August 19, 2020 marks the eleventh World Humanitarian Day. World Humanitarian Day, WHD, is a day to honor and commemorate humanitarian workers killed and injured in the course of their work. The day was created in memory of the 22 people who were killed by the bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq on August 19, 2003. Chief humanitarian in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello was also killed. This World Humanitarian Day with the current pandemic; aid workers, health workers, and other essential service employees continue to provide life-saving support to those in need. According to the United Nations “aid workers are overcoming unprecedented access hurdles to assist people in humanitarian crises in 54 countries, as well as in a further nine countries which have been catapulted into humanitarian need by the COVID-19 pandemic”. This Year’s Theme is #RealLifeHeroes. The Hashtag Real Life Heroes is a Global Campaign that celebrates humanitarians, serving as a way to thank those who have committed to helping others. Countless humanitarian workers, or real life heros, are displaced people themselves or are working with displaced populations and we want to honor and support them and their work.
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