(Opinion guest essay, nytimes.com, Aug. 26), Kate Forbes eloquently conveys the horror of the killing of health and humanitarian aid workers in contemporary conflicts, the erosion of norms that once protected them and the terrible consequences for people in war zones.

The author rightly condemns the tepid response of the international community. But simply calling on parties to the conflicts to prioritize aid worker safety and allow unrestricted access to people in need — and on society to invest in preventing conflicts in the first place — are far from sufficient.