Mothers and fathers in Gaza despairing at how they are to feed their children. Women from the Sudan fleeing hundreds of miles to seek safety from sexual violence. Children in Ukraine forced to leave home to escape the icy winter cold, because the energy infrastructure there is destroyed.

Worldwide, around 363 million women, men and children depend on humanitarian assistance. That’s 1 in 22 people around the world. For so many of them, humanitarian workers are often their last hope. Because these workers go to the most remote and dangerous places to save the lives of others – putting themselves at enormous risk in the process.

Their selfless efforts give hope to those who no longer have any. Their brave resolve shows humanity in places where nobody believes in it any more. It is a disgrace that precisely these workers, who are specially protected by international humanitarian law, often end up in the crossfire of conflict themselves. And it is a duty for us to campaign for their protection worldwide – today and every day.

Germany stands firmly by humanitarian workers and the people whose suffering they alleviate. To be able to continue their life-saving work, they need our support.

It’s clear, when we look at the current conflicts around the world, that much more funding is needed for humanitarian assistance. And it’s also clear that we will continue to help people in acute humanitarian crises. Because that is part of our identity as a country that makes human dignity its number one priority. And it is part of our identity as a country that invests in its own security with geostrategic foreign policy. Our humanitarian efforts are an important element of this approach.