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	Critical threats to the health and rights of millions of women and girls by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)   Jan. 2025   As the world heads into a new year, humanitarian emergencies in multiple countries are vying for attention – and funds. In 2024, UNFPA’s humanitarian response operations were just 42 per cent funded overall, posing critical threats to the health and rights of millions of women and girls.   Without sufficient resources, UNFPA cannot deploy midwives where they are most needed, shelters for survivors of gender-based violence are forced to close, and women and girls lose access to essential health supplies and services. All of this is already unfolding in some of the most pressing, but least supported, emergencies around the world.   Yet the funding outlook for 2025 is anything but promising. Global cooperation is increasingly under threat, and the gap between humanitarian needs and funding to meet them is growing. In particular, the specific needs of women and girls are often overlooked with humanitarian response, such as gender-based violence, which is one of the most underfunded sectors.   The costs of inaction will be stark. We already know that a majority of maternal deaths take place in fragile contexts. Women in crisis settings also experience twice the rate of gender-based violence – 70 per cent – and adolescent girls are 90 per cent more likely to be out of school compared to those not in crisis settings.   But these outcomes are not inevitable. They are choices made by governments, donors, civil society and more. In 2025, UNFPA and its partners are raising the alarm that women and girls are most at risk when their reproductive rights, safety and humanity are kept in the shadows.   Below we shine a spotlight on some of the most underfunded crises for women in the world.   Cameroon – Multiple threats for women and girls   Cameroon is battling mass internal displacement from repeated climate emergencies and violence by armed groups, as well as a significant refugee influx from neighbouring countries. UNFPA is working to meet the rising needs of some 3.4 million people and investing in climate-resilient health infrastructure.   This helps support women like Aicha, who after fleeing massive floods while pregnant and already displaced by violence told UNFPA, “I was so scared for the baby in my womb and for myself.”   In numbers: For 2025, UNFPA is asking for US$9 million for Cameroon. Last year’s appeal was less than one third funded, meaning UNFPA was unable to reach more than half of the people in need of its services, and could no longer support 36 primary healthcare centres and 20 safe spaces.   Chad – Multiple crises and a neighbour at war   Conflict, climate emergencies and displacement are driving the crisis in Chad. And since the war in Sudan broke out, Chad has seen the largest arrival of refugees in its history, with conditions in numerous displacement camps cramped, unsanitary and dangerous. As millions of women and girls lack adequate access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and protection services, the current deep lack of funding for humanitarian response is only making the situation more tenuous.   In numbers: UNFPA requirements for 2025 are $27.8 million. Last year, just one third of the appeal was funded. This meant the organization could not reach more than 77,000 people with the sexual and reproductive health services they required, 50,000 women and girls could not access gender-based violence support, and some 111 primary health facilities were no longer supported.   The Democratic Republic of the Congo – Sexual violence and maternal deaths soar   Recurrent kidnappings, rape, and exploitation are wielded against women and girls as weapons of terror in the Deomcratic Republic of the Congo. In 2024, 7.7 million people needed gender-based violence protection, as overcrowded displacement sites offered little safety or security, and even routine activities like gathering water and firewood became fraught with danger. A breakdown in healthcare infrastructure has also led maternal mortality rates to soar, with three women dying every hour from pregnancy or childbirth complications.   In numbers: For 2025, UNFPA needs $40 million. Only 37 per cent of the appeal was funded in 2024. As a consequence, of the 2.5 million people in urgent need of sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence response services, just over 500,000 were reached. In the eastern provinces, 100 primary healthcare centres and 180 safe spaces were no longer supported.   Haiti – A war on the bodies of women and girls   In Haiti, underfunded health systems strained by political instability, violence and climate disasters have resulted in rising rates of women dying in pregnancy and childbirth. With over 700,000 people forced from their homes in 2024, reports of sexual violence have surged dramatically. Yet only one in four survivors are able to receive care within the critical 72-hour period. As one doctor told UNFPA, “Since the increase in gang attacks, we noticed a high rate of early pregnancy, particularly in accommodation sites.”   In numbers: UNFPA requirements for 2025 in Haiti are $28.9 million. In 2024, less than 20 per cent of the appeal was funded, meaning more than 930,000 people had no access to UNFPA’s interventions.   Mozambique – A cycle of shocks and conflict   After Cyclone Chido tore through Mozambique in December 2024, Cecília Wachave, a 45-year-old mother of two daughters from Cabo Delgado, told UNFPA, “I wished the night wouldn’t come again – I didn’t know what would happen while sleeping under the tree without light.” The cyclone was the latest in a string of climate disasters to beset the country, on top of resurgent armed conflict, hunger and widespread displacement.   In numbers: UNFPA requirements for 2025 in Mozambique are $16 million. In 2024, only 11 per cent of the appeal was funded, causing almost half of UNFPA’s 22 safe spaces to close.   Myanmar – Rising poverty and vanishing support   Escalating conflict and climate shocks are increasing humanitarian needs in Myanmar, where over 3.4 million people have been forced to flee their homes across the country. Approximately 8.7 million people need gender-based violence response services, yet a severe lack of funding and damaged health infrastructure have hampered support efforts and cut off women’s and girls’ ability to reach vital care. This includes new mothers like Nan Nwe, who after losing her home to Cyclone Mocha in Rakhine State told UNFPA, “We need more healthcare services and facilities in operation. I want my baby safe, this is all I need.”.   In numbers: In 2025, UNFPA is appealing for $39.4 million for its work in Myanmar – a response that last year was only 22 per cent funded.   South Sudan – Conflict and mass displacement stretch already scarce resources   South Sudan bears deep scars of gender-based violence from years of civil war, and continues to experience brutal intercommunal conflict and unequal and harmful gender norms, leaving women and girls at high risk of sexual and physical violence. Consecutive years of widespread flooding have caused vast internal displacement, and high numbers of returnees fleeing conflict in Sudan has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian situation.   More and more people are seeking support, while services are overstretched and resources run dry. UNFPA is providing life-saving sexual reproductive health services and gender-based violence response despite the difficult operating environment.   In numbers: In 2024 UNFPA called for $18.1 million for South Sudan, which was only 17 per cent funded. As a result, UNFPA reached just half of the targeted population and supported only 7 out of 22 primary health facilities.   Sudan – Cascading threats in an escalating emergency   With 8.8 million people forced from their homes since war broke out in 2023, Sudan is the world’s largest internal displacement crisis. The emergency has pushed over 9 million into severe hunger, among them some 220,000 pregnant women. Last year the number of people at risk of gender-based violence nearly doubled to more than 12 million.   Exacerbating these risks, up to 80 per cent of health facilities are either closed or barely functioning and there is a critical lack of medical supplies and health workers. Amid this crisis, UNFPA is dedicated to reaching those most in need of support, even in the least accessible areas.   “Without the mobile health team, I don’t know what I would do,” Fatima, a mother and survivor of sexual violence told UNFPA. “They are like family to me.”   In numbers: In 2025 UNFPA needs over $145 million for Sudan. In 2024, just 20 per cent of its request of $82.9 million was received. This meant UNFPA could not support almost half of the 81 targeted primary health centres, 10 of the emergency obstetric service centres and 20 out of 51 mobile teams.   Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) – Gender inequality in the spotlight   Economic instability, political turmoil and recurrent violence have taken a heavy toll on Venezuela’s women and girls. Gender-based violence, unintended pregnancies due to unavailable and unaffordable contraceptives, and difficulties accessing healthcare have all increased women’s vulnerability to abuse and maternal mortality.   “The last time I was in labour, I was on the brink of death,” Omaira Opikuko, a member of the Yukpa indigenous community, told UNFPA. For indigenous women and girls, the dangers of dying in pregnancy and childbirth are often exacerbated by poverty and geographic isolation.   In numbers: For 2025, UNFPA needs $28 million to continue its programmes in Venezuela, which last year were just one third funded.   Despite these unprecedented challenges, last year UNFPA equipped around 3,500 health facilities in humanitarian contexts with supplies, staff and funds to deliver life-saving care, while more than 1,600 safe spaces were able to offer refuge and recovery to millions of women and girls. This was in large part thanks to funding received through the Humanitarian Thematic Fund, UNFPA's dedicated mechanism for responding to emergencies and channelling resources where they are most urgently needed.   In 2025, UNFPA is calling for $1.4 billion to continue reaching more than 45 million women, girls and young people across 57 countries. With urgent needs growing and many crises dangerously underfunded, we cannot let the lights go out for those who need us most.   http://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/life-dangerous-women-camp-central-african-republic-survivors-sexual-violence-lose-critical-support-funding-slashed   Dec. 2024   Three global trends on a collision course… with women and girls at the crossroads   As 2024 draws to a close, the world is grappling with ever-intensifying crises. UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, has just launched it's humanitarian appeal to address the unique needs of women and girls trapped in, or uprooted by, this wave of emergencies.   Yet at the same time, support for the needs of crisis-affected women and girls is under threat. Below are three global trends poised to collide in the year ahead: Without urgent and global action, the world’s most vulnerable women and girls will be caught in the crossfire of all of them.   1- Catastrophes are rising sharply, with unique impacts on women and girls.   Violent conflicts, extreme weather events, and forced displacement are reaching record levels. Across these emergency settings, women and girls face unique and often neglected challenges.   To start with, many crises are roiling in countries where women and girls already face systematic disadvantages, imperilling their mobility, agility and ability to access aid.   Of the countries facing the highest levels of disaster-related internal displacement, for example, one third rank among the most gender unequal places in the world.   On top of this, in virtually all crises, women and girls face rocketing levels of gender-based violence – roughly twice the rates compared to those in non-humanitarian settings.   All of this plays a role in making crises uniquely harrowing for women and girls – who continue to have their periods, become pregnant and give birth, all while sexual and reproductive health services take a back seat in emergency responses.   UNFPA and its partners are working to ensure these needs are met, even in the most dangerous and deprived places. In 2024, UNFPA reached 10 million people with reproductive health services across 59 crisis-affected countries, support that includes contraception, menstruation supplies, and prenatal, safe delivery and post-natal care. Protection from gender-based violence was provided to 3.6 million people.   Still, this work reached just a small portion of crisis-affected women and girls globally.   2- Global cooperation – and humanitarian funding – are under threat.   “Today, multilateralism is under attack from all sides,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has warned. This trend – driven by growing mistrust and nativism – threatens the very collective action needed to address the onslaught of violence- and disaster-related catastrophes.   One critical form of global cooperation is humanitarian funding, which has for years failed to keep pace with the proliferation of crises. And funding gaps are especially stark when it comes to the gendered needs of women and girls.   Globally, the humanitarian response to gender-based violence, for example, is one of the most underfunded sectors, with just 27 per cent of the required funding for 2024 received by 24 November.   UNFPA sees this firsthand. By September 2024, UNFPA’s annual appeal for humanitarian support was only 43 per cent funded. In the 34 most underresourced crises, this funding gap stands at a staggering 75 per cent.   Even more severe shortfalls are anticipated in the year ahead, a period when 11 million pregnant women are expected to require humanitarian aid and 92 million people are projected to require protection from, and services for, gender-based violence.   3- Support for women’s rights and reproductive rights eroding   The world faces continued pushback against women’s and girls’ rights and their sexual and reproductive health. New data released this year shows that, in 40 per cent of countries with data, women’s ability to exercise bodily autonomy is actually diminishing.   “Human reproduction is being politicized. The rights of women, girls and gender diverse people are the subject of increasing pushback,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem. “Yet we can, and we must, push forward.”   Despite the challenging funding environment, UNFPA is deploying thousands of midwives and medical teams to humanitarian zones. In 2024, UNFPA equipped over 3,500 health facilities to deliver life-saving care, and established more than 1,600 safe spaces for women and girls to seek refuge and empowerment programmes.   And in the year ahead, UNFPA will strengthen local and national responses – especially among women- and youth-led organizations, and to improve emergency preparedness. These measures aim to improve the resilience of at-risk communities while empowering the women and girls on the frontlines who know their needs best.   The coming year will present many challenges, but we already know how to overcome them: With solidarity. “The way forward, how we proceed and succeed, is by working together,” Dr. Kanem said.   http://www.unfpa.org/HAO2025 http://www.unfpa.org/safebirth#/en http://www.unfpa.org/emergencies http://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/news/unfpas-work-supporting-vulnerable-women-and-girls-south-asia http://www.unfpa.org/events/international-day-zero-tolerance-female-genital-mutilation http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/03/silence-female-genital-mutilation-sierra-leone-will-not-protect-us/ http://www.unfpa.org/news/explainer-what-unfpa-and-why-does-it-matter   27 Feb. 2025   US funding cuts confirmed, ending lifesaving support for women and girls. (UN News)   The United States has cut $377 million worth of funding to the UN reproductive and sexual health agency, UNFPA, it was confirmed on Thursday, leading to potentially “devasting impacts”, on women and girls.   “At 7pm on 26 February, UNFPA was informed that nearly all of our grants (48 as of now) with USAID and the US State Department have been terminated,” the UN agency said in a statement.   “This decision will have devastating impacts on women and girls and the health and aid workers who serve them in the world’s worst humanitarian crises.”   The USAID grants were designated to provide critical maternal healthcare, protection from violence, rape treatment and other lifesaving care in humanitarian settings. This includes UNFPA’s work to end maternal death, safely deliver babies and address horrific violence faced by women and girls.   The UN agency partners with 150 countries to provide access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services. Its goal is ending unmet needs for family planning, preventable maternal death, gender-based violence and harmful practices, including child marriage and female genital mutilation, by 2030.   “These termination notices include grants for which we had previously received humanitarian waivers, as they were considered lifesaving interventions for the world's most vulnerable women and girls,” UNFPA said.   The grants funded programmes in countries including Afghanistan, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Haiti, Mali, Sudan, Syria and its neighbouring countries, as well as Ukraine. http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1160631   Trump Administration UNFPA defunding will harm millions - Lancet Medical Journal   The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that millions of women and girls globally will lose access to essential sexual and reproductive health services if Donald Trump's expected defunding of the agency goes ahead.   “The impact will be devastating and in particular devastating for women in humanitarian settings”, Sarah Craven, Director of UNFPA's Washington Office, told The Lancet.   In his first term as President, Trump stopped US funding to the agency within a few months of taking office, and a repeat scenario is likely. “If you look at...the rhetoric during the election, we have reason to believe that we will lose our US funding”, Craven explains. She points to Project 2025, a blueprint for the new President, which proposes stopping funds to UNFPA.   Presently, the USA is UNFPA's largest donor overall and its largest humanitarian donor. In 2024, UNFPA received more than US$230 million from the USA, of which over $200 million was for humanitarian work. Losing this money will impact many countries in crisis. For instance, in Nigeria's conflict-affected regions, over half a million vulnerable people, primarily women and girls, will lose access to crucial health services.   In Yemen, almost 1 million women will be without reproductive health services and nearly 300 000 women will lose access to gender-based violence mitigation and prevention services. In Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, hundreds of Rohingya women won’t be able to have caesarean sections, midwifery services will be cut, and the future of the only 24-hour facility providing emergency obstetric and newborn care will be at risk.   The Trump administration is expected to invoke the Kemp-Kasten amendment, which states that no US funds may be made available to “any organization or program which, as determined by the President of the United States, supports or participates in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization”. Trump invoked the amendment in 2017, as did previous Republican administrations, which accused UNFPA of a programme of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilisation in China. UNFPA rejects these allegations and independent fact-finding missions have found no evidence to substantiate the basis of the Kemp-Kasten amendment.   Experts say defunding UNFPA will harm women. “It will have devastating consequences for the ever-growing number of women and girls facing gender-based violence and inadequate access to sexual and reproductive health services”, comments Terry McGovern, Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, NY, USA.   “Particularly for women and girls in humanitarian settings, UNFPA provides life-saving and essential care, from safe delivery kits to trauma counselling for survivors of gender-based violence”, says Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Global Health Council, a US-based non-profit organisation. “Cutting this funding not only erodes these lifelines but perpetuates false narratives at the expense of the most vulnerable populations.”   UNFPA has been preparing for the funding cuts. “Because we’ve been through this before, we’re very resilient…We are already working to reach out to other donors”, Craven notes. But the agency has a challenging task. “It's a much tougher funding environment”, Craven explains.   Janeen Madan Keller, Policy Fellow and Deputy Director of Global Health Policy at the Center for Global Development, comments: “If US funding for UNFPA is withheld, it could have very different consequences compared to 2017 when the first Trump administration slashed UNFPA's funding. At that time, other donors, notably European countries, stepped in to bolster UNFPA's budget, thus avoiding negative impacts on programming. But this time around, we are experiencing a period of constrained resources with several donors slashing aid budgets.”   Blocking US funds to UNFPA will have far-reaching consequences, says Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, President and CEO of Population Action International, a sexual and reproductive health non-profit organisation. “[It] undermines UNFPA's transformative work to protect women and girls, deepens inequalities, hinders progress in reducing maternal mortality, and reverses decades of advancements in sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially in the face of conflict and climate change.”   Sarah Shaw, Associate Director for Advocacy at non-profit MSI Reproductive Choices, says US defunding of UNFPA would be “catastrophic”. Other groups, including MSI, are expected to lose funding when Trump begins his second term. For all the organisations, “it's going to be harder than ever before to continue vital services”, Shaw notes, and “it will be women and girls who will suffer and die as a result”.   http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00134-5/fulltext http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center/press-releases/2025/01/mexico-city-policy Visit the related web page
	Excluding women from medical institutes threatens the future of healthcare in Afghanistan by UN News, OHCHR, agencies Afghanistan   Mar. 2025   As new school year starts in Afghanistan, almost 400,000 more girls deprived of their right to education, bringing total to 2.2 million.   Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the third anniversary of the ban on secondary education for girls in Afghanistan:   “As a new school year begins in Afghanistan, it marks three years since the start of the ban on girls' secondary education. This decision continues to harm the future of millions of Afghan girls. If this ban persists until 2030, over four million girls will have been deprived of their right to education beyond primary school.   “The consequences for these girls - and for Afghanistan - are catastrophic. The ban negatively impacts the health system, the economy, and the future of the nation. With fewer girls receiving an education, girls face a higher risk of child marriage with negative repercussions on their well-being and health.   “In addition, the country will experience a shortage of qualified female health workers. This will endanger lives. "With fewer female doctors and midwives, girls and women will not receive the medical treatment and support they need. We are estimating an additional 1,600 maternal deaths and over 3,500 infant deaths. These are not just numbers, they represent lives lost and families shattered.   “For over three years, the rights of girls in Afghanistan have been violated. All girls must be allowed to return to school now. If these capable, bright young girls continue to be denied an education, then the repercussions will last for generations. Afghanistan cannot leave half of its population behind.   “At UNICEF, we remain unwavering in our commitment to Afghan children – girls and boys. Despite the ban, we have provided access to education for 445,000 children through community-based learning—64 per cent of whom are girls. We are also empowering female teachers to ensure that girls have positive role models.   “We will continue to advocate for the right of every Afghan girl to receive an education, and we urge the de facto authorities to lift this ban immediately. Education is not just a fundamental right; it is the pathway to a healthier, more stable, and prosperous society.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/new-school-year-starts-afghanistan-almost-400000-more-girls-deprived-their-right   Dec. 2024   Afghanistan: Ban on women medical training must be repealed. (OHCHR)   The ban against women in Afghanistan attending classes at private medical institutions is yet another direct blow by the de facto authorities against Afghan women and girls. It is the latest in a long string of State-sponsored discriminatory measures targeting women and girls in the fields of education, work and others – hijacking the future of the country.   The measure is profoundly discriminatory, short-sighted and puts the lives of women and girls at risk in multiple ways. It removes the only remaining path for women and girls towards higher education and will decimate the already inadequate supply of female midwives, nurses and doctors.   This decision will limit women and girls’ already precarious access to healthcare, as male medical staff are prohibited from treating women unless a male relative is present. Afghanistan already has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world. Women’s presence in the health sector is crucial.   All these measures, taken by men with absolute lack of transparency and without any involvement of those concerned, are clearly aimed at excluding women and girls from public life.   Afghanistan’s de facto authorities hold the effective power and responsibility for the welfare, security, and safety of the entire population.   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urges the de facto authorities to repeal this harmful directive. It is high time women and girls’ human rights are ensured, in line with Afghanistan’s international human rights obligations.   Samira Hamidi, an Afghan activist and campaigner for Amnesty International, said: “This is an outrageous act of ignorance by the Taliban, who continue to lead a war against women and girls in Afghanistan. This draconian action will have a devastating long-term impact on the lives of millions of Afghans, especially women and girls.   “In a country like Afghanistan, where people are bound to traditional and cultural practices, women in most parts of the country are not allowed to be checked or treated by a male doctor.   “With this ban, it will mean there will be no more midwives, nurses, female lab and medical personnel to serve female patients,” she said.   Heather Barr, at Human Rights Watch, said: “If you ban women from being treated by male healthcare professionals, and then you ban women from training to become healthcare professionals, the consequences are clear: women will not have access to healthcare and will die as a result.”   * Afghanistan already suffers from one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and there are deep concerns that that the ban would further erode women’s precarious access to healthcare.   * UN WebTV: Interactive Dialogue with Afghan Women from inside Afghanistan and in Exile (Mar. 25): http://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1k/k1kelped6e   * IPC Afghanistan: Acute Food Insecurity Situation projects for the period (November 2024 to March 2025), which coincides with the peak of the lean season, will see 14.8 million people (32 percent of the total population) classified in IPC Phase 3 or above (Crisis or worse). Nearly 3.5 million children, aged 6 to 59 months, are suffering or projected to suffer acute malnutrition between June 2024 and May 2025 and require urgent interventions. This includes 867,300 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and almost 2.6 million cases of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). Additionally, 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to suffer acute malnutrition in the same period: http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159434/   http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-prosecutor-karim-aa-khan-kc-applications-arrest-warrants-situation-afghanistan http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/12/afghanistan-ban-women-medical-training-must-be-repealed http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-reported-restrictions-Afghanistan http://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1157866 http://www.msf.org/excluding-women-medical-institutes-threatens-future-healthcare-afghanistan http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/dec/06/taliban-afghanistan-ban-women-training-nurses-midwives-outrageous-act-ignorance-human-rights-healthcare http://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/03/afghanistans-taliban-ban-medical-training-women http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/12/afghanistan-licenses-ngos-must-not-be-revoked http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/08/new-morality-law-affirms-talibans-regressive-agenda-experts-call-concerted http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/gender-apartheid-must-be-recognised-crime-against-humanity-un-experts-say http://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-afghanistan Visit the related web page
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