World Humanitarian Day (WHD) will be observed on August 19. WHD, established by the UN in 2008, is dedicated to advocacy for “the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises, and for the safety and security of aid workers” (UN). The UN’s campaign message for 2026 is: “The time for concern is over. The time for consequence is now.”
As we honour the lives, service and legacy of humanitarian workers, I honour the memory of my cousin, Nicole Dial, who worked with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and was dedicated to helping the children of the world.
She helped open schools near Kabul, Afghanistan. In a statement by the International Rescue Committee on August 13, 2008, we learned that Taliban gunmen had shot three International Rescue Committee workers and their local driver near Kabul. Five men ambushed the vehicle and opened fire.
“Shirley Case, of Canada; Nicole Dial, a dual citizen of Trinidad and Tobago and the US; and Dr Jacqueline Kirk, a dual citizen of Canada and the United Kingdom were killed in the attack. These women worked with the IRC’s educational programmes for children. Their driver, Mohammad Aimal, had worked with the IRC since 2002.”
The UN reminds us that “When lives are at risk, the people who come to help should never be targets. Yet, humanitarian workers continue to be killed, injured, abducted, detained and obstructed while carrying out their work.
Most are national staff serving their own communities. Under international humanitarian law, civilians—including humanitarian and medical personnel—must be respected and protected. Parties to armed conflict must allow and facilitate humanitarian relief for people in need, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Attacks on humanitarian personnel have consequences far beyond the individuals directly affected. They interrupt food deliveries, health care, protection and other life-saving services, leaving communities with even fewer ways to survive and recover ...
“By the end of May 2026, more than 252 million people were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection—13 million more than when the 2026 Global Humanitarian Overview was launched...By the end of April 2026, humanitarian partners had provided an estimated 45.2 million people with at least one form of assistance or protection — about one in six of all people in need. As of 31 May 2026, humanitarian plans required US$33.66 billion and had received US$8.21 billion—24.4 per cent of the amount required.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that “at least 326 humanitarian workers were killed across 21 countries in 2025, bringing the number killed over the three-year period to more than 1,000. The UN recorded more than 37,000 civilian deaths across 20 armed conflicts in 2025—approximately one recorded civilian death every 14 minutes. The figure is a documented minimum and does not represent the full toll.”
While we meet immediate needs today, we work for long-term changes that will create a more just tomorrow—for all. On a visit to the headquarters of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome in June, Pope Leo XIV warned that bureaucracy is hindering global aid efforts: “In effect, conflicts are ‘fed’ more readily than people are nourished,” revealing “a fundamental imbalance in political and moral priorities.”
Pope Francis often reiterated his call for reducing military spending to provide for growing humanitarian needs: “It is our responsibility to help eradicate hatred and violence from hearts. We encourage you to lay down your arms, to reduce military spending to provide for humanitarian needs, to convert the tools of death into tools of life.”
WFP says it has been hit hard by steep European and US funding cuts in recent years and hiked prices for aid deliveries in some countries. While we commit to humanitarian principles, let’s remember that in order to build a just world, we need to work for PEACE.
Isaiah 2:4 states: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
Data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute confirms that global military spending surged last year—for the 11th year in a row. The world is spending more on defence than on building peace, “fuelling a new arms race and placing immense pressure on national budgets and priorities.”
Read the UN Secretary General’s report—The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future.
Let’s work together to build a just/peaceful world.
