London, United Kingdom (HRNW): Save the Children has issued a fresh warning that national humanitarian workers are bearing the overwhelming majority of attacks against aid personnel, with new analysis showing that 96% of victims of major attacks over the past five years were national staff. The organization released the findings ahead of World Humanitarian Day, observed on 19 August.
Save the Children analyzed data from the Aid Worker Security Database covering 1 August 2021 through the end of July 2026. The analysis identified approximately 3,496 national aid workers who were victims of major attacks, compared with 134 international staff. The incidents include killings, kidnappings, detentions, and attacks causing serious injury.
The organization reported that 2025 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, with more than 1,180 aid workers worldwide recorded as victims of major attacks. In the occupied Palestinian territory, the organization reported 187 humanitarian workers killed, 80 injured, 23 detained and two kidnapped during 2025.
Save the Children said the situation remains particularly dangerous in Lebanon, South Sudan and Sudan, while national employees continue working directly inside communities affected by conflict and humanitarian emergencies.
The NGO is calling on governments and parties to armed conflicts to respect international humanitarian law, protect humanitarian personnel, preserve humanitarian access, and ensure accountability when aid workers are attacked.
The findings also highlight an often-overlooked dimension of humanitarian work: national staff frequently live in the same communities they serve and can themselves be displaced or directly affected by conflict, making their protection an especially urgent human-rights concern.
Support Appeal
Support the World’s No.1 dedicated Human Rights News Agency to enhance its mission of promoting justice, equality, peace, humanitarian protection, safety of aid workers, and human dignity worldwide. Your generous contribution enables HRNW to continue publishing independent, credible, and timely human-rights journalism from around the world.
Support HRNW: Support HRNW – World’s No.1 dedicated Human Rights News Agency
Disclaimer
This HRNW report is based on publicly available information released by Save the Children and data from the Aid Worker Security Database. Figures and assessments may be revised as additional incidents are documented. The report is published solely for journalistic and informational purposes. HRNW maintains complete editorial independence.
