Days Until World Humanitarian Day

About World Humanitarian Day

August 19 marks the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people including the UN's Special Representative for Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello; the General Assembly responded by formally designating the date in 2008.

The observance specifically honors humanitarian and aid workers, including those killed or injured in the course of their work, and is used to draw attention to humanitarian crises worldwide.

Unlike several other UN observances on this list founded to promote a general cause, this date's origin is tied directly to a single, specific violent event rather than to a broader founding conference or campaign.

The day is also used to launch or highlight the annual Global Humanitarian Overview, a UN report estimating the scale of humanitarian need and funding requirements worldwide for the coming year.