A record 383 aid workers were killed last year, according to new data, but humanitarian experts warned that fatalities could escalate as massive US funding cuts force organisations to scale back security.
Overall, major violent incidents were up 36 per cent compared to 2023, with another 308 aid workers injured and 125 kidnapped, according to the annual Aid Worker Security Report compiled by research group Humanitarian Outcomes.
The deadliest place was Gaza, followed by Sudan, Lebanon, Ethiopia and Syria. Almost all those killed were nationals of the places where they worked.
But provisional figures suggest 2025 will be worse, with about 230 aid workers already killed in the first six months.
The report said the rising number of fatalities reflected intensifying violence in many conflicts, but warned the funding cuts would make aid work increasingly dangerous.
“The cuts will have a severe impact on aid worker security and will likely lead to more aid workers being killed,” lead author Abby Stoddard told Context, adding that the risks would fall overwhelmingly on local and national aid organisations.
The United States previously accounted for nearly a third of international aid, but President Donald Trump’s administration has slashed funding, forcing the humanitarian sector to axe programmes and shed staff.
Stoddard said there were already reports linking the cuts to security incidents, including instances of unpaid contractors storming aid agency offices and angry protests by communities who had lost services.
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The [US] cuts will have a severe impact on aid worker security and will likely lead to more aid workers being killed.
Abby Stoddard, researcher, Humanitarian Outcomes
Good security enables aid agencies to operate in some of the most challenging areas, but staff training, secure communications equipment and the use of armoured vehicles and air travel is costly.
International organisations are now focused on maintaining security in the most dangerous places such as Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar, while scaling back elsewhere.
Those operating in Latin America have been particularly hard hit due to their heavy reliance on US funding.
Many international agencies are considering transferring operations to local organisations, but the report said most of these could not afford adequate security without extra support.
One security expert warned if organisations were fully localised, it could lead to a “massive increase” in violent incidents.
Stoddard said security cutbacks meant many international agencies were no longer trying to expand into hard-to-reach areas where people were in the greatest need of assistance.
This would increasingly leave local organisations operating alone, putting them at higher risk of attack.
The turmoil engulfing the aid sector is also fuelling a brain drain of senior security experts who are quitting for more stable careers elsewhere, the report said.
Another impact of the cuts is the loss of funding for services like the International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO) that monitors volatile regions and provides risk analysis and security training for aid agencies.
“It’s like turning the lights off,” Stoddard said. “Organisations suddenly lose visibility on what and where the risks are.”
The United States was also a major funder of the UN Humanitarian Air Service, used by hundreds of aid organisations to transport staff and cargo into crisis areas. Reduced flights will lead to greater reliance on more risky road travel, the report said.
This story was published with permission from Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women’s rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit https://www.context.news/.
