Uplifting the World: Honoring Humanitarian Aid Workers on 2025 International Worker’s Day

Global Impact in 2024

Despite intensifying crises, humanitarian organizations continued to show remarkable resilience and dedication. In 2024, the UN and over 2,000 partner organizations — 62% of whom were local or national actors — reached nearly 116 million people with life-saving assistance across crisis-affected regions.

This impact was delivered through community-led responses, supporting people facing conflict, displacement, food insecurity, and climate-driven emergencies:

• 4.7 million people received crop production assistance to help feed their communities at a cost of just $19 per household.
• Over 50,000 vulnerable Sudanese refugees in Egypt accessed monthly cash support.
• High-level pledging conferences helped unlock over $5.4 billion in grants and $2.3 billion in loans, reaffirming the importance of multilateral support.

Yet, underfunding left serious gaps:

• An additional 25.9 million people could have received food assistance.
• Nearly 93,800 Sudanese refugees could have been supported with basic aid if full funding had been secured.

These figures speak not only to the scale of the need, but also to the unwavering commitment of humanitarian aid workers delivering assistance on the frontlines — often in dangerous and under-resourced conditions.

In early December 2024, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released the Global Humanitarian Overview 2025, its annual assessment of global needs and the resources required to meet them. For this edition, Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, emphasized:

This exercise is not about theory or trends: it is about lives. Lives shattered by conflict, the climate crisis and the disintegration of our systems for international solidarity.

The report underscores the urgent and growing demands faced by humanitarian actors in an increasingly unstable world.

Figure 1: People in need, people targeted, and financial requirements in 2025, extracted from the Global Humanitarian Overview 2025

The People Behind the Mission

Behind every life-saving mission are the workers who risk their lives, face impossible choices, and push through burnout and insecurity to make the world safer and more just. Whether they are logisticians, medical staff, security officers, translators, or community mobilizers — their dedication is unwavering.

In 2024, Riley Risk directly supported humanitarian operations across more than 40 countries, providing security advisory resources and expertise to over 400 staff and partners worldwide.

From Ukraine, where teams continued to operate under constant threat, to Georgia where we provided advisory support, digital safety, and crisis response during a contentious election cycle for democracy and workforce development organizations, to Papua New Guinea, where field offices navigated high crime environments, Riley Risk remained present alongside those delivering humanitarian and life-saving assistance.

In the Middle East and North Africa, we worked in Libya, Tunisia, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, and Ethiopia, helping humanitarian organizations navigate high-risk environments amid volatile political climates and cross-border tensions.

In Latin America, our support reached teams operating in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, and beyond — often in the context of organized crime and post-conflict instability.

Whether facilitating new operations in Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, or assisting transitions in Moldova and North Macedonia, our work has been driven by one common goal: to keep humanitarian missions safe and operational in the most challenging conditions.

Through our CountryACCESS and GlobalACCESS programs, we've delivered comprehensive security support including risk assessments, emergency planning, real-time threat monitoring, and specialized training tailored to each organization's unique requirements.

Our services enabled humanitarian organizations to maintain operations in regions where they were needed most, providing essential support to vulnerable populations during a year of intensifying global crises.

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Our gratitude today goes out to every aid worker and team member who stood firm in the face of adversity. Your courage, resilience, and humanity are the heart of global response efforts — and the reason Riley Risk remains committed to supporting you.

When Systems Fail

In late January 2025, the United States government issued an executive order freezing nearly all foreign development assistance programs, including the life-saving operations led by USAID. Despite initial promises of limited waivers, the freeze rapidly escalated into a widespread shutdown of humanitarian programs, culminating in the dismantling of USAID as an independent entity and the termination of more than 5,000 projects​.

The consequences were immediate and devastating:

• Clinics shuttered and health workers laid off across over 25 countries​.
• Food distributions stalled, leaving warehouses full while famine loomed​.
• Lifesaving programs in conflict zones like Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan were abruptly halted, affecting millions dependent on U.S. aid for survival​.
• Global disease control initiatives, such as polio and mpox prevention campaigns, suffered crippling setbacks​.

The abrupt withdrawal of U.S. funding — historically one of the largest humanitarian donors — sent shockwaves through the global aid system. Meanwhile, the humanitarian workforce itself was not spared. Thousands of USAID employees, contractors, and NGO staff saw their missions upended overnight.

From local food distributors to medical researchers, entire teams dedicated to saving lives were laid off, left without salaries, and in many cases, without severance. ​U.S.-based aid workers, who had served in war zones and natural disasters, shared stories of being dismissed with just minutes' notice, losing healthcare, pensions, and the communities they built over decades​

The sudden dismantling of these networks meant not just an operational collapse — but the loss of collective knowledge, trusted relationships, and irreplaceable humanitarian expertise. International agencies like UNHCR, the World Food Programme, and countless local NGOs faced existential threats, while vulnerable communities found themselves abandoned at the worst possible time​​.

This dismantling of humanitarian support structures has not only undermined decades of humanitarian progress but also created long-term global risks. Experts warn of increasing forced migration, heightened vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation, and the resurgence of preventable diseases​​.

The experience of 2025 stands as a stark reminder: humanitarian work is only possible when backed by sustained, reliable political and financial commitment. When systems designed to protect and empower collapse, it is the world’s most vulnerable who pay the price.

Why Support Must Continue

The collapse of USAID’s operations in early 2025 showed how fragile humanitarian systems can be when political will fades. Programs that had fed children, treated diseases, educated marginalized groups, and stabilized post-conflict zones unraveled almost overnight​​. Organizations that had spent decades building trust and infrastructure were forced to furlough staff, shutter clinics, and halt critical research initiatives​.

Yet, the demand for humanitarian assistance has only grown. In a world increasingly marked by climate emergencies, conflicts, and economic dislocation, sustained and properly funded humanitarian operations are not a luxury — they are a lifeline.

Behind every successful humanitarian project are workers who show extraordinary courage, resilience, and compassion. From conflict zones to disaster-stricken communities, humanitarian aid workers step into the world’s most dangerous and desperate places, often at great personal risk, to deliver hope and restore dignity. Their work saves lives, strengthens communities, and inspires change — even when the odds seem insurmountable.

When major donors retreat, vulnerable communities bear the brunt:

• Essential health services like polio vaccinations and HIV treatments are interrupted​.
• Food insecurity worsens, risking famine in already fragile regions​​.
• Local economies reliant on aid-driven projects collapse, leaving thousands without livelihoods​.

International solidarity — expressed through consistent humanitarian funding — is vital not only for alleviating human suffering but also for maintaining global stability. Humanitarian action reduces the drivers of forced migration, curbs the spread of diseases, strengthens fragile states, and fosters hope in places where despair could otherwise fuel conflict and extremism​​.

Adapting to a Changing Humanitarian Landscape

As we enter 2025, the humanitarian sector faces unprecedented challenges. The recent shifts in U.S. foreign assistance policy have created significant disruptions in the global aid ecosystem, with thousands of projects facing uncertainty and many organizations struggling to maintain critical operations.

As the world reflects on the lessons of 2025, one truth is clear:

Abandoning humanitarian aid is not a savings plan — it is a shortcut to greater insecurity, injustice, and instability.

Investing in humanitarian projects is investing in a safer, healthier, and more equitable future — for everyone.

In this rapidly evolving context, Riley Risk has positioned itself as a stabilizing force, helping organizations adapt their security postures to increasingly complex operational environments. Our expertise in crisis management, contingency planning, and resource optimization has proven crucial as humanitarian organizations navigate funding shortfalls and programmatic adjustments.

We understand that reliable security support is more important than ever when other systems are in flux. As humanitarian needs continue to grow across the globe, Riley Risk remains steadfast in our commitment to supporting those who deliver vital assistance to vulnerable communities, regardless of the political or funding landscape.

Our gratitude goes out to every aid worker and team member who has stood firm in the face of adversity. Your courage, resilience, and humanity are the heart of global response efforts — and the reason Riley Risk remains committed to supporting you through whatever challenges lie ahead.

RileySENTINEL: Global Insights. Local Expertise.