GENEVA: At least one million women and girls have lost access to lifesaving humanitarian support over the past year as deep cuts in international aid funding continue to disrupt relief operations worldwide, according to a new report released by UN Women on Friday.
The report warns that the unprecedented decline in global humanitarian financing has severely weakened women-led organisations, many of which provide frontline assistance in conflict zones and humanitarian emergencies.
UN Women said nearly nine out of 10 women’s organisations surveyed are no longer able to meet rising humanitarian needs despite growing demand for their services.
The agency described the decline in aid as the steepest funding reduction on record, leaving vulnerable women and girls increasingly exposed. The funding crisis follows significant reductions in foreign assistance by several major donor countries.
The United States, previously the world’s largest aid contributor, sharply reduced billions of dollars in overseas assistance this year, while other international donors have also scaled back humanitarian spending amid mounting fiscal pressures and increased defence budgets.
According to the report, around 120 million women and girls currently require humanitarian assistance and protection across the world.
However, 40 per cent of the 855 women-led organisations surveyed in countries including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti face the risk of temporary or permanent closure within the next year because of severe financial shortages.
The study found that 60 per cent of organisations are now assisting fewer women and girls than they were before January 2025, despite a substantial increase in demand for services.
Many warned that dwindling resources are creating dangerous gaps in humanitarian coverage, particularly in areas where local women’s organisations are often the only groups able to reach those most at risk.
Sofia Calltorp, UN Women’s Chief of Humanitarian Action, said the consequences of the funding cuts extend far beyond financial constraints.
“Every dollar withdrawn from women’s organisations is a dollar withdrawn from survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, displaced mothers, girls forced from school and communities struggling to survive,” she said.
The report also highlights the growing strain on humanitarian workers. Around 65 per cent of women-led organisations said employees are continuing to work without pay to maintain essential services, while half have introduced waiting lists or have been forced to turn away women and girls seeking assistance. More than three-quarters reported reducing staff numbers due to financial pressures.
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The funding shortfall has also affected programmes tackling gender-based violence. As incidents of conflict-related sexual violence increased sharply over the past year, 62 per cent of organisations said safe spaces for women and girls had either been reduced or shut down, while services providing support to survivors have also been scaled back.
UN Women warned that the financial crisis forms part of a wider global setback for gender equality, with around one in five organisations suspending programmes aimed at promoting women’s leadership and advancing gender rights because of inadequate funding.
