A Call to #ActForHumanity
- UNAA
- Aug 19
- 3 min read
19th August 2025
On 19 August, World Humanitarian Day honors those who risk their lives to help others and stands with millions in crisis. In 2024, over 380 aid workers were killed, many at home, with hundreds more injured, kidnapped, or detained—often in violation of international law and unpunished. As global needs grow, funding shrinks and violence rises, leaving the humanitarian system overwhelmed and failing. This World Humanitarian Day we’re relaunching #ActForHumanity with sharper urgency demanding protection, accountability and action. We’re no longer at a crossroads—we’re at the edge.
On 19 August, we mark World Humanitarian Day — a time to honor those who step into crises to help others, and to stand with the millions of people whose lives hang in the balance.
This year the message is clear: the humanitarian system is stretched to its limits; underfunded, overwhelmed and under attack.
Where bombs fall and disasters strike, humanitarian workers are the ones holding the line keeping people alive, often at great personal risk. But more and more those who help are becoming targets themselves.
In 2024 alone over 380 humanitarian workers were killed. Some in the line of duty, others in their homes. Hundreds more have been injured, kidnapped or detained, and there is reason to fear 2025 could be worse.
Too often the world looks away, even when these attacks violate international law. The laws meant to protect aid workers are ignored. Those responsible walk free. This silence and lack of accountability cannot continue.
The system is failing not just humanitarian workers, but the people they serve. We’re not at a crossroads anymore. We’re standing at the edge. Needs are rising. Funding is falling. Attacks on aid workers are breaking records.
To pull us back from that edge, this World Humanitarian Day we’re relaunching #ActForHumanity with sharper urgency demanding protection, accountability and action.
It’s time to turn global outrage into real pressure on those in power, asking them to:
Protect humanitarian workers and the civilians they serve
Uphold international humanitarian law
Fund the lifelines we claim to support
If we can’t protect the people who save lives, what does that say about us? If we let this continue, we risk losing not just a system but our sense of humanity.
Leaders ignored last year’s call. This year, we relaunch #ActForHumanity. Let's rally public pressure on those in power to uphold the laws that safeguard humanity, and to protect civilians and humanitarian workers in conflict zones.
Share the video to demand governments, parties to conflict and world leaders uphold international law, end impunity, and #ActForHumanity.
CALL TO ACTION: JOIN THE CAMPAIGN!
When protection is denied and accountability is absent, our voices and actions must fill the void. Aid workers keep going into danger, through checkpoints, under fire. They show up. So must we.
Use your voice: Every post, tag and conversation build pressure for protection. Share, speak out and demand action using #ActForHumanity.
Fund the lifeline: Humanitarians can’t deliver without safety or support. Help keep aid flowing and protect aid workers – especially local responders.
Mobilize: Across cities, campuses and communities; people are taking a stand. Show leaders the world is watching.
Create with purpose: Artists, storytellers, influencers – use your art, platforms and brands to stir emotion and inspire action. Make this message impossible to ignore.\
Background
On 19 August 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Five years later, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day (WHD).
Each year, WHD focuses on a theme, bringing together partners from across the humanitarian system to advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises, and for the safety and security of aid workers.
WHD is a campaign by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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