Major funding cuts undermine the ability of Ukraine’s women’s rights organizations to provide humanitarian aid at a crucial time of insecurity
UN Women calls for more direct, flexible, and long-term funding to women’s rights organizations to ensure life-saving programmes for women and girls to meet sudden funding gaps.
[Also available in Ukrainian.]
Kyiv — Women-led and women’s rights organizations (WROs) in Ukraine have been severely impacted by funding suspensions by the United States (US), a new survey by UN Women, the Apparatus of the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy of Ukraine, and the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group, reveals.
Nearly half of the 99 surveyed organizations had either received or were expecting US financial support when the suspension was announced in January 2025. Among these, 72 per cent reported severe disruptions, threatening the continuation of emergency response, humanitarian, and development initiatives across the country. Five women’s rights organizations announced that they will have to close in the coming month, and overall, 35 organizations say that they are likely to have to stop working after six months, if no new funding is found to replace lost resources.
Funding has been a major challenge for women’s rights organizations in Ukraine. Since 2022, there has been a significant decrease in the share of international funding to Ukraine that aims to promote gender equality. According to recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), only 14 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) to Ukraine in 2022–2023 included gender equality objectives—which remains far below the global average of 46 per cent of ODA. Less than 1 per cent of funding went to projects which primarily support gender equality.
Now, after the US cuts, 66 per cent of organizations are reducing staff, with half anticipating further layoffs in the next three months. Additionally, 63 per cent of WROs are struggling with unpaid invoices, including rent, utilities, and salaries, and 53 percent report difficulties in meeting contractual obligations.
“The long-term impact of funding cuts on gender equality and diversity programmes is alarming—93 per cent of organizations have already shut down at least one such programme. The hardest hit is GBV prevention, an area that was already the most underfunded in humanitarian response,” said Yuliya Sporysh, founder of NGO “Girls”.
“The United States was the biggest development donor in terms of volume for Ukraine, so it is unsurprising that the women’s rights organizations who responded to the rapid assessment are now deeply concerned about how the cuts will affect their ability to continue to support the most vulnerable, just as the security situation is becoming more precarious. It has had a devastating impact on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programmes, with 93 per cent of WROs who responded to the survey forced to halt at least one initiative,” said Sabine Freizer Gunes, UN Women Representative in Ukraine.
The findings of this rapid impact assessment underscore the urgent need for more direct, flexible, and long-term funding for Ukrainian women’s rights organizations, especially those working in conflict-affected regions in the east and south, to maintain life-saving programmes for women and girls amid Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“The suspension of US financial assistance has a direct effect on programming to support women and girls. It is leading to challenges to provide urgent interim reparations to women and men who have suffered from sexual violence committed by Russian forces and has delayed the extension of this project to those who returned from Russian captivity. It impacts efforts to build underground and safe schools, repair civilian infrastructure destroyed by Russian attacks, ensure access to hospitals, restore the energy sector, and much more. This affects hundreds of thousands of families. In this difficult situation, Ukraine relies heavily on the support of friendly countries and donors who continue to help Ukraine and its people in defending the country and Europe from Russian aggression,” said Kateryna Levchenko, the Government Commissioner for Gender Equality Policy of Ukraine.
Despite these challenges, women’s rights organizations continue to demonstrate resilience by exploring new funding models, strengthening coalitions, and adapting to a shifting donor landscape. However, more and better funding of women’s rights organizations is urgently needed for women leaders in Ukraine to be able to fully and meaningfully continue to lead in humanitarian response and gender responsive recovery efforts championed by the Government of Ukraine and international partners, in line with global women, peace and security, and humanitarian commitments.
The publication of these rapid impact assessment results coincides with the start of the 69th Commission on the Status of Women, which will mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most revolutionary agenda to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women.
