WORLD HUMANITARIAN DAY 2022: Whenever and wherever people have been hit with a crisis, there have been others who have offered them a helping hand. To honour the humanitarian pursuits all across the globe and to promote human welfare, World Humanitarian Day is observed on August 19 each year. The United Nations General Assembly marks the event with a new theme every year which aims to bring together partners from across the humanitarian system to advocate for the survival, well-being and dignity of people affected by crises, and for the safety and security of aid workers.
Theme: It Takes A Village
Amid the humanitarian needs across the world reaching their record-high levels, the theme for this year’s World Humanitarian Day (WHD) takes its basis in the saying “It takes a village to raise a child,” building upon this metaphor of collective endeavour to grow global appreciation of humanitarian work. Just like the saying, it also takes a village to support a person stuck in a humanitarian crisis.
This year the campaign focuses on the thousands of volunteers, professionals and crisis-affected people who deliver the required healthcare, shelter, food, protection, and water, among other things, on an urgent basis.
The United Nations will use digital art to convey the stories of people in need and those who help them. According to their official website, there will be a series of beautifully illustrated aid worker profiles at the centre of the campaign that shows the breadth and depth of humanitarian work and collectively symbolize the wider humanitarian village.
They suggest the best way to take part in the campaign as sharing the profiles and other materials through your social media handles with the hashtags #ItTakesAVillage and #worldhumanitarianday
World Humanitarian Day: History
A bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers on August 19, 2003. The lives taken away included the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Five years after this, the UNGA adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day (WHD).
WHD is a campaign by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
World Humanitarian Day: Significance
The affected people themselves are the first to respond whenever a disaster strikes. There is also a global community that lends its support to the recovery. Such people remain far away from any limelight and do not even make it to the headlines. They just come together to ease suffering and bring hope. The day is an attempt to honour the efforts and contributions of such humanitarians from all around the world.
Read the Latest News and Breaking News here
