Falling on the 19th August every year, World Humanitarian Day is an annual reminder of the immense need to alleviate the sufferings of millions across the world. It is a day to commemorate and pay homage to aid workers who constantly risk their lives in the face of man-made and natural disasters, braving tremendous dangers to deliver assistance to those in need.

On the initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the first World Humanitarian Summit was held in Istanbul on May 23-24, 2016 bringing together governments, humanitarian organisations and people affected by humanitarian crises. The idea was to propose solutions to the most pressing challenges faced by aid workers, together with setting an agenda to keep the world’s focus on proactive future humanitarian action. Building upon that, World Humanitarian Day this year will reaffirm the global commitment towards humanity, initiate actions to enable countries to be more resilient and share best practices.

The theme for this year is ‘One Humanity’, which the United Nations and its partners have defined as calling for global solidarity and a united approach towards all aspects of humanitarian work. This theme not only denotes how people across the globe are bound together by afflictions and poverty but also how a united approach must be sought in alleviating their suffering, especially during these turbulent times where 130 million people across the world are in dire need of humanitarian support.

The various humanitarian crises that we currently face has resulted in a record number of people being forced to flee their homes. Currently, there are more people displaced across the globe than in any other period in history since the Second World War. This urges a more rapid and improved humanitarian response from the developed world.

Being a humanitarian organisation, Al-Khair Foundation has been actively providing emergency aid and disaster relief in some of the world’s most deprived areas. From internal conflicts to natural disasters, AKF prides itself in being one of the first on the ground to respond. Day in, day out, relief workers support people in some of the harshest and remote areas, including Gaza, Greece, Iraq, Syria and Daadab, Kenya

AKF’s affirmation for a united approach in our humanity work and dedication to ‘one humanity’ is reflected through our various partnerships with other organisations. Our collaborations have allowed us to expand our reach and increase the impact of our projects globally.

However, the work that we commit to is equally reliant on the support and donations from generous donors like yourself. Through your support, we can continue to aid humanity through war zones, conflicts and natural disasters.

This World Humanitarian Day, we ask you to stand in solidarity with humanitarian workers all across the world as they risk their lives every day to make the world a better place. We’ll also be posting on social media with the hashtag: #OneHumanity, so don’t forget to keep an eye out and share/ re-tweet!