Disasters cause enormous loss to life and property

The awareness day was designated by the United Nations in an effort to raise public awareness of humanitarian assistance worldwide and the people who risk their lives in order to provide it.

Every day humanitarian aid workers help millions of people around the world, regardless of who they are and where they are. The United Nations invites all member states and the entities of the United Nations system, within existing resources, as well as other international organisations and non-governmental organisations, to observe WHD annually in an appropriate manner.

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster.

The difference between natural and human-made disasters is that human-made disasters occur as a result of human action, while natural disaster occur due to forces of nature.

Natural disasters are disasters that take place regardless of human action, but human action can increase the likelihood and impact of natural disasters, and nature can influence the likelihood and impact of human-made disasters.

All disasters are put into two main categories: natural and human-made. According to RestoreYourEconomy.org, natural disasters include droughts, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, wildfire, sinkholes, blizzards, hail, agricultural pests, diseases and hurricanes.

Human-made disasters include power blackouts, hazardous material spills, explosions, chemical or biological attacks, nuclear blasts and radiological emergencies.

The main difference is what creates the disaster. Humans are the only beings that can create nuclear power, so a nuclear blast is a human-made disaster. On the other hand, human action cannot create a hurricane.

This can only be due to the forces of nature. Because of this, some people refer to natural disasters as "acts of God."Disasters are placed in one category or another, but the actions of man and nature can influence each other.

For instance, human activity can reduce the available water in a region, leading to wildfire and droughts. The actions of nature can also create human made disasters, such as storms knocking out electrical equipment or causing chemical spills.

All in all , the primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It may therefore be distinguished from development aid, which seeks to address the underlying socioeconomic factors which may have led to a crisis or emergency. Aid is funded by donations from individuals, corporations, governments and other organisations.

The funding and delivery of humanitarian aid is increasingly international, making it much faster, more responsive, and more effective in coping with two major emergencies affecting large numbers of people.