Aid workers trying to save lives in hostile war zones are increasingly becoming targets for attack.
Militias killed six aid workers in South Sudan this month, while 11 UN staff died in attacks on UN-run shelters in Gaza.
Over the past decade, the number of aid workers killed in attacks has tripled, passing 100 deaths a year, UN officials say.
Afghanistan, South Sudan and Syria now rank as the most dangerous countries for humanitarian staff.
The UN Security Council will on Tuesday discuss ways of better protecting aid workers at a meeting that coincides with World Humanitarian Day, which marks the 2003 attack on the UN compound in Baghdad when 22 UN staff were killed.
"Fifteen years ago, the greatest risk to the lives of aid workers were road traffic accidents," said Bob Kitchen, from the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
"Violent incidents (now) claim the lives of more aid workers than anything else."
The IRC, which operates in more than 40 countries, has lost 12 staff over the past six years, including two who died in April in an attack on the UN base in Bor, South Sudan.
Kitchen, who heads the IRC's emergency response team, says the nature of warfare has changed, and more civilians are internally displaced.
"We are increasingly seeing the need for aid organisations to go into environments of war," he said.
Armed groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq target aid workers as a way to earn money or to punish those who help their enemies.
"Parties to conflicts around the world ignore the rules of war to achieve a political end," said John Ging, head of operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
UN aid worker Ken Payumo, a former New York police officer, stood up to armed soldiers who demanded access to the UN compound in Bor in South Sudan after thousands had sheltered there.
On January 19, Payumo stood unarmed with two other UN officials outside the compound refusing to let in some 80 soldiers.
"I remember making a decision at that time that everyone in that compound was really more important than I was," said Payumo.
The soldiers finally decided to leave, but a few months later and after Payumo's departure, the compound was attacked, leaving close to 50 dead.
Researcher Larissa Fast said that the rise in the number of attacks on aid workers is "just the tip of the iceberg".
Fast said aid agencies needed to pay more attention to risk management.
Many NGOs are developing "community liaison," relying on local residents to help keep their staff safe.
"They will say to us, 'Listen, it's not safe for you to come today.' That makes a massive difference for our security."
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