Every August for twelve years, World Humanitarian Aid Day has been an opportunity to remind people that humanitarian workers risk their lives to help local people. For them, Africa represents one of the most dangerous regions. At least four countries on the continent are at-risk countries.
Of the 72 people who have died this year, 35 have been killed in Africa, according to data from the Aid Worker Security Database, a database project on the safety of aid workers.
Some countries on the continent are very dangerous places for this staff. Aid Worker Security shows that most of the violence in Africa in 2020 took place in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They also note that in the Central African Republic or Mali, incidents have more than doubled since 2018.
The trend is confirmed in 2021: of the 35 humanitarian workers killed since the beginning of the year in Africa, 11 have been in South Sudan, 9 in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 2 in the Central African Republic. The victims are also overwhelmingly local workers. By 2020, they represent 95% of the victims.
Most attacks “outside the initial conflict zones” For the aid worker’s safety, most attacks took place in 2020 “outside the first conflict zones”, which is a new phenomenon. Facts that, according to the group, testify to “a growing atmosphere of anarchy […] driven by an abundance of weapons ”.
Last year, 108 people died in humanitarian aid around the world, 242 were seriously injured and 125 were abducted.
HUMANITARIAN Q / A EVENING. Julie Bélanger, OCHA West and Central Africa on Humanitarian Aid Day
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