UNITED NATIONS, New York – “I’ve learned to accept myself as I am, and now I know how to protect myself in dangerous situations,” Hekima Tulinabo told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.
In a UNFPA-supported safe space in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she’s receiving care, counselling and advice to navigate the dire challenges in the war-torn country. But Hekima is among a shrinking number of women and girls still able to access such services.
In the face of unprecedented global funding cuts, vital lifelines such as safe spaces, mobile clinics and psychological support centres are being forced to shut down across many emergency contexts.
The consequences are even more catastrophic in countries that have faced chronic underfunding for years but are now facing even deeper cuts. These closures risk leaving millions of women and girls without protection and critical healthcare just when they need it most.
Support from partners committed to keep the lights on is more crucial than ever, particularly when this support is flexible and can be deployed in the most neglected areas. One such partner is the Government of Norway, which has committed another NOK 65 million (US $6.3 million) to UNFPA’s Humanitarian Thematic Fund (HTF) for 2025. The HTF is a flexible funding pool dedicated to ensuring the health and protection of women and girls in humanitarian crises, particularly the most neglected ones.
In 2024, the fund deployed almost $50 million to 37 countries, enabling rapid and targeted delivery of sexual and reproductive health services to over one million people, and gender-based violence prevention and response services to nearly half a million people.
In addition, Norway recently committed NOK 60 million (US $5.8 million) for several countries in crisis, with a significant portion directed towards the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan. Both of these crises have been severely underfunded for several years – as highlighted in UNFPA’s new “Don’t let the Lights go out” campaign launched in May.
“As the Global Lead of the Call to Action to end gender-based violence, Norway has long been a steadfast advocate for gender-responsive humanitarian action,” said Shoko Arakaki, Director of UNFPA’s Humanitarian Response Division. “Their continued and flexible support allows us to keep the lights on for women and girls who are too often left in the dark.”
“GBV prevention and response, including SRH services, has been chronically underfunded in humanitarian response and now also disproportionately hit by recent funding cuts. Combined with the normative push-back on gender, the impacts on the lives of thousands of survivors will be devastating,” said Norwegian Minister of International Development, Åsmund Grøver Aukrust. “As the world is facing a challenging global anti-rights agenda, it is essential to highlight that protection work, including preventing and responding to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, is lifesaving. We thank UNFPA for their essential work and assure that our political priorities remain steadfast on women's and girls' rights, and that protection against sexual and gender-based violence will remain a key priority in Norway’s humanitarian strategy.”
As UNFPA’s top supporter of core funding, which maintains an agile and rapid humanitarian response at the onset of a crisis, Norway is championing flexibility, enabling actors to act swiftly and where emergencies are escalating.
As humanitarian needs rise and resources dwindle, the cost of inaction can be directly measured in lives lost. UNFPA calls on all partners and donors to follow Norway’s lead, to prioritize the rights, health and protection of women and girls, and to contribute flexibly to humanitarian action, especially where the needs are greatest.
