New York/ Geneva, 11 December 2025 – Maternal health systems that help women survive pregnancy and childbirth are buckling across conflict and disaster settings. Today, the United Nations Population Fund launched a US$1 billion humanitarian appeal to fund its work in 41 countries in 2026, warning that millions of women and girls in crisis settings will lose access to essential services if funding for reproductive health services is not secured. 

UNFPA’s appeal outlines the resources needed to keep maternal health and protection services running for 34 million women, girls and young people in 41 crisis-affected countries – including Sudan, Yemen, Gaza, Haiti, and Afghanistan. The funding will support safe childbirth services, emergency obstetric care, contraception, and clinical care for rape survivors, as well as the local organizations who form the backbone of community protection.

2025 saw dramatic cuts to UNFPA’s humanitarian funding, causing more than 1,000 UNFPA-supported health facilities and mobile health teams to shut down or be pushed to the verge of closure. Over 250 safe spaces for women and girls have also been forced to close.

These are the frontline of maternal care: the midwife at the bedside, the clinic providing post-rape treatment, the supply hubs stocking oxytocin and emergency delivery kits. When these systems break down, the entire continuum of care does the same: referral pathways rupture, medicines disappear, and women are forced to navigate pregnancy and childbirth without the support they need.

“In many crisis settings, we are seeing the collapse of essential health systems,” said UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita. “When hospitals are bombed to rubble, when delivery rooms have no midwives, when clinics have no medicines, women are left to give birth alone, putting their lives and those of their newborns at risk. When rape is weaponized and protection systems fail, survivors need support, protection and justice. These are life-saving services that must be prioritized in every humanitarian response.”

In 2026, more than 7.7 million pregnant women will require humanitarian assistance. In fragile settings, a woman is five times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth. If UNFPA’s work in humanitarian settings is not fully funded, up to 12 million women and girls could lose access to essential health and protection services. Nowhere is this collapse more stark than in countries where maternal health care once provided the only reliable access to medical care, protection and referral for women and girls.

Programmes outlined in the appeal set out to:

• Expand access to reproductive health supplies, including safe delivery kits and post-rape treatment.
• Strengthen local and women-led organizations with direct funding and operational support.
• Invest in preparedness, so care exists before the next crisis strikes

Maternal health systems require years to build and sustained investment to maintain but can be destroyed all too quickly by attacks in conflict zones, natural disasters or by funding cuts. Once they crumble, rebuilding and re-opening them is not guaranteed. 

Despite shrinking humanitarian budgets in 2025, UNFPA and partners kept critical services running, providing 6.2 million people with sexual and reproductive health care and 2.9 million people with gender-based violence prevention and response services. Some 2,800 health facilities and 1,300 safe spaces remained operational with UNFPA support. These outcomes were achieved in a year when UNFPA’s humanitarian appeal received just one third of the funding it required, forcing multiple programme closures. 

But humanitarian need continues to outpace response: UNFPA estimates that 80 million people will require access to gender-based violence prevention and response services in humanitarian settings in 2026.

UNFPA calls on governments, donors and partners to invest in maternal healthcare and protection systems so that all women and girls can enjoy the right to basic care and safety, no matter their circumstances.

For more information, please contact:

• New York - Zina Alam, zialam@unfpa.org; media@unfpa.org 
• Geneva - Jafar Irshaidat, Irshaidat@unfpa.org 

About UNFPA

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the sexual and reproductive health agency of the UN. It works to uphold the rights and choices of women, girls and young people across more than 150 countries. Our aim is to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person can fulfil their potential.

Resources for Media:

People reached by UNFPA in 2025 in humanitarian settings

Sexual and reproductive health services

• 6.2M people with sexual and reproductive health services in 45 countries.
• 1.6M adolescents and youth, aged 10–24, with sexual and reproductive health services in 44 countries.
• 96,200 people with disabilities  with sexual and reproductive health services in 36 countries.
• 482,400 women assisted in safely delivering babies in UNFPA-assisted facilities in 34 countries.
• 1.1M people accessed family planning in UNFPA-supported facilities in 39 countries.
• 31,100 women and girls reached with cash and voucher assistance to access life-saving sexual and reproductive health services in 18 countries, with $1.2M transferred to recipients for sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
• 2,800 health facilities supported by UNFPA in 37 countries, with an additional 2,300 health facilities receiving partial support in 25 countries.
• 770 mobile clinics supported by UNFPA in 29 countries.
• 11,800 personnel trained on sexual and reproductive health-related topics in 38 countries.

Gender-based violence services

• 2.9M people provided with gender-based violence programming in 48 countries.
• 840,200 adolescents and youth, aged 10–24  with gender-based violence  programming in 46 countries.
• 87,900 people with disabilities reached with gender-based violence programming in 42 countries.
• 518,000 dignity kits distributed in 40 countries.
• 37,800 women reached with cash and voucher assistance related to gender-based violence programming in 22 countries, with $4.3M transferred to recipients for gender-based violence outcomes.
• 18,900 personnel trained on gender-based violence-related topics in 39 countries.
• 1,300 safe spaces for women and girls supported in 44 countries, with an additional 170 safe spaces receiving partial support in 14 countries.
• 360 youth-friendly spaces for recreation, vocational training and community outreach supported in 28 countries.