Written by Esperanza Escorza Lalinde
Programmes Manager
World Vision Ireland
Every year on 19th of August, World Humanitarian Day encourages us to reflect on the people at the heart of humanitarian action. Behind every emergency response, every child supported, and every community rebuilding after crisis are humanitarian workers who continue to serve despite immense challenges.
This year's World Humanitarian Day campaign, #ActForHumanity, highlights a simple but urgent message: humanitarian workers should never be targets. Protecting aid workers is essential to ensuring that vulnerable communities continue to receive the support they need.
As a Programme Manager, I spend much of my time thinking about programmes, partnerships, budgets and results. But World Humanitarian Day always reminds me that none of these things happens without people.
When I think about humanitarian workers, I think of people I have met while visiting Irish Aid-supported programmes with World Vision. Colleagues like Abdinajib, a Project Coordinator in Garowe, Somalia, and a father of three, who works closely with communities facing the devastating impacts of prolonged drought; Rodrigue (left), a young Communications Officer in eastern DRC, who helps ensure that the stories and voices of communities affected by conflict are heard; and Akot, a recent graduate working as an Education Officer in her home community of Melut, South Sudan, supporting children and young people to access opportunities denied to many by years of instability.
Though their roles differ, they share a common commitment to serving their communities.
On top of the existing challenging working conditions, the reality is that humanitarian workers are facing growing risks. According to the latest Aid Worker Security Report (2025), 816 aid workers were victims of major security incidents, an all-time high figure. Provisional data for the first half of 2025 suggests the numbers are on track to break records again. What is particularly striking is that the vast majority of those affected are local and national staff, as they are frequently the first to respond when disaster strikes and the last to leave when recovery begins.
Attacks on humanitarian workers do not only affect those directly harmed. When aid workers are injured, killed, detained or prevented from accessing communities, life-saving services can be disrupted. Food assistance, healthcare, protection services, education and shelter programmes all depend on humanitarian personnel being able to work safely and effectively. Protecting humanitarian workers ultimately means protecting the people who rely on those services.
Staff safety, however, extends beyond physical security. Humanitarian work can also carry a significant emotional burden. Research shows that humanitarian workers experience elevated levels of psychological distress, burnout, anxiety, depression and PTSD, with the latter affecting up to one in four aid workers in some contexts . Many colleagues spend their days engaging with stories of loss, conflict, violence and displacement. While the work is deeply meaningful, it can also be emotionally demanding. This is why wellbeing, peer support, mental health resources and strong organisational cultures are just as important as security plans and risk assessments.
What continues to inspire me most is the dedication of humanitarian workers around the world. Despite increasing challenges, colleagues continue to show up every day with professionalism, compassion and determination. They do so because they believe in the dignity of every person and in the importance of standing alongside communities during their most difficult moments.
As crises continue to unfold around the world, we have a shared responsibility to protect humanitarian workers and support communities through stronger preparedness, resilience and locally led responses. This is reflected in Ireland's Civil Society Partnership framework, which recognises both the importance of meeting the acute humanitarian needs of crisis-affected communities in a timely manner and the need to anticipate and respond to risks before they become full-scale emergencies. By investing in preparedness, resilience, climate adaptation and locally led responses, we can help communities better withstand future shocks and reduce the scale of humanitarian need in the long term.
This World Humanitarian Day, I am reminded that humanitarian action is about far more than delivering aid. It is about protecting the people and the funding that make aid possible, supporting their wellbeing, and ensuring they can safely reach the communities they support. It is about recognising the invaluable contributions of local colleagues who continue serving their communities despite extraordinary challenges. And it is about looking beyond immediate response to invest in preparedness, resilience and locally led solutions that help reduce humanitarian need over time.
Humanitarian workers should never be targets, and their safety, both physical and mental, must remain a collective priority. As needs continue to grow around the world, World Humanitarian Day is a reminder that protecting humanitarians, supporting communities and building a more resilient future are not separate goals. They are all part of the same commitment to our shared humanity.