As the world commemorates World Humanitarian Day 2024, the latest figures on the dire circumstances aid workers face on the frontline highlight the alarming increase in attacks against them and their work to relieve the suffering of civilians caught in the crossfire. Humanitarian Outcomes, an aid research advocacy group, published its 2024 Aid Worker Security Report Aug. 15, which stated that “2023 was the deadliest year for aid workers ever recorded, with fatalities more than double the annual average.” Humanitarian Outcomes is supported by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. According to the report, which was compiled by the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD), 595 aid workers were victims of major attacks in 2023, including 280 who were killed in 33 countries. More than half of these deaths (163) were aid workers killed in the first three months of the conflict in Gaza, mostly as a result of airstrikes, the group stated. Citing data from the Humanitarian Access SCORE Report, the UN said the number of aid workers killed in Gaza was “an unprecedented number for a single context in such a short period.” (OSV News)
