Aid workers killed: data trends 2018 Key data for 2018
• The number of deaths of aid workers peaked in March 2018. February and June also recorded high numbers of deaths. In March, 26 aid workers were reportedly killed in Syria during the fall of Eastern Ghouta to Syrian government forces.
• There was an overall downward trend in reported incidents and the number of aid workers affected in the second half of 2018 (from 89 incidents affecting 132 aid workers, to 19/23).
• In 2018, eight female aid workers were reportedly killed in Afghanistan, Syria (2 each), OPT, Pakistan, Somalia and South Sudan (1 each).
• National aid workers working for local NGOs were most affected and represent over three-quarters of reported aid worker deaths (121 aid workers). Of these, 65% were civilians working for local aid agencies in Syria. A total of 15 national aid workers employed by INGOs were reportedly killed in Afghanistan (5), South Sudan (4), the DRC (2), the CAR, the OPT, Nigeria and Sudan (1 each). In comparison, two international staff were reportedly killed in the CAR and Yemen.
• Nearly half of reported aid worker deaths were caused by explosive weapons. Aerial bombings and mortar shelling attributed to the Syrian and Russian armed forces reportedly killed 52 aid workers in Syria. Vehicle-borne IEDs and landmines killed seven aid workers in Azerbaijan, Somalia and Syria. A suicide attack killed five aid workers in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
• 17 aid workers were killed by non-state actors in road ambushes in Afghanistan, the CAR, the DRC, Ethiopia, Mexico, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen, highlighting the risks aid workers face during road travel.
• Two aid workers were killed in armed/unarmed robberies in Chad and South Sudan, and one UN aid worker was fatally shot by a former employee in Somalia.
Female aid workers killed: data trends 1996-2018
• 119 female aid workers were reportedly killed in 24 countries between 1996 and 2018. A high number were killed while working in Afghanistan (29), Pakistan (26) and Somalia (12).
• Since 2015 four INGO female aid workers have reportedly killed in Afghanistan. In May 2017, a female German aid worker was killed when unidentified perpetrator(s) attacked a guesthouse in Kabul.
• There has been a reduction in the number of reports of female aid workers being killed in Pakistan since 2015: from 17 in 2005-2010 to three in 2015-2018.
• Since 2015 five female aid workers have reportedly been killed in Somalia. All five worked for the UN, four of whom were killed by roadside IEDs or in road ambushes.
• Killings of local NGO female aid workers may be underreported.