World Humanitarian Day 2025. Photo illustration by UN
World Humanitarian Day 2025 relaunches the #ActForHumanity campaign, calling for urgent action to protect aid workers, enforce accountability, and sustain the funding that keeps humanitarian operations alive.
This year’s theme, “strengthening global solidarity and empowering local communities,” highlights the critical role of both international cooperation and local action in responding to crises.
“Humanitarian workers are the last lifeline for over 300 million people caught in conflict or disaster,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for the day.
Yet, that lifeline is under threat. Funding is dwindling, while those delivering aid face rising dangers.
In 2024 alone, over 380 humanitarian workers were killed, some in the line of duty, others at home. Hundreds more were injured, kidnapped, or detained.
Last year’s global toll rose even higher, with at least 390 aid workers killed, marking a grim record. The Secretary-General warns that 2025 could be even deadlier.
From Gaza to Sudan, Myanmar, and beyond, humanitarian workers are increasingly becoming targets.
“International law is clear: humanitarians must be respected and protected. They can never be targeted. This rule is non-negotiable and is binding on all parties to conflict, always and everywhere,” Guterres said. Yet, despite legal protections, attacks continue with impunity.
The consequences of inaction are stark.
When aid workers are attacked or funding fails, communities already devastated by conflict or disaster lose access to critical services like food, medical care, and shelter.
The Secretary-General emphasizes that the crisis is not caused by a lack of rules or tools, but by a shortage of political will and moral courage.
The #ActForHumanity campaign urges governments, organizations, and the public to transform outrage into tangible pressure on those in power. Key priorities include:
- Protect humanitarian workers and the civilians they serve, ensuring safety and condemning attacks.
- Uphold international humanitarian law, respecting the protected status of aid workers.
- Fund essential lifelines, providing predictable support for humanitarian programs worldwide.
- Ensure accountability, bringing perpetrators of attacks on aid workers to justice.
The day is not only about honoring the fallen but taking action to prevent further loss.
Aid workers operate in some of the world’s most dangerous environments, from active conflict zones to disaster-stricken regions, delivering critical medical care, shelter, food, and water.
Yet the system meant to protect them is increasingly fragile.
The 2025 theme underscores that the solution is not only global but local.
Strengthening solidarity among nations and empowering local communities ensures that aid reaches those who need it most, even in the most inaccessible or dangerous areas.
“An attack on humanitarians is an attack on humanity,” Guterres said.
Local actors often have the knowledge, networks, and resilience to respond effectively, but they need protection, resources, and recognition.
By relaunching #ActForHumanity, the UN calls on the world to recognize that protecting aid workers is both a moral and practical necessity.
Without them, millions of lives remain at risk, and the humanitarian system itself edges closer to collapse.
This 19 August, Guterres reminds the world: it is not at a crossroads, it is standing at the edge.
Urgent action is required to protect aid workers, fund humanitarian lifelines, and uphold international law.
#ActForHumanity is a call to stand with those who risk everything to save others, demand accountability, and support the millions who depend on their work.
