Aid cuts deny support to one million women and girls

At least 1 million women and girls have lost access to humanitarian and other critical support over the past 18 months as international funding cuts weaken organizations serving people in crisis, the United Nations said July 10. The finding turns a long-running financing squeeze into a measurable access crisis for NGOs and civil-society groups: services are being suspended, rations reduced and staff dismissed while demand continues to rise. The Associated Press report said UN Women’s assessment drew on 855 organizations in 52 countries. Nearly 90% said they could no longer meet current levels of need, while one in five expected to shut down temporarily or permanently within a year.

The immediate problem is not simply that fewer projects are being approved. Organizations are turning people away. UN Women said women’s groups reported losing the capacity to provide protection from gender-based violence, reproductive health support, cash assistance, livelihoods services and other forms of emergency help. The groups also described rising needs since January 2025, when major donor retrenchment accelerated.

The wider financial trend is severe. The OECD’s June outlook projects a third consecutive annual decline in official development assistance, with bilateral aid to least-developed countries expected to fall 10.9% in 2026 and aid to sub-Saharan Africa 11.6%.

Women-led and locally rooted organizations often provide the most accessible services in conflict and displacement settings, especially where social restrictions make it difficult for international staff to reach women and girls. Yet they typically operate with thinner reserves, shorter grants and less ability to absorb delayed payments or abrupt cancellations.

UN Women’s July findings suggest that the consequences are already structural: nearly 90% of surveyed groups said current demand exceeded their capacity, and 20% anticipated closure within the next year. For NGOs, the loss of these partners can remove trusted referral networks and local knowledge that cannot be rebuilt quickly when funding returns.

The consequences are also visible in large-scale humanitarian responses. In Gaza, expanded assistance produced measurable improvements in food security and child nutrition, but the World Food Programme’s July analysis found that 1.4 million people, or 67% of the population, still faced crisis-level hunger or worse. Some 212,000 remained in emergency conditions.

WFP warned separately that funding shortages could force deeper reductions. Its July 24 statement to Reuters said 220,000 households had seen food rations halved and that cash assistance for 75,000 people had been reduced by 25%. The episode illustrates the narrow margin between recovery and deterioration.

Organizations will have to make increasingly explicit decisions about which services, locations and populations can be sustained. The Greater Horn of Africa offers another warning: a WHO situation report published July 7 estimated that more than 37.8 million people were experiencing or projected to experience acute food insecurity across six countries, alongside more than 4.9 million children at risk of acute malnutrition.

The next phase will test whether NGOs can preserve continuity while adapting to shorter funding horizons, restricted access and overlapping crises. Better financial visibility and disciplined prioritization will not replace resources, but they may determine which organizations can identify risks early, defend difficult choices and maintain accountability to affected communities.