World Humanitarian Day 2025: Aid workers mull record death toll among fallen colleagues
With the announcement on Tuesday that a record 383 aid workers were confirmed killed in the line of duty last year, one veteran UN aid worker based in Gaza has reaffirmed the resolve of humanitarians everywhere to save lives and relieve suffering, no matter how hard it may be.
Speaking to UN News from the wartorn enclave to mark World Humanitarian Day, Olga Cherevko stressed that the situation there is dire, and needs are staggering.
And nearly two years since the start of the war in Gaza, Ms. Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, emphasized the commitment of her Palestinian colleagues:
“The doctors, the nurses, aid workers who many of them have, lost everything… And, of course, displaced time and time again and they continue to show up. They continue to work without electricity, without food, without basic supplies. And they continue to serve, doing the job that, all of us have chosen to do, to be humanitarians.”
In comments to mark World Humanitarian Day, UN chief António Guterres insisted that aid teams “are the last lifeline for over 300 million people” impacted by conflict or disaster.
But they face funding cuts and are coming increasingly under attack, in direct contravention of international humanitarian law, he said.
“What is missing is political will – and moral courage…Humanitarians …can never be targeted,” the Secretary-General said.
Haiti: more than half of the population don’t have enough to eat – WFP
To Haiti, where the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday that more than half the population of 12 million people do not have enough to eat.
The Caribbean island nation is less than two hours’ flight from Miami and yet it continues to face one of the most critical hunger crises in the world.
Persistent insecurity and gang violence in the capital sometimes prevent WFP teams from leaving their office, said the agency’s Communications Officer, Pedro Rodrigues. But he adds that “most days, [his Haitian and international] colleagues head out, accompanying trucks loaded with lifesaving food assistance”.
To help those most in need, WFP provides support to farmers’ associations and schools in the north of Haiti, among others, some of the more than 1.3 million people the UN agency has helped so far this year.
WHO condemns deadly health attacks
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that there have been well over 800 attacks on medical staff and facilities worldwide so far this year.
These attacks have caused 1,121 deaths and 645 injuries among health workers and patients across 16 countries.
So far this year, Ukraine has faced most attacks, with 325 reported incidents. Just behind is the Occupied Palestinian Territory, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Myanmar.
For all of 2024, there were more than 1,600 attacks and nearly 1,000 deaths.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said that many attacks this year have involved heavy weapons and small arms, along with psychological intimidation and the physical obstruction of healthcare delivery.
WHO called on all relevant parties in conflicts to actively protect and respect healthcare, ensuring safe and continued delivery of services and access to healthcare, free from violence, threat or fear.
Daniel Johnson, UN News
