2024 deadliest record on year for humanitarian aid workers, UN says

More humanitarian aid workers died in 2024 than in any year previously reported, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) claimed on Friday. 

OCHA reported that 281 aid workers died in 2024, beating the previous 2023 record of 280 reported deaths. 

The UN claims that the 320 humanitarian aid workers were killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, made up a majority of those killed. Most of them were reportedly UNRWA staff members.

“Before the year is even over, 2024 has become the deadliest on record for humanitarian personnel worldwide,” OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said, as reported by ABC News. 

The UN noted that a majority of the aid workers killed worked for non-governmental organizations, such as UN organizations or the Red Cross or Red Crescent movement. 

Violence towards aid workers 'unconscionable'

“These numbers will send shockwaves around the humanitarian community, especially on the front lines of the response,” Laerke said to ABC.

The UN said that its data came from the Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD), a US-funded project run by Humanitarian Outcomes, a Britain-based group.

The AWSD also noted high levels of violence towards aid workers in countries such as Afghanistan, Sudan, and Ukraine. 

“Humanitarian workers are being killed at an unprecedented rate, their courage and humanity being met with bullets and bombs,” said Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “This violence is unconscionable and devastating to aid operations. States and parties to conflict must protect humanitarians, uphold international law, prosecute those responsible, and call time on this era of impunity.”