The people behind humanitarian impact

Making Impact Possible: Protecting the Workforce Behind Humanitarian Action

By Marijana Zivkovic Mtegha, Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Lead, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), and Itai Mukuvari, PhD, CMIOSH, MIEMA, CEnv, Head of Health, Safety, Social & Environmental (HSSE) Management (UNOPS)

Humanitarian impact depends on the people who deliver it.

On World Humanitarian Day 2026, IOSH and UNOPS highlight why protecting the safety, health and wellbeing of humanitarian workers is essential to achieving sustainable humanitarian and development outcomes.

Protecting these workers is not simply an operational requirement. It is an ethical responsibility and a strategic necessity. A safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental principle and right at work. Humanitarian workers should be afforded this right, which is the right of all workers regardless of where they work, the job they do, and the employment status they have. 

When work-related harm is prevented and people are protected, organisations are more resilient, projects are more sustainable and communities benefit from stronger outcomes. Conversely, when workforce protection is overlooked, the ability of organisations to deliver their mission is compromised.

The humanitarian sector has long recognised that people are its most important asset. World Humanitarian Day reminds us that those who dedicate themselves to helping others must also be protected, supported and empowered to perform their work safely, healthily and effectively.

Worker protection is about more than physical safety

Historically, occupational safety and health has focused on immediate physical dangers. Today, organisations are increasingly taking a more holistic approach that considers the full range of workplace hazards and applies prevention-focused risk management.

Despite progress, work-related harm remains a global challenge. Nearly three million workers die each year from work-related causes, most linked to occupational disease rather than injury.

The changing world of work is also creating new challenges, including climate-related, technological and psychosocial risks.

Effective protection must consider physical and mental health, resilience, security, access to support, worker participation and organisational culture.

For organisations working in humanitarian and development settings, these elements are deeply interconnected. A workforce that feels supported, prepared and valued is better equipped to manage challenges, adapt to changing circumstances and continue delivering critical services under pressure.

Occupational safety and health should therefore not be viewed in isolation and should be viewed as a critical and strategic enabler. Effective workforce protection requires a holistic approach that brings together safety, health, wellbeing, security and organisational resilience.

This is particularly important in challenging operating environments, where workers may be exposed to multiple hazards and risks simultaneously and where the consequences of failure can extend beyond individuals to affect communities, projects and broader humanitarian objectives.

A reflection on how UNOPS supports personnel and partners operating in challenging environments and why workforce protection is critical to achieving sustainable development outcomes.

At UNOPS, this reality shapes everything we do. Our personnel and partners work in some of the most complex and volatile operating environments in the world, supporting infrastructure delivery, procurement, project management, and mine action in settings where state capacity may be limited, security can shift within days, and basic services like power or nearby medical care cannot be taken for granted.

Supporting workers starts long before deployment. Risk assessments should be built into project design from the outset, medical and security arrangements regularly tested, and mental health support treated with the same importance as physical safety.

This duty of care should extend beyond those directly employed by the organisation. Many of the people carrying the greatest risk in our operations are local implementing partners, national personnel, and contracted workers, who often face the greatest risks, stay the longest, and have the least institutional protection. Closing that gap remains a key challenge for the sector. It requires us to extend the same standards of risk assessment, capacity building, implementation of controls, equipment and support to everyone contributing to a project's delivery. 

This isn’t separate from development effectiveness; it is rather the condition for it. A workforce that experiences lack of support, illnesses, injuries or fatalities cannot deliver the infrastructure, services and outcomes communities depend on, and projects that treat occupational safety as an afterthought tend to pay for it later, in delays, disrupted operations and, at worst, preventable harm. Protection designed in from the start is what lets teams stay in difficult environments long enough to actually finish what they started.

Leadership, culture and preparation matter

Effective workforce protection does not happen by accident.

It is shaped by leadership decisions, organisational commitment and priorities and the culture established throughout an organisation.

The strongest organisations understand that safety, health, wellbeing and security are not competing priorities. They are mutually reinforcing components of sustainable performance.

Leaders shape culture through the behaviours, investment and standards they prioritise. Organisations must also invest in competence and capability so workers can identify risks, make informed decisions and respond effectively when challenges arise.

My experience working with international partners across the UN system and beyond has shown that sustainable change is rarely driven by standards alone. It comes from supporting people, strengthening local capacity and creating partnerships that help turn good intentions into meaningful action.

At IOSH, we recognise that the promotion of good occupational safety and health (OSH) uptake relies on a system-wide approach, meaning all actors have a role to play for health and safety, from governments, policymakers, employers, regulators, trade unions, civil society, investors, workers and OSH and other professionals.

This is especially relevant in developing and fragile contexts, where local knowledge, stakeholder engagement and practical capacity building often make the difference between short-term interventions and lasting change.

A collective responsibility

This year's World Humanitarian Day campaign, #ActForHumanity, calls on all of us to move beyond recognition and towards action.

Protecting humanitarian workers and supporting respect for international humanitarian law are not responsibilities that belong to humanitarian organisations alone. They require collective commitment from governments, international organisations, employers, professional bodies, workers, development institutions and civil society.

The campaign reminds us that humanitarian outcomes depend on a protected and supported workforce.

Partnerships are therefore essential.

At IOSH, our vision is a safe and healthy world of work for all. Achieving this vision requires a system-wide approach, with collaboration across sectors, professions and geographies. It requires organisations to share knowledge, build capability and strengthen local capacity.

What is particularly encouraging is the growing recognition that prevention of harm and worker protection should be viewed not as an administrative requirement, but as an enabler of development and humanitarian impact. Strong occupational safety and health systems support social sustainability, strengthen resilience and contribute directly to successful development outcomes.

Acting for humanity means investing in people. That includes strengthening occupational safety and health capability, supporting effective leadership and embedding prevention into the design and delivery of projects and programmes.

Partnerships such as the one between UNOPS and IOSH help achieve this by building local capability, improving risk awareness and ensuring workers have a meaningful voice in managing workplace hazards.

Ultimately, lasting impact comes not from procedures alone, but from the knowledge, skills and culture left behind.

Looking forward

World Humanitarian Day provides an opportunity not only to honour humanitarian workers, but also to reflect on what more can be done to support them.

If we are serious about strengthening humanitarian outcomes, we must also be serious about protecting the workforce behind them.

That means investing in safe and healthy working environments. It means supporting worker wellbeing and resilience. It means preventing harm through robust risk management, strengthening leadership and capability, and investing in workers and their health and safety. And it means building partnerships that help raise standards where they are needed most.

The spirit of #ActForHumanity is ultimately a call to action.

Stronger safety systems, better risk management, increased capability and greater collaboration can all help humanitarian workers carry out their mission safely and effectively.

Above all, every person contributing to humanitarian, development and peace efforts deserves the opportunity to return home safe and healthy at the end of the day.

When we protect the people delivering impact, we make that impact possible.