Statement by UNFPA Acting Executive Director Ms. Diene Keita on World Humanitarian Day (19 August)
Humanitarian action has never been more important, nor more imperiled. Needs are overwhelming, humanitarian response woefully underfunded, and aid workers and vital infrastructure increasingly under attack.
Once safe havens in even the most brutal conflicts, health facilities across the world have been turned into battlegrounds. From the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Gaza, Haiti, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen and beyond, hospitals, clinics, health workers and ambulances are in the crosshairs.
Between 2023 and 2024, violence against health facilities doubled.
That is not all that's under assault. This year, deaths of aid workers are outpacing those from last year - the deadliest year on record. Health workers and humanitarians are a lifeline for civilians swept up in a rising tide of violence. Deliberate attacks against them are a blatant violation of international humanitarian law - violations too often met with impunity.
In crisis contexts where we work, there have been attacks on maternity hospitals and gangs shooting up emergency wards, with midwives, doctors, ambulance drivers, first responders and patients being injured and killed. Sexual and reproductive health services have been particularly hard hit.
Drastic funding cuts mean that as women's and girls' needs skyrocket, services vital to their health and survival become even more difficult to access or find.
For women and girls caught up in conflicts, the consequences have been dire: pregnant women losing their lives when a bomb hits a maternity ward, or when they give birth without skilled care; sexual violence wielded as a weapon of war, and survivors afraid to seek post-rape treatment.
Yet UNFPA has also borne witness to courage and service, to partnerships that work for the peace that women and girls deserve.
On World Humanitarian Day, we pay tribute to our dedicated humanitarian colleagues working on the frontlines at great personal risk to safeguard the health, safety and dignity of women, girls and young people.
Access to quality healthcare is a human right, even when a conflict is raging. Those offering aid and those receiving care deserve safety and protection, as guaranteed under international law.
Today and every day, our message to world leaders is simple: Ensure unimpeded delivery of aid to all who need it. Protect humanitarians. Safeguard health systems and lifesaving services. Act for humanity.
