LAHORE: To highlight the dignity and esteem of humanity, World Humanitarian Day was observed on August 19 across the globe including Pakistan.

The theme of this year’s day was “no matter what”. In a video message on World Humanitarian Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “We salute the courage and dedication of humanitarian aid workers everywhere.”

Like other parts of the country, in Lahore some forums and bodies spoke to the press and respective circles to help spread the key message of World Humanitarian Day, while some groups organised public events including seminars, conferences and walks featuring humanitarian work.

The day was marked to honour all humanitarians, who work to promote the humanitarian cause, and those who lost their lives in the cause of duty. According to a UN report, the total number of people affected by natural disasters has risen over the past decade, and about 211 million people are directly affected each year.

Kashif Mukhtar, a social and human rights activist, expressed his resolve to increase public awareness about humanitarian assistance activities globally and the importance of international cooperation.

The World Humanitarian Day is a day dedicated to humanitarians worldwide, as well as to increase public understanding of humanitarian assistance activities. The day aims to honour humanitarian workers, who had lost their lives or injured in the course of achieving their task and to acknowledge the ongoing work of humanitarian staff around the world, Mukhtar added.

Many communities and organisations try to stress the importance of humanitarian work by distributing publicity and information material. So for, more than 700 humanitarian workers have died or experienced the most dangerous situations while trying to help those in need, he added.

Humanitarians provide support for different world challenges such as hunger, gender-based violence, refugees and displaced people, help for children, as well as clean water and access to sanitation.