Published on: 2026-08-19
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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August 19, 2026 Humanitarian Aid
On World Humanitarian Day, the UN warns: the use of strike drones is changing the nature of warfare worldwide, and humanitarian organization personnel are increasingly coming under fire.
According to new data published on Wednesday by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, 907 humanitarian workers were victims of violence last year, including 350 who were killed. In 2025, the number of deaths decreased compared to the previous year but remained at a historically high level – the second highest figure ever recorded.
Additionally, according to information from the Aid Worker Security Database, 322 humanitarian workers were injured, and 235 were kidnapped.
In his message on the occasion of World Humanitarian Day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres paid tribute to humanitarian agency workers.
“Disinformation undermines trust. Funding for humanitarian activities is being cut. And humanitarian access is being restricted,” he said, calling on states to protect humanitarian workers while they protect millions of people in distress around the world.
Gaza remains the most dangerous place
Despite the announcement of a ceasefire in October, Gaza has already become the most dangerous place in the world for humanitarian personnel for the third time in 2025. There, 186 humanitarian workers have died, 68 percent of them as a result of air strikes.
In Sudan, the number of humanitarian workers killed has increased for the fifth consecutive year, reaching a new record high. In 2025, 71 humanitarian organization staff members died there, the majority as a result of firearm use.
Among the countries with a high level of threats to humanitarian personnel in 2025 are also Ukraine, Ethiopia, Syria, Haiti, Chad, and Cameroon. The most common forms of violence there have been kidnappings and airstrikes.
The violence does not abate
Since the beginning of 2026, 82 humanitarian workers have already died worldwide, 97 have been injured, and 39 have been kidnapped.
“In just three years, more than a thousand humanitarian workers have been killed, and this is completely unacceptable,” said Tom Fletcher, Deputy Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator. “But words of condemnation alone are not enough to protect the next humanitarian worker. States must comply with international humanitarian law and use all available means to protect civilians and our colleagues. And those who break the rules must face real consequences.”
Deadly strikes from the sky
Humanitarian organizations have to operate in conditions of rapidly changing combat dynamics. Inexpensive and easily adaptable combat drones make deadly technologies accessible to an increasing number of conflict participants and enable explosive strikes deeper and deeper into populated areas.
According to the UNMISS, in Sudan, strike drones accounted for 80 percent of civilian deaths during the first four months of 2026. The strikes targeted markets and medical facilities among other places.
© UNICEF Humanitarian workers in Sudan provide medical assistance at a UNICEF-supported center.
In April of this year alone, drone attacks killed 80 Ukrainian civilians. In Russia, drone strikes also resulted in civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.
In Colombia, the number of attacks using armed drones increased fourfold from 2024 to 2025.
Humanitarian and medical workers are increasingly facing this threat. Since the beginning of this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has already recorded 639 attacks on medical facilities.
In March, a humanitarian worker was killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a result of a drone strike on a residential building. In Ukraine, four humanitarian convoys were attacked in just one week in May.
“Combat drones have become a new manifestation of an old threat – the deliberate or reckless destruction of civilian lives,” Fletcher stated. “Technologies may change, but the laws of war remain the same.”
DR Congo: “I must stay”
This year’s campaign for World Humanitarian Day is held under the slogan “Acting for Humanity.” It aims to draw attention to the real people behind the published figures.
Emmanuel Madragule, a humanitarian organization driver with more than 20 years of experience, survived an attack by an armed group during a trip as part of a humanitarian mission in eastern DRC in June 2024.
Despite the danger, he returned to work because he wanted to continue helping people in crisis.
“I cannot leave my colleagues,” he told the UN News Service.
His decision is partly related to personal experience: in 2008, humanitarian workers saved his uncle’s life after he suffered a gunshot wound. Madragule’s story demonstrates the risks humanitarian workers face in the DR Congo and the sacrifices they make to help others.
Protect humanitarian workers
International humanitarian law obliges the parties to armed conflicts to protect the civilian population and respect humanitarian personnel. This year, humanitarian organizations plan to provide assistance to 87 million people with the most acute needs worldwide.
In memory of those who died in Baghdad
World Humanitarian Day is celebrated annually on August 19, marking the anniversary of the explosion at the Canal Hotel in Baghdad in 2003.
As a result of the attack, 22 UN staff members were killed, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello.
Five years later, the UN General Assembly declared August 19 as World Humanitarian Day. This year, the Organization again calls on the global community, especially those who have influence in conflict situations, to “act for humanity.”
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