Unravelling the gap between global commitments and funding for women’s organizations in conflict-affected contexts

In recent years, the international community has endorsed commitments to amplify support for local women’s organizations in conflict and humanitarian settings. This includes the UN Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace, which calls for donors to dedicate at least 1 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) in direct assistance to such organizations. However, despite several pledges by donors and the establishment of new mechanisms, funding for these organizations has dropped in recent years.

This research paper interrogates why and provides a more precise assessment of aid flows to women’s organizations, the destination of these funds, potential missed opportunities, and recommendations on the way forward. It does so by reviewing existing donor funding strategies to support women’s organizations in fragile and conflict settings and methods of tracking assistance.

The study finds:

• that these initiatives are still concentrated among a few donors and, in some cases, may not represent the provision of entirely new resources, but the repackaging of existing allocations;
• that a significant share goes to donor-based and international non-governmental organizations, rather than directly to local organizations in conflict-affected countries;
• that the shift in focus towards humanitarian aid, away from peace and security and sustainable development, is having a negative impact on the resources reaching women’s organizations in conflict-affected countries; and
• that, while donors are familiar with the minimum 15 per cent financing target for gender equality, they are not aware of the goal to reach 1 per cent for women’s organizations.