The United Nations humanitarian office reported that aid workers encountered a record number of violent incidents during 2025, according to data compiled by the Aid Worker Security Database. The database documented 907 cases involving aid workers who were killed, injured, or kidnapped throughout the year. While fatalities declined slightly from the previous year to 350 deaths, the overall incident count reached new highs.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres characterized the violence as “appalling” and called on states to adhere to international humanitarian law and ensure accountability for perpetrators. Tom Fletcher, the UN’s chief humanitarian official, identified the widespread availability of affordable armed drones as a significant factor driving increased dangers. Specific incidents highlighted by the UN included drone strikes in Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in March that killed at least three people, including a French humanitarian worker. Aid convoys operating in Sudan and Ukraine have also been subjected to repeated attacks.
Gaza emerged as the deadliest location for humanitarian personnel, with 186 workers killed there during 2025, followed by Sudan. Ramiz Alakbarov, humanitarian coordinator for the UN Palestinian refugee agency, emphasized that aid workers should not be targeted and that humanitarian operations must be fully protected. The agency’s former chief, Philippe Lazzarini, indicated earlier this year that he was pursuing a high-level investigation into staff deaths.
The security challenges for aid workers have coincided with budget constraints affecting humanitarian operations. The European Commission stated its commitment to maintaining donor obligations, characterizing each aid worker death as both an individual tragedy and a broader failure of international responsibility. Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam advocated for enhanced security measures, describing the situation as “an assault on humanitarian action itself.”
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