The World Health Organization announced on Thursday that nearly 80,000 people have lost their lives during migration journeys since 2014, stressing that no journey should ever end in tragedy.
In a post published on the X platform to mark the International Migrants Day, the organization stated that most of the victims have not been identified, leaving their families in a prolonged state of uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones.
The WHO called for safe, orderly, and dignified migration, emphasizing the need to protect migrants’ health rights and to prevent further loss of life along migration routes.
According to data from the International Organization for Migration, more than 350 migrant deaths have been recorded since the beginning of 2025 through early August, across both land and sea migration routes.
The organization noted that these figures are preliminary and may increase as documentation efforts continue, particularly since many missing persons have not yet been confirmed dead, suggesting that the actual toll could be significantly higher.
The data indicate that drowning is the leading cause of death, alongside other factors such as violence, road accidents, and harsh environmental conditions.
These tragic incidents have become especially persistent among those attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, where migration routes continue to claim lives on a regular basis.
