World Humanitarian Day – Extending the hand of help

World Humanitarian Day – Extending the hand of help


World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is a collective endeavor to grow global appreciation of humanitarian work. If it was not for humanitarian work, several nations would not be able to survive the challenges. India’s Vaccine Maitri is one of the biggest humanitarian acts that helped fight the Covid-19 pandemic. However, this is not the only time a humanitarian effort has taken place to ease a crisis, the Haiti earthquake, the recent crisis in Sri Lanka, and more have been occasions when several countries came together to address a crisis. As is rightly said, it takes a village to raise a child. Similarly, it takes a village to support a person in a humanitarian crisis.

World Humanitarian Day 2022

The 2022 World Humanitarian Day (WHD) campaign highlights the efforts of thousands of volunteers, professionals, and crisis-affected people who deliver urgent health care, shelter, food, protection, water, and more. This year’s celebration is witnessing the use of digital art to tell the stories of people in need and those who help them. In the campaign’s logo – at the centre is a series of beautifully illustrated aid worker profiles that show the breadth and depth of humanitarian work and collectively symbolize the wider humanitarian village.

Some facts

Statistics from Humanitarian Outcomes suggest that the 2021 Humanitarian Needs Overview estimated that 20.7 million (67% of the population) people need humanitarian assistance, 12.1 million of whom are estimated to be in acute need, which makes Yemen the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. Similarly, in 2021, 460 aid workers were attacked – 140 killed, 203 wounded and 117 kidnapped.

Hence, the importance of the Day becomes manifold. It aware people regarding the impact humanitarian works have and can create and the lives it can transform.  

Backdrop

On August 19, 2003, a bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 22 humanitarian aid workers, including the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello. Five years later, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day (WHD). Each year, WHD focuses on a theme, bringing 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.

For purpose of this year’s WHD is to show the importance, effectiveness, and positive impact of humanitarian work. It is a campaign by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Humanitarian Acts by India

Some of the humanitarian acts and initiatives by India include Covid-19 Vaccine Maitri, support for refugees in India, and more from time to time. For instance, on January 1, 2022, India supplied humanitarian assistance consisting of 500,000 doses of the Covid vaccine (COVAXIN) to Afghanistan. In December 2021, India delivered 1.6 tons of medical assistance to Afghanistan through World Health Organization (WHO).

Similarly, in June 2022, the Indian Consignment worth 3 billion Srilankan Rupees was sent to Colombo as part of the humanitarian assistance extended by India to the island nation. The consignment donated by the people of India consists of 14,700 MT of rice, 250 MT of milk powder, and 38 MT of medicines. This is the second consignment under a larger commitment of 40,000 MT of rice, and 500 MT of milk powder and medicines by the government of Tamil Nadu.

In addition to these, India has from time to time, extended help to those needing its help, be it in form of relief work at times of natural disasters or consignments as aids during any situation of distress.