ICRC mourns 38 aid workers lost in 2024

 

By Our Correspondent

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called on states and parties to protect humanitarian workers, saying it lost 38 staff and volunteers in 2024 alone.

Mr Aliyu Dawobe, Public Relations Officer of the ICRC, made this known in a statement in Abuja.

The statement revealed that, tragically, in 2025, the ICRC had already lost 10 colleagues.

Dawobe stressed that the international community could no longer ignore the violations of the rules of war and the deliberate targeting of humanitarian workers.

“On World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, we mourn our colleagues who were horrifically killed while trying to save lives. Their deaths demand far more than empty words of outrage; they demand action,” he said.

He noted that 2024 had been the deadliest year on record for humanitarian workers, with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement alone losing 38 staff and volunteers.

He added that if this horrifying pattern continued, 2025 may be even worse.

He called on conflict parties to take direct responsibility for reversing the disturbing trend by protecting humanitarian workers, upholding international humanitarian law, and standing up for shared humanity.

“Every attack on a humanitarian is an attack on the community they serve, and a betrayal of the laws designed to protect civilians and alleviate suffering in conflict.

“The brutal killing of colleagues at the Palestine Red Crescent Society in March sparked global outrage, but the ICRC warned that their story is not isolated.

“From Gaza to Sudan, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, humanitarian workers are coming under fire while driving ambulances, distributing aid, and reaching frontline communities in need, Dawobe said.(https://newsatlarge.ng)