The day is commemorated each year on 19 August, the date back in 2003 when the UN headquarters in Baghdad was targeted by a large terrorist truck bomb, killing 22 people, including Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN’s top representative in Iraq.

This year’s focus salutes the efforts of women humanitarian workers across the globe who rally to people in need and more than often the first to respond and the last ones to leave the ground.

Across the globe, 250,000 aid workers are women – a figure that amounts to more than 40 per cent of the humanitarian workforce.

However in recent years, aid work is becoming increasingly dangerous and women aid workers are at particularly high risk of robbery, sexual assault and other forms of violence.

#WomenHumanitarians global campaign

The campaign honours the life-saving contribution of women humanitarians throughout the world by raising awareness of and support for women who…