It is observed every year to pay tribute to humanitarian personnel and those workers who lost or risked their lives while doing humanitarian service.
In 2021 we are celebrating the 12th World Humanitarian Day (WHD).
The theme for 2021 WHD is TheHumanRace: a global challenge for climate action in solidarity with people who need it the most.
19 August marks the day on which the then Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 of his colleagues were killed in the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad.
World Humanitarian Day was commemorated for the first time on 19 August 2009.