Trends in Risks Faced By Humanitarian Workers
- Wars between states became much less common in the period following the end of the Cold War. Unfortunately, these wars have been largely replaced by an increased incidence of internal conflict and resulting violence and miscommunication, increasing the risk to civilians and humanitarian workers alike.
- Between 1985 and 1998 slightly less than 50% of all humanitarian worker deaths came from workers in UN programs. 25% of these deaths were UN peacekeepers.
- Between 2006-2008 Sudan (Darfur), Afghanistan and Somalia – accounted for more than 60% of violent incidents and aid worker victims.
- Most deaths of aid workers are due to deliberate violence.
- One third of deaths occur in the first three months of deployment, with 17% occurring within the first 30 days.
Source: Sheik, Gutierrez, et al., British Medical Journal 2000;321:166–8
- Since 2006, violence is once again on the increase and growth in the number of incidents is faster than the growth in the number of humanitarian aid workers.
- Kidnapping in particular is on the rise, with a 350% increase between 2006 and 2008.
Read more about this topic: Attacks On Humanitarian Workers
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