World Humanitarian Day 2019 – Celebrating Women Humanitarians

“From supporting civilians caught up in crisis to addressing disease outbreaks, women humanitarians are on the front lines.”
— UN Secretary-General, António Guterres

Celebrated every year on 19 August, World Humanitarian Day is directed towards honoring humanitarian efforts worldwide and propagating the idea of supporting people in crisis.

World Humanitarian Day 2019 is set to celebrate Women Humanitarians and their undying contribution in making the world a better place.

Women Humanitarians hold a sense of unparalleled uniqueness, one that adds to the global momentum of female strength, power and perseverance. It is time to honor the women who have acted as first responders to the darkest hours of crisis.

This year’s campaign on Women Humanitarians supports the recognition that women deserve in the strengthening of global humanitarian response as well as in protection efforts under the international law.

This August 19th, rituals of everyday life will be used to showcase the contrast of what our humanitarians encounter on a daily basis. As we would map moments of everyday life against women humanitarians all across the world, these special women’s experiences would seem all the more relatable and real.

We focus on the unsung heroes, who have long been working on the front lines in their own communities in some of the most difficult terrains, from the war-wounded in Afghanistan, to the food insecure in the Sahel, to those who have lost their homes and livelihoods in places such as Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. And we salute the efforts of women aid workers from across the world, who rally to people in need.

Women make up a large number of those who risk their own lives to save others. They are often the first to respond and the last to leave. These women deserve to be celebrated. They are needed today as much as ever to strengthen the global humanitarian response. And world leaders as well as non-state actors must ensure that they – and all humanitarians – are guaranteed the protection afforded to them under international law.

Women humanitarians dedicate their lives to helping people affected by crises