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World Humanitarian DayAugust 19, 2012

picture of an American teenager volunteer feeding an African baby

Natural disasters, conflicts and other emergencies threaten the lives and health of millions of people every year. In the middle of such crises, thousands of dedicated humanitarian workers strive to care for those who have been affected and support local authorities to deliver assistance. On World Humanitarian Day, WHO and other international bodies are highlighting the roles performed by humanitarian workers, and remembering aid workers who have been killed or injured while performing their vital roles. World Humanitarian Day offers the chance: for the public to learn more about the humanitarian community, what aid workers do and the challenges they face; for nongovernmental and international bodies and UN agencies, to demonstrate their humanitarian activities; to pay respect to those who have died or been injured in the course of their humanitarian work.