UN Agencies Call for Protection of Aid Workers
(MENAFN) On Tuesday, UN agencies and various humanitarian groups commemorated World Humanitarian Day by issuing urgent calls for the safeguarding of aid personnel.
They raised alarms over an unprecedented surge in assaults that have resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands of humanitarian workers worldwide.
Figures released by the UN humanitarian office (OCHA) indicate that 2024 witnessed the highest recorded toll, with 383 aid workers losing their lives.
In 2025, data compiled so far by the Aid Worker Security Database reveals that 265 individuals in the humanitarian sector have already been killed by mid-August.
Christian Lindmeier, the spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), addressed the media in Geneva, highlighting a disturbing increase in violence targeting healthcare facilities and professionals 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 stated.
Some of the most impacted regions include Ukraine, which has suffered 325 assaults leading to 10 deaths and 114 people injured; the occupied Palestinian territory, where 304 incidents caused 61 deaths and 165 injuries; the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which experienced 38 attacks with eight injuries; Sudan, where 38 violent events led to 933 deaths and 148 injuries; and Myanmar, which endured 33 assaults resulting in 51 fatalities and 90 injuries.
"Let's be clear, every single attack on health is one too many," Lindmeier emphasized.
He further noted that in 2024, the WHO documented 1,647 assaults on healthcare systems across 16 countries or territories, resulting in nearly 1,000 fatalities and 1,779 people wounded.
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