Agadir – Humanitarian workers worldwide recorded 907 victims of violence in 2025, including 350 fatalities, as aid personnel faced growing dangers while delivering lifesaving assistance in conflict zones, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The figures were released today as the UN marked World Humanitarian Day, with OCHA warning that humanitarian workers continue to operate under increasingly dangerous conditions.
Although fatalities declined in 2025, the 350 aid workers killed represented the second-highest annual death toll ever recorded.
The violence has continued into 2026. According to Humanitarian Outcomes’ Aid Worker Security Database, 82 aid workers have been killed, 97 injured and 39 kidnapped worldwide so far this year.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said humanitarian workers are increasingly facing threats, arrest and detention as disinformation, funding cuts and restrictions on humanitarian access undermine their work.
“Disinformation is eroding trust. Humanitarian funding is being cut. And humanitarian access is being restricted,” Guterres said, calling on member states to protect aid workers as they assist millions of people affected by crises.
Gaza remains deadliest for aid workers
Gaza remained the deadliest context for humanitarian workers in 2025 for the third consecutive year, according to OCHA.
A total of 186 aid workers were killed in Gaza last year, with 68% of the deaths caused by aerial bombardment.
Sudan recorded the second-highest number of humanitarian worker fatalities, with 71 aid workers killed in 2025. OCHA said fatalities in Sudan increased for the fifth consecutive year, with most deaths caused by small-arms fire.
Other high-risk contexts included Ukraine, Ethiopia, Syria, Haiti, Chad and Cameroon, where kidnappings and aerial bombardments were among the most common forms of violence against humanitarian personnel.
“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.
