World Humanitarian Day 2020: Here’s Why it is Celebrated

To honor and respect the work done by humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes, the United Nations celebrate World Humanitarian Day on August 19. The day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly. World Humanitarian Day is marked on August 19 in the remembrance of the then Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello. He and his other 21 colleagues were killed in the bombing in Baghdad.

The year 2020 will celebrate the eleventh year of the special celebration, paying homage to the heroes who have contributed and given up their lives in providing humanitarian aid to other communities of the world, sometimes even under the most extreme circumstances.

The World Humanitarian Day was first marked on August 19, 2009, with each year having a particular theme for the commemoration. In 2010, the theme of the year was “We are Humanitarian Workers”, while the 2011 campaign was “People Helping People”.

In the year 2020, when the entire world is busy fighting a deadly virus killing lakhs of people, the focus of the organization is towards battling the coronavirus pandemic. For this year, the campaign #RealLifeHeroes celebrates people who are continuously giving up everything to fight for the cause of people. It also acts as a “thank you” to the humanitarians.

It focuses on the cause that makes humanitarians serve and protect the lives of people despite all difficult situations including conflict, lack of access and risks linked to COVID-19.