Report: 2008 The Deadliest Year for Aid Workers Around the World

In 2008, 260 humanitarian aid workers were killed, kidnapped or seriously injured in violent attacks. This toll is the highest in the 12 years of the Center of International Cooperation and the Overseas Development Institute began tracking these incidents. According to the report, the absolute number of attacks against aid workers has risen steeply over the past three years, with an annual average almost three times higher than the previous nine years. Relative rates of attacks per numbers of aid workers in the field have also increased — by 61%. The 2008 fatality rate for international aid workers exceeds that of UN peacekeeping troops.