Humanitarian organizations led by women in Africa, reaching millions of women and girls, faced a serious funding crisis following international funding cuts.
While cuts in global aid funds negatively impact the activities of women's organizations that support women and girls in conflict and humanitarian crisis zones in Africa, they also put at risk the protection, health and psychosocial support services that millions of people benefit from.
The report titled "Beyond the Breaking Point" published by the United Nations (UN) Women's Unit (UN Women) on July 10 revealed that cuts in global aid funds negatively affected the activities of women's organizations that provide support to women and girls in conflict and humanitarian crisis zones in Africa.
According to the report, protection, health and psychosocial support services that millions of people benefit from are at risk.
In addition to the UN Women report, recently published evaluations by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children also reveal that the protection, health and psychosocial support services that millions of people benefit from in Africa are at risk and that women-led organizations are struggling with similar financing problems.
UN Women Humanitarian Aid Head Sofia Calltorp, in her statement regarding the report, stated that non-governmental organizations led by women operate in areas where international teams cannot reach, especially in crisis regions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Pointing out that the decrease in resources allocated to these organizations means a decrease in vital services for victims of conflict-related sexual violence, displaced mothers and girls who are away from education, Calltorp warned that if the necessary steps are not taken, the struggle for survival of women and girls in the world's most severe humanitarian crises will become even more difficult.
Local women's organizations are among the first points of contact in crisis areas
According to the joint activity prepared with the participation of 855 women's organizations and non-governmental organizations working in the field of women's rights operating in 52 countries affected by conflicts and crises, at least 1 million women and girls have lost access to vital support services since January 2025.
While 84 percent of organizations report increasing demand for services, nearly 9 in 10 organizations are struggling to meet current needs. 2 out of every 5 organizations face the risk of stopping their activities within the next year.
In many African countries, local organizations led by women are not only rights advocacy organizations, but also among the most important practitioners of humanitarian aid activities.
Operating in a wide geography from Sudan to Somalia, from the DRC to the Sahel belt, these organizations create safe spaces for women and girls in regions where international aid teams have difficulty reaching.
Women's organizations provide psychosocial support to victims of gender-based violence, direct them to health services, distribute hygiene kits and basic needs, contribute to cash support programs and carry out activities to reintegrate girls into education.
These organizations also operate in a wide range of areas, from pregnant women's access to health services to protecting victims of sexual violence, from providing economic support to women who have lost their livelihoods, to combating early marriages.
Humanitarian crises in Africa increase women's burden
While half of the women's organizations had to put women and girls in need on a waiting list or turn them away, 65 percent reported that their employees worked without pay to maintain services.
While burnout is becoming widespread among the personnel involved in aid activities, service capacity is gradually shrinking in a significant part of the safe areas for women and girls.
While 48 percent of organizations stated that burnout has increased among staff, 88 percent reported that they observed a deterioration in the mental health of the women and girls they serve.
While the increase in gender-based violence remains one of the most important sources of concern in many regions where women's organizations operate, a significant part of the safe spaces created for women and girls have been closed or the service capacity in these areas has been significantly reduced.
The effects of financial contraction are felt more clearly in African countries where the world's most severe humanitarian crises are experienced.
Data from the UN and international humanitarian organizations reveal that local organizations led by women in many regions, from Sudan to Somalia, from the DRC to the Sahel belt, are trying to continue their activities with decreasing resources despite increasing humanitarian needs.
The war that started in April 2023 in Sudan, one of the countries where women-led humanitarian aid activities are carried out most intensively, has turned into one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.
According to UN data, approximately 34 million people in the country need humanitarian assistance, while more than 9 million people are internally displaced. According to UNFPA data, 12.7 million people need protection and support services against gender-based violence.
In Somalia, it is estimated that 4.8 million people will need humanitarian aid in 2026 due to the effects of drought, conflicts and economic fragility.
While it is stated that 3.7 million people in the country need reproductive health services, approximately 300 thousand pregnant and breastfeeding women are at high risk due to malnutrition and limited health services.
UNFPA also points out that 2.5 million women and girls are at risk of gender-based violence, and emphasizes that the financing gap threatens the sustainability of health and protection services for women.
The conflicts that have been going on for years in the east of the DRC continue to be one of the crises that most severely affects women and girls.
In the country where millions of people have been displaced due to attacks by armed groups, cases of conflict-related sexual violence are among the highest in the world.
Local organizations led by women are among the key elements of the humanitarian response, especially in North Kivu and South Kivu, in the areas of psychosocial support, legal advice, creation of safe spaces and referral to health services.
A similar picture is seen in different parts of the continent, especially Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in the Sahel belt. Security issues, forced migration, climate-related disasters and the contraction in international aid resources make it more difficult day by day for women-led organizations to reach millions of women and girls.