World Humanitarian Day 2025 is being marked at a time of deep crisis for the global humanitarian system, yet also a moment of resilience.
Since its establishment in 2008, the day has served to unite the humanitarian community in honouring those who risk everything to save lives in the world’s hardest places, and to advocate for the survival, dignity, and well-being of people caught in emergencies.
This year’s theme, #ActForHumanity, carries renewed urgency as aid workers confront escalating violence, dwindling funding, and a growing legitimacy crisis that threatens the very foundation of humanitarian response.
Aid workers are facing unprecedented levels of danger. In 2024, 383 humanitarian staff were killed in the line of duty, the highest number on record.
By August 2025, an additional 248 aid workers had lost their lives, with national staff disproportionately affected in volatile contexts such as Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Myanmar, Ukraine, and Syria. If this trajectory continues, 2025 is set to become the deadliest year yet for humanitarians.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2730, passed in 2024, called for greater protection of aid workers and civilians, accountability for attacks, and respect for International Humanitarian Law.
Yet impunity remains rampant, leaving those on the frontlines exposed to grave risks as they deliver life-saving aid.
Alongside violence, the sector faces a silent but equally devastating crisis: collapsing financial support. World Vision’s recent report, Hunger, Harm and Hard Choices, revealed how funding cuts are disproportionately affecting displaced children and their families across 13 crisis-affected countries.
Families that lost food assistance were found to be over five times more likely to experience moderate to severe food insecurity, with worsening outcomes for children’s education, health, and protection.
According to the 2025 Global Humanitarian Overview, a record $45.48 billion is required to assist 181.2 million people worldwide.
Yet, as of mid-2025, only $7.64 billion has been secured, just 16.8% of what is needed, representing a staggering 40% decline compared to the same period last year.
This funding gap has forced humanitarian organisations, from UN agencies to grassroots actors, to slash operations, halt critical services, and abandon entire communities.
“World Humanitarian Day is when we honour those who serve in the world’s most dangerous places,” said Isabel Gomes, Global Lead for Disaster Management at World Vision International.
“But while violence threatens their safety, budget cuts threaten their ability to serve. When you cut funding, you cut critical assistance to children and families living in desperation.”
Gomes warned that without urgent action, the cost will be measured not only in lost programmes and jobs but also in lives that could have been saved.
The humanitarian community is also grappling with a crisis of legitimacy. Aid that is perceived as politicised or imposed from the top down risks losing the trust of affected populations, undermining both access and impact.
Despite overwhelming evidence that investments in children deliver long-term benefits, up to tenfold returns for every dollar spent, global aid for child-focused initiatives is declining.
In 2023, just 11.5% of Official Development Assistance went to children, a drop from the previous year, even as crises disproportionately impact the youngest and most vulnerable.
At the community level, where trust and accountability remain the cornerstone of effective humanitarian work, people are increasingly feeling the erosion of solidarity at a global level.
Yet, amid these challenges, hope persists. World Vision has expanded its footprint in fragile contexts by nearly 190% over the past decade, investing $744 million in 2024 alone across the humanitarian, development, and peace nexus. In the same year, it reached over 35 million people, including 19 million children, in 65 countries, the largest number in its history.
In villages like Milino in Ethiopia, where staff helped a mother named Amina carry a 50-kilogram bag of sorghum to feed her family, the humanitarian mission is embodied in small but profound acts of care that ripple across communities.
World Vision is now prioritising fundraising for ten of the hardest-hit countries, including Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Myanmar, and Sudan, where life-saving programmes are under threat.
“As the humanitarian architecture is being redefined and the funding landscape is changing, our unwavering commitment to serve the world’s most vulnerable remains steadfast,” said Gomes.
“Together with donors, faith-based organisations, corporations, and local partners, we must reimagine a humanitarian system that is decentralised, inclusive, and accountable, where power is shared, resources are flexible, and communities are at the centre of decision-making.”
On this World Humanitarian Day, the call is clear: protect those who serve, safeguard the systems that sustain them, and ensure that every act of humanity, whether on the frontlines of conflict or behind the scenes, remains possible.
World Vision Kenya stated that in Kenya and across the globe, aid workers brave harsh conditions, conflict zones, drought-stricken areas, refugee settlements, and disaster-hit communities, to ensure that vulnerable children and families receive life-saving support.
In the face of mounting violence, financial strain, and eroding trust, aid workers continue to act for humanity, often at great personal cost.
They are the heartbeat of a system under immense pressure but still driven by courage, compassion, and the belief that every child, every family, and every life matters.