U.N. report finds one million women lost aid access after donor cuts

A U.N. Women report released Friday states at least one million women and girls lost access to life-saving support in the past year due to global donor aid cuts. Nearly nine in ten women's organizations surveyed said they can no longer meet needs on the ground despite increased demand since January last year.

The report also found that 40 percent of the 855 organizations surveyed are at risk of shutting down temporarily or permanently within the next year.

Funding and service gaps The majority of organizations reported reaching fewer women and girls than before January 2025 even as demand rose. Sixty percent said they are serving fewer people, and more than three-quarters have cut staff roles. Sixty-five percent said staff are working without pay to keep services running, while half have introduced waiting lists or turned away women and girls.

Sixty-two percent reported that safe spaces are no longer available or have been reduced.

Broader effects noted The report said cases of conflict-related sexual violence doubled last year and that one-fifth of organizations suspended work on women's leadership and gender equality. U.N. Women Chief of Humanitarian Action Sofia Calltorp said every dollar withdrawn affects survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, displaced mothers, girls forced from school, and communities struggling to survive.

The U.N. Women report surveyed organizations in countries including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Haiti. It concluded that the financing cuts have created critical gaps in humanitarian coverage.