The UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency launches US $1.2 billion humanitarian appeal as crises devastate women and girls’ health and rights

New York, 12 December 2023 – UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, has issued a pressing call for US$1.2 billion to address the mounting crises affecting women and girls globally in 2024. The agency aims to provide reproductive health and other services to protect and save the lives of 48 million of the world’s most vulnerable people in 58 countries in 2024.

In 2023 the world was ravaged by climate emergencies, and new outbreaks of war and conflict, as well as the deepening of multiple, ongoing crises. ​In the first half of the year, a record 114 million people were forcibly displaced — half of whom, on average, are women and girls, who have unique vulnerabilities related to their reproductive health and safety. For example, Afghanistan remains one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth​ — one woman dies​ every two hours during pregnancy or childbirth​. In Gaza, 50,000 pregnant women have been caught up in the recent conflict, with nowhere safe to go while depending on a healthcare system that is on the verge of collapse. In Myanmar ongoing conflict is putting 7.7 million people, the majority of whom are women and girls, at risk of gender-based violence and in need of support. And in ​Sudan, where gender-based violence has taken an appalling toll, 7.1 million people are internally displaced, increasing the threat of sexual exploitation and abuse for women and children. 

Today, 1 in every 22 people around the world needs humanitarian support.

"When crisis strikes, women and girls pay the steepest price,” said Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA. “Unless we put them front and centre in our humanitarian response, we will see more gender-based violence, more child marriage, and more pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths."

Looking ahead to 2024, UNFPA estimates that 6.1 million pregnant women will urgently need humanitarian assistance, while 84 million women and girls risk facing gender-based violence, and would need preventative measures and support services. 

Just released UNFPA data reveals countries most vulnerable to climate change also exhibit the worst conditions for women, including high maternal deaths, child marriage rates, adolescent births, and gender-based violence — painting a distressing portrait of the compounded challenges faced by women and girls in the nexus of climate change, displacement and gender-based vulnerabilities. 

Dr. Kanem said: "Every day, UNFPA is meeting the health and protection needs of women and girls in emergency settings around the world, saving lives and supporting the path to a more peaceful, just and equal future."

In 2023, despite receiving only 50 per cent of its humanitarian funding appeal, UNFPA served over 10 million people with reproductive health services and a further 4.2 million with protection against gender-based violence. One third of this funding went to local and women-led organizations, which are best positioned to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. 

Shockingly, as rates of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, soar across multiple emergencies, the response remains one of the least funded sectors in emergencies. Eleven of 26 countries with UN-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plans received less than 10 percent of the funding needed to address gender-based violence in 2023. While certain crises capture headlines and global attention, many countries, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen, risk being neglected by the media and donors alike — which would exact a devastating toll on the lives of millions of women and girls. Even crises on the international radar, like Ukraine and the occupied Palestinian territory, do not receive the funding they need. 

UNFPA’s Humanitarian Action 2024 Overview, released today, highlights how the $1.2 billion funding, if met, will enable UNFPA and partners to scale up the delivery of reproductive health services to ensure women give birth safely, and to run gender-based violence programmes for 48 million women, girls, and young people in 58 countries currently experiencing humanitarian crises. 

The need for flexible and predictable humanitarian funding has never been greater, and UNFPA stands ready to save lives and make every dollar count.

RESOURCES FOR MEDIA 

• Spokespeople: Jennifer Miquel, Head of External Relations, Humanitarian Response Division, UNFPA
• For international media and interview enquiries, please contact: media@unfpa.org
• Humanitarian Action 2024 Overview report can be found here.
• Photos can be found here
• Trello board 
• Hashtags: #InvestInHumanity #HAO2024 #ForgottenCrisis

Key UNFPA data in the Global Humanitarian Overview 2024:  

Gender equality will become a casualty of growing humanitarian crises if we don’t act. Of the 26 countries with UN-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plans at the beginning of 2024:

• Nine are among the 20 countries with the world’s highest maternal death rates; 
• Ten are among the 20 with the highest adolescent birth rates; 
• Twelve are among the 20 countries with the worst child marriage rates; 
• Five are among the 20 with the highest rates of intimate partner violence
• Thirteen of these countries are also considered to be at the greatest risk from the impacts of climate change.

As humanitarian crises multiply, the situation will only worsen for women and girls and further diminish the chance of gender equality.

Excerpt: Selection of crises with notable impact on women and girls (see page 7 of the report for full list)

• In Afghanistan, one woman dies every two hours during pregnancy or childbirth from causes that are preventable. [Read about the work of UNFPA in Afghanistan.]
• Three women die every hour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from pregnancy and birth-related complications.  [Read about the work of UNFPA in the Democratic Republic of Congo.]
• In Yemen, a woman dies during pregnancy and childbirth every two hours from causes that are preventable.  [Read about the work of UNFPA in Yemen.]
• Chad has one of the highest estimated risks of maternal mortality for 15-year-old girls (1 in 15).
• In Sudan, where gender-based violence has taken an appalling toll, 7.1 million people are internally displaced, increasing risks of sexual exploitation and abuse for women and children. Around 80 percent of hospitals in areas affected by conflict no longer function. [Read about the work of UNFPA in Sudan.]

UNFPA in 2023

In 2023, 190 humanitarian experts from the UNFPA surge roster were deployed to over 30 countries to support effective responses.Sexual and reproductive health

• 10.6 million: Total number people reached with sexual and reproductive health services in 50 countries. This includes: 
  • 2.7 million: People reached with family planning in UNFPA-supported facilities in 44 countries
  • 2.2 million: Adolescents and youth (ages 10 to 24) reached with adolescent sexual and reproductive health services in 46 countries
  • 956,000: Women assisted to deliver babies safely in UNFPA-assisted facilities in 39 countries
  • 3,648: Health facilities supported by UNFPA in 48 countries
  • 808: Mobile clinics supported by UNFPA in 36 countries

Gender-based violence

• 4.2 million: Total number of people reached with gender-based violence prevention, risk mitigation and response services in 50 countries. This includes: 
  • 925,300: Dignity kits distributed in 48 countries
  • 1,690: Safe spaces for women and girls supported by UNFPA in 46 countries
  • 939: Youth-friendly spaces for recreation, vocational training and community outreach in 29 countries.

Top 10 donors to UNFPA humanitarian action in 2023

1. United States of America 
2. United Nations inter-agency transfers
3. Australia
4. European Commission 
5. United Kingdom 
6. Norway 
7. Sweden 
8. Denmark
9. Republic of Korea 
10. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Looking ahead to 2024: Top 12 country estimated requirements

These countries represent 64 per cent of UNFPA’s overall appeal:
Country  - Appeal

Afghanistan  - $216,000,000

Sudan  - $88,000,000

Yemen  - $70,000,000

Syrian Arab Republic  - $66,000,000

Ukraine  - $59,000,000

Somalia  -$54,000,000

Ethiopia  - $50,000,000

Bangladesh  - $36,000,000

Congo, Democratic Republic of the  - $34,000,000

State of Palestine  - $32,000,000

Haiti  - $28,000,000

Venezuela  - $26,000,000

Total : $759,000,000