This World Humanitarian Day we are throwing the spotlight on the local aid workers who bear the brunt of the risk in conflict and disaster zones, and on the affected communities themselves, as they are so often the ones stepping up to deliver for those living through the crises.
The day is commemorated on 19 August, the same day a truck bomb exploded at the UN office in Baghdad in 2003, killing 22 people, including Sérgio Vieira de Mello, the UN high commissioner for human rights who also headed up the UN's Iraq mission. More than 150 local and international aid workers were also injured.
This year’s theme is #NoMatterWhat, to honour the “commitment to overcome the challenges and deliver life-saving assistance to people in need”.
With 62 killed, 84 wounded, and 34 kidnapped, 2023 is on course to be another deadly year for aid workers. Last year, the death toll reached 116. According to the International NGO Safety Organisation, more than 90% of those killed each year are local staff.
The recent Türkiye-Syria earthquakes and the ongoing conflict in Sudan have underlined how it’s not just local aid workers in the firing line. Even though they’ve lost so much already, it is the affected communities themselves that are increasingly taking the strain when the international community can’t or won’t help.
As well as providing broader context around aid worker safety, this selection of our recent coverage showcases mutual aid and the efforts of affected communities to help themselves and their neighbours #NoMatterWhat:
Then and Now: 25 years of aid worker (in)security
A timeline of violence against humanitarians, and the evolving efforts to keep them safe.
How mutual aid networks are powering Sudan's humanitarian response
Pro-democracy groups have morphed into frontline responders.
Sudanese aid workers face hundreds of job losses
The conflict has put some aid programmes on pause, leaving hundreds out of work.
Syrians step up with earthquake aid despite pressures
Impromptu clothing drives, soup kitchens, and even property damage evaluations: The many ways ordinary people are helping quake survivors.
Who helps the helpers? Earthquakes put spotlight on aid workers' needs
Aid workers say there’s no systematic way for them to get help following traumatic events, leaving massive gaps in care.
Local aid groups are paving the way for progress on their terms. Internationals need to follow their lead
The inability of the international aid sector to change by giving up more power to local groups will have human consequences, argues Christina Bennett, CEO of the Start Network.
In Myanmar’s worsening conflict, health workers deliver care and dodge death
Torched-out ambulances, raided hospitals, and murdered workers: Myanmar's health system is one of the many casualties of the military coup.
‘We try to set examples’: Meet the local activists feeding DR Congo’s war-displace
Goma Actif members explain their mutual aid efforts and express frustration at some of the practices of big NGOs.
Local groups step up to lead Beirut blast response
While attention focused on promises of international aid from a France-led donor conference and a UN appeal, much of the initial help after the massive explosion in Beirut was provided by Lebanese themselves – by ad hoc efforts, and by NGOs and groups set up months before to help deal with a deep economic crisis that had left many in crippling poverty.
Grassroots aid grows in middle-income Chile, as COVID-19 drives new needs
Unlike poorer countries in the region, Chile has little to no aid infrastructure. So when the pandemic increased poverty and hunger, local people had to step in. “If we don’t do this, nobody will,” says tattoo artist Marco Epul, who set up a weekly soup kitchen to help.
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Memento Mori
Every year, hundreds of aid workers are killed, kidnapped, or injured doing their jobs. We need to do more to honour them.
