Geneva 12 Aug : Over 140 aid workers were killed in the course of 2021, Geneva-based United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated on Friday.The number of aid workers killed in conflict or due to of attack was the most since 2013, according to the group that coordinates the global emergency response in humanitarian crises, said.
The majority of the victims killed died due to the effect of shooting, with the second most frequent cause being airstrikes or shelling, the majority of the victims were in Syria DPA news agency reported OCHA as saying.
In the same time frame during the same time, 203 aid workers were injured and 117 were taken away.
This year aid workers have been attacked as they tried to offer aid to the needy which has resulted in 44 deaths.
“Humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, and aid workers are working in ever more dangerous environments,” UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said.
According to OCHA among the top countries for aid workers is South Sudan, Afghanistan and Syria.
More people around the globe have never been in need of aid for emergencies, with 300 million people living in areas of crisis, OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said.
“Never before has a humanitarian organization been called upon to assist with this degree of need and they are doing it in ever-spread dangers,” he said.
While donors have promised more aid than they had before, the need for aid was growing even more rapidly, Laerke said.
