire communities of life-saving care, and weakens already strained health systems,” the WHO warned.
World Humanitarian Day, marked on August 19, commemorates the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad that killed 22 people, including UN rights chief Sergio Vieira de Mello.
