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On World Humanitarian Day 2025, the world is once again confronted with a sobering reality. Humanitarian workers, who dedicate their lives to saving others, continue to face escalating violence, dwindling resources, and political inaction. Among them are women who shoulder a double burden. They risk being targeted not only for their humanitarian work but also for their gender.
The numbers paint a grim picture. Over the past year, more humanitarian workers were killed than ever before, with attacks on aid operations rising significantly. These are not isolated tragedies. They are the result of systemic failures. Impunity for those who violate international law persists, humanitarian principles are eroding, and the protection once promised to civilians and aid workers is faltering.
The violence comes at a time when funding for humanitarian efforts is in crisis. As of August, only 18 per cent of the Global Humanitarian Overview’s requirements had been met. This shortfall has had particularly dire consequences for women responders and women-led organisations. A 2025 UN Women survey across 44 crisis settings revealed that 72 per cent of women’s organisations had been forced to lay off staff and more than half had suspended programmes altogether. The human impact of these cuts is severe. Essential services are disappearing, protection against gender-based violence is weakened, and women are left with even greater unpaid care responsibilities.
These challenges are not abstract. They translate into lives lost, communities destabilised, and generations left vulnerable. In times of crisis, women-led organisations are often the first to respond and the last to leave. They provide vital healthcare, shelter, food, and psychosocial support. Their absence leaves a vacuum that cannot easily be filled.
The message this World Humanitarian Day is clear. Leaders must act for humanity. Humanitarian workers, particularly women, must be protected. Funding must be secured to sustain lifesaving services and to support the organisations that are rooted in communities. And women must be guaranteed a seat at the decision-making table, where their leadership has consistently proven essential to effective and inclusive responses.
Humanitarian work is not an act of charity. It is a recognition of shared humanity and of international law. To allow attacks on aid workers to continue with impunity, to tolerate the neglect of women responders, and to normalise funding shortfalls is to fail not only the workers themselves but the millions of civilians who depend on them.
The world is watching. The call to act is urgent. Protect the workers, fund the response, and uphold the leadership of women. Humanity cannot afford indifference. It is time to act for humanity.