LAHORE – The World Humanitarian Day 2019 is being observed on August 19 annually. The day is observed annually to pay tribute to the humanitarian aid workers who endanger their lives for humanitarian service as well as to rally support for the people affected by crisis across the world.
The world humanitarian day 2019 theme is ‘Women Humanitarians’. The world humanitarian day 2019 campaign aims to celebrate the unsung women humanitarians who have been working on the front lines for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises in their own communities in some of the most difficult regions including Afghanistan, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen and hundreds of those who lost their lives while serving humanity.
Women make up a large number of people who endanger their own lives to save others. Women humanitarians are often known to be the first to respond to a crisis and last to leave. Hence, such women deserve a mention and celebration. Women Humanitarians are crucial for today’s time to strengthen the global humanitarian response.
Women form more than half of the Red Cross or Red Crescent volunteers around the world and are among the first to respond in case of disasters, epidemics and conflicts. Women involve themselves in every aspect of crisis response including search and rescue, assessing needs, looking after the elderly and using social media to convey relevant information.
The world humanitarian day is observed annually on August 19, as on the same day in 2003, a terrorist attack at the UN headquarters in Baghdad led to the killing of UN’s top representative to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 of his colleagues.
Five years later, the UN General Assembly officially adopted a resolution designating 19th August as the world humanitarian day.
