World Humanitarian Day: 2020 and the war-like situation for aid workers

In 2019, the number of attacks against aid workers surpassed all previous records. 277 separate incidents took place around the world.

483 relief workers were attacked. An additional 125 were killed, 234 wounded and 124 kidnapped, inductingan 18 per cent increase in the number of victims compared to 2018.

Aid workers not only provide food and medicine to people in need around the world, but also perform their duties in environments not conducive for work.

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Each year, the United Nations marks August 19 in their honour. It's called the World Humanitarian Day.

2020 has forced humanitarian workers into a war-like situation. The pandemic continues to rage, and conflict areas are not cooling down.

Red Cross has reported more than 600 attacks on health workers during the pandemic. There were reported mostly in Syria followed by South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, and the Central African Republic, which are all facing political and economic crisis with armed groups locked in a civil war.

The militants attack aid convoys to exercise control over the local population, by deciding who gets what.They also capture vehicles, relief material, and cash.Additionally, they also hold aid workers to ransom.

In the recent weeks, aid workers have been killed in Niger and Cameroon.Over the last decade, 100 aid workers have been killed every year.