19 August 2025
World Humanitarian Day (WHD), established after the 2003 Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq, honours the courage of humanitarian workers who risk their lives to save others. This year, in the region where WHD began, the Eastern Mediterranean faces some of its darkest humanitarian crises.
Humanitarian needs have never been greater, yet funding has fallen to historic lows. Aid workers now face impossible choices over who receives help and who is left behind. This must change—urgently, before it is too late.
Against this grim backdrop, humanitarian workers are facing unprecedented attacks. Last year was the deadliest on record for aid workers worldwide—and 2025 is already set to be even worse.
So far in 2025, WHO has verified 382 attacks on health care across the Eastern Mediterranean Region, resulting in 1,040 deaths and 324 injuries.
Almost 80 per cent of attacks reported in 2025 occurred in the occupied Palestinian territory, while almost 90 per cent of all deaths occurred in Sudan.
Aid workers in Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon, Somalia, and Syria and Yemen have also been targeted and killed this year.
Dozens of aid workers in Yemen continue to be arbitrarily detained, including one WHO staff member. We call for their unconditional and immediate release.
Just weeks ago, WHO staff and their families in Gaza were subjected to humiliating treatment and forcibly evacuated from our staff housing in Deir al-Balah. One staff member remains detained―we demand his immediate release.
I want to acknowledge the extraordinary bravery of health and humanitarian workers across the Region who continue to deliver lifesaving