The United Nations has warned that humanitarian workers are facing increasingly deadly risks as armed conflicts intensify and weaponized drones reshape battlefields around the world.

Marking World Humanitarian Day on August 19, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 907 aid workers were victims of violence in 2025 while carrying out lifesaving operations in conflict zones.

Although the number of deaths declined from the previous year, 350 humanitarian workers were killed in 2025, making it the second-deadliest year ever recorded for aid workers.

The violence has continued into 2026. According to the Aid Worker Security Database, 322 humanitarian workers have been injured and 235 kidnapped so far this year.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres paid tribute to humanitarian workers facing threats, arrest and detention, while warning that disinformation, shrinking humanitarian funding and restrictions on access are making their work increasingly difficult.

“Humanitarian funding is being cut. And humanitarian access is being restricted,” Guterres said, urging UN member states to protect aid workers who are assisting millions of people around the world.

Gaza Remains Deadliest for Aid Workers

Gaza remained the deadliest environment for humanitarian workers in 2025 for the third consecutive year, with 186 aid workers killed. According to OCHA, 68% of those deaths were caused by aerial bombardment.

Sudan recorded the second-highest toll, with 71 humanitarian workers killed as the country continued to experience intense armed conflict. Most of the deaths there were attributed to small-arms fire.

Other countries identified as high-risk environments for humanitarian personnel included Ukraine, Ethiopia, Syria, Haiti, Chad and Cameroon, where kidnappings and aerial attacks were among the most common forms of violence.

So far in 2026, 82 aid workers have been killed, 97 injured and 39 kidnapped worldwide, according to the latest figures cited by the UN.

“More than 1,000 aid workers have been killed in just three years and that is utterly unacceptable,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

Fletcher called on states to uphold international humanitarian law and take concrete measures to protect civilians and humanitarian personnel.

Armed Drones Create New Threat

The UN also warned that the rapid proliferation of inexpensive and adaptable armed drones is creating a new and increasingly lethal threat for civilians and humanitarian workers.

OCHA reported that armed drones were responsible for 80% of civilian deaths in Sudan during the first four months of 2026, with attacks hitting civilian locations including markets and health facilities.

In Ukraine, drone attacks killed 80 civilians in April alone, while drone strikes in Russia have also resulted in civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure.

Colombia recorded a fourfold increase in attacks involving weaponized drones between 2024 and 2025.

Humanitarian workers are increasingly caught up in these attacks. The World Health Organization has recorded 639 attacks on healthcare facilities and personnel so far this year.

In March, an aid worker was killed when a drone struck a residential building in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Ukraine, four humanitarian convoys were reportedly hit in attacks within a single week in May.

“Weaponised drones have become the new face of an old danger: the deliberate or reckless destruction of civilian life,” Fletcher said, stressing that advances in military technology do not change the obligations imposed by international humanitarian law.

Aid Workers Continue Despite Risks

This year’s World Humanitarian Day campaign, titled “Act for Humanity,” is focusing on the people behind the statistics and highlighting the personal sacrifices of humanitarian workers and their families.

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, humanitarian driver Emmanuel Madragule, who has more than two decades of field experience, survived an armed-group attack during a mission in June 2024.

Despite the risks, Madragule returned to the field and continued working with communities affected by conflict.

“I cannot leave my colleagues like this. I have to stay with my colleagues,” he told UN News.

His decision was also shaped by personal experience. In 2008, humanitarian workers helped save his uncle after he was shot.

The UN stressed that international humanitarian law requires parties to armed conflicts to protect civilians and respect humanitarian personnel working to provide assistance.

Humanitarian organizations are currently working to reach an estimated 87 million people facing the most severe humanitarian needs worldwide.

World Humanitarian Day

World Humanitarian Day is observed annually on August 19 to commemorate the victims of the 2003 bombing of the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq.

Twenty-two UN staff members were killed in the attack, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq.

Five years later, the UN General Assembly designated August 19 as World Humanitarian Day.

This year, the UN is using the occasion to renew its call for governments and other actors with influence over conflicts to “Act for Humanity” and ensure that humanitarian workers can carry out their lifesaving work without becoming targets. (ILKHA)