19 August 2010
Seven years ago, on 19 August 2003, 22 humanitarian workers lost their lives when the United Nations Office in Iraq was bombed.
One of those workers was Sergio Vieria de Mello, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq. His widow, Madam Annie Vieria de Mello campaigned to have 19 August recognised as World Humanitarian Day which was agreed by the UN in December 2008.
World Humanitarian Day offers us the chance to honour humanitarian workers who have lost their lives, or been injured in the course of their work and to increase public understanding of humanitarian assistance activities worldwide.
Recently released statistics show that the number of humanitarian workers involved in serious security incidents in 2009 is four times that of 1999, and that the number killed in 2009 is three times the 1999 figure. This year we have already seen the deaths of 101 UN personnel in the Haiti earthquake in January and the murder of a number of aid workers in Afghanistan.
The work of humanitarian workers is vital however, and their commitment to improving the lives of millions of people around the world, cannot be underestimated.
This film was made by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the arm of the UN responsible for bringing together humanitarians to ensure a coordinated response to emergencies, in partnership with affected governments. DFID currently provides core funding to OCHA, as well as support to help manage specific emergencies.
Find out what it is like to be a humanitarian worker
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DFID humanitarian advisor Colum Wilson reflects on what today means for him in his latest blog |
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Twenty-nine-year-old humanitarian worker Amy Reed describes life in the middle of a food crisis |
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A message from Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell
"World Humanitarian Day is an opportunity for us all to remember and commend the efforts of the affected people, local organisations and international NGOs who provide relief to the victims of disasters and conflict all over the world.
I saw for myself the courage and dedication of the humanitarian community during my visit to Pakistan yesterday, where humanitarian workers from all over the world are providing essential shelter, food and medicine to those suffering from this terrible disaster. It is fitting that, during a crisis of this magnitude, the world recognises and salutes the contribution of humanitarian workers to alleviate the suffering of millions."