A report by the UN women’s organization UN Women shows that at least one million women and girls have lost access to urgently needed support services due to cuts in development funding.Image: keystone
July 10, 2026, 2:14 p.mJuly 10, 2026, 2:14 p.m
As a result of massive cuts in international aid funding, at least one million women and girls have lost access to urgently needed support, according to the United Nations. This emerges from a report published by the UN women’s organization “UN Women”. “As armed conflict reaches its highest level in 80 years, organizations that provide life-saving assistance to women and girls are running out of money,” it says.
According to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), development aid fell by 23 percent in 2025 – the largest single-year decline ever recorded. The main driver is therefore the USA’s withdrawal from international development aid as much as possible. But Germany, Great Britain, Japan and France also made a noticeable contribution with cuts in this area, explains the OECD.
Demonstrators and MPs protest against the dissolution of the USAID development agency.Image: keystone
“Every dollar taken away from women’s organizations is missed by survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, displaced mothers, girls forced to drop out of school and communities struggling to survive,” Sofia Calltorp, humanitarian director at UN Women, was quoted as saying in the report.
The inventory is based on information from more than 800 organizations in 52 countries. Almost nine out of ten organizations reported that they could no longer meet the need for assistance. 84 percent said that demand for their offers had increased. But offers of help have been stopped, especially in remote and difficult-to-reach regions. Meanwhile, gender-based violence has increased, with 86 percent reporting an increase in such violence. (sda/dpa)