Around the world, local humanitarians are serving their communities through conflict and crises. But as the risks to their safety grow each year, we need to stand with them.
Twenty years ago, a bomb targeting the United Nations headquarters in Iraq killed 22 UN staff members. That day is commemorated annually as World Humanitarian Day, paying tribute to humanitarian workers, including those who lost their lives in the course of duty. Yet, since 2003, the risks to humanitarian workers have increased significantly.
Humanitarian workers are managing the threats of becoming targets of armed conflict and violence, overlapping natural hazards and climate change, and inequity in funding, while keeping their families and communities safe.
Some of this century’s deadliest conflicts have turned aid workers into collateral damage—and targets. The Aid Worker Security Database tracks incidents and impacts of attacks on aid workers, and the numbers have increased almost steadily each year. Since the start of 2023, 115 humanitarian workers were killed in the line of duty. Many more were wounded or kidnapped. In 2022 (and in most years), 98% of aid worker casualties were local staff—of either international or national organizations. However, international media headlines focus almost exclusively on the 2% of international workers affected.
While attacks on international NGO staff have recently decreased, attacks on their local implementing partners are on the rise. The loss of humanitarian workers seems to make international headlines only when international staff are involved. Media attention is particularly active when international staff are evacuating a crisis situation, and it plummets once they’ve left. That leaves local organizations, staff, and victims of war without the support that continued global attention would provide.
Almost every year since 2011, the most dangerous place to be an aid worker has been South Sudan, where at least 90% of staff killed (more than 200 people) were South Sudanese. But their stories rarely make headlines.
Earlier this year when internal conflict broke out in nearby Sudan, dozens of articles were written about the evacuation of foreign nationals. Harrowing stories of embassy staff and international aid workers escaping fighting dominated media coverage of Sudan. When GlobalGiving reached out to our partners in the region, we received messages full of fear and worry. The Darfur Women’s Network (DWN) shared how difficult it was to communicate with their staff members and with their families. Mastora from the DWN shared,
“Any time I call, I hear heavy weapons, and I know that my family is in danger, which is devastating and affects me physically, psychologically, and mentally. I have no idea what I have to do to save the lives of my family.”
There’s been a sharp decline in international media coverage of the situation in Sudan in recent months, despite the ongoing violence and devastating humanitarian impact on the Sudanese people. That includes the local staff of international aid agencies, who are now facing job losses, in part, due to security concerns.
The 2023 Aid Worker Security Report lists Haiti and Ukraine among the top 10 countries with the highest number of incidents against humanitarian workers. The 2022 report noted, “[t]he unpredictable and potentially devastating consequences of airstrikes in particular seem to be a risk threshold that most international organisations are unwilling to cross. As a result, most remain at a distance from the front lines, paradoxically relying on less equipped local partners (and unsupported volunteer groups) to provide aid where the fighting is most intense.”
I have many memories of working in Yemen in the middle of the ongoing war, though my time there was brief. My memories include the screams of Yemeni aid workers when we heard airstrikes in the distance, the discovery of shrapnel in the children’s play area in an aid organization’s office, and the long lines of cars waiting for gasoline so they could get to work or find food, water, and shelter.
“While my Yemeni colleagues showed incredible leadership and bravery, their worry was palpable.”
I eventually left the country. And although it wasn’t simple for me to leave, it wasn’t possible for local workers who wanted to, even temporarily. International embassies had evacuated, the airport had closed, and international aid agencies set up outside of Yemen. The need, however, was in Yemen. That’s why GlobalGiving is committed to directly supporting local, community-led organizations, including in times of disaster. Last year, we supported several Yemeni organizations through our Hope in Crisis Fund.
But we have to take a careful approach. First responders are at particular risk. Simply by continuing to operate, health care workers in Haiti, for example, have become targets for kidnapping and ransom. Many have lost their lives. Despite unprecedented gang violence and control in Haiti since 2022, many of our Haitian partners have shared stories of strength and resolve in responding to the needs of Haitian communities. The limited headlines about Haiti focus on international intervention but neglect the ongoing daily struggle and courage of Haitians.
Earlier this year, GlobalGiving partner Orthopedic Relief Services International reported that its Director of Security, a Haitian, was killed in gang violence, devastating a family and community, and putting access to health care further out of reach for many. Some partners like Doctors Without Borders temporarily closed their hospitals due to a lack of safety for their workers and patients. Others have been forced to adapt their facilities or supply chains to protect their lives and aid materials. We’re working hard to support Haitians through our Haiti Crisis Relief Fund.
Targeting of humanitarian workers or their activities used to be a rare occurrence, but in recent years, it has become so prevalent that numerous UN resolutions have been adopted specifically to combat this threat. Moreover, some organizations have limited sharing the locations of their activities with militaries in certain wars. While sharing coordinates of locations was meant to serve as a protective measure, some organizations have accused warring parties of targeting those locations. Hospitals, in particular, have been attacked from Syria to Ukraine. Just the other day, a Ukrainian partner asked us not to report on the names of the hospitals they support “so that they do not become the target of future attacks.” Tactics such as mass shelling, like in Ukraine, endanger humanitarian activity and innocent people, including humanitarian staff. The Ukrainian Red Cross Society sadly lost a volunteer in Kherson last year while she was supporting aid distributions.
When a new government forcefully came to power in Afghanistan in 2021, news around the world focused on the hasty evacuations of military members and foreigners. What about the communities left behind and the community members who continue to serve there? Our partners in Afghanistan have faced crisis after crisis since then. Despite the ever-shrinking space for nonprofit partners, particularly for women humanitarian workers and those working in education, Afghan organizations are finding ways to continue their work. Teach for Afghanistan fellows continue to support students with critical education opportunities, despite the risk, finding innovative ways to keep children learning. But for safety reasons, our partners’ stories of success cannot always be told.
Natural disasters also take the lives of humanitarians working alongside the communities they serve. Earlier this year, the earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, including many humanitarian workers responding to the ongoing conflict in Syria and refugees in Türkiye. Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM), a GlobalGiving partner in Türkiye working with refugees, lost six of their own staff members. Many lost family members and their homes. Despite these devastating losses, ASAM provided life-saving assistance to more than 250,000 people, including refugees facing discrimination in the aftermath of the earthquakes. While media attention on the earthquake’s impact has dissipated, needs remain deep six months later, including for mental health support for survivors. There is often a disparity between the support offered to international staff compared to local staff and local partner resources.
World Humanitarian Day is an opportunity to honor those who paid the ultimate price and to recognize the critical work and growing risks aid organizations face on a daily basis, particularly in complex humanitarian emergencies. Those risks are exponentially higher for local organizations and community-based workers. Solutions and protection must work and be designed for them. Equitable resources for protection, mental health support, and a commitment to accountability and justice require long-term investments in community-led solutions as well as changes to NGO support for staff. We must ensure humanitarian workers are never a target and are never left behind.
Honor a humanitarian today by supporting their critical work around the world.
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