World Humanitarian Day by UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 11:12am 17th Aug, 2014   World Humanitarian Day honors those, who have lost their lives in humanitarian service and those, who continue to bring assistance and relief to millions.    The Day also seeks to draw attention to humanitarian needs worldwide and the importance of international cooperation in meeting these needs.    Every year, disasters cause immense suffering for millions of people – usually the world"s poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable individuals.    Humanitarian aid workers strive to provide life-saving assistance and long term rehabilitation to disaster-affected communities, regardless of where they are in the world and without discrimination based on nationality, social group, religion, sex, race or any other factor.    Humanitarian aid is based on a number of founding principles, including humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. Humanitarian aid workers should be respected, and be able to access those in need in order to provide vital assistance.    Humanitarian aid workers can be international, but most come from the country in which they work. They reflect all cultures, ideologies and backgrounds and they are united by their commitment to humanitarianism. Everyone can be a humanitarian.    People affected by disasters are often the first to help their own communities following a disaster.    Responding to emergencies is only one aspect of humanitarian work. Humanitarian workers also support communities to rebuild their lives after disasters, to become more resilient to future crises, to advocate for their voices to be heard, and to build lasting and sustainable peace in areas of conflict.    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon"s Message:    On World Humanitarian Day, we renew our commitment to life-saving relief efforts - and we remember all those who died serving this noble cause. Last year, more humanitarian workers were kidnapped, seriously injured or killed than ever before. This is an outrage.    In recent weeks, dozens of humanitarians - including members of the UN family - have lost their lives in South Sudan and Gaza. Too many people have died or suffered from deliberate attacks.    Humanitarian workers and their families are hit hardest by these crimes. But they are also felt by millions of others.    Attacks on humanitarian workers hinder the ability of people in desperate need to receive lifesaving assistance.    Children go unvaccinated. Sick and wounded patients go untreated. Those forced from their homes are left without food, water or shelter – exposed to violence, disease or other threats.    On World Humanitarian Day, we honour the heroic aid workers who rush bravely to help people in need.    We recognize the millions of people who count on humanitarian workers for their very survival. Let us honour them by supporting humanitarian relief operations worldwide.    http://www.unocha.org/media-resources/video http://www.unocha.org/ http://www.un.org/en/events/humanitarianday/resources.shtml http://bit.ly/1uORCEm http://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-humanitarian-overview-status-report-august-2014 Visit the related web page
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