Saudi Arabia’s KSrelief steps up to support women and girls affected by gender-based violence in Ukraine

The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) is contributing USD $5.15 million to UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, for its life-saving work in Ukraine in 2025.

After nearly three years of war, more than 6.3 million Ukrainians have been forced to seek refugee abroad, while an estimated 3.6 million remain internally displaced within the country. Among them, women and girls face heightened risks of to gender-based violence.

Announced at the 4th International Humanitarian Forum in Riyadh on 24 February, this vital funding will help protect women and girls in Ukraine from gender-based violence and provide essential services for survivors.

An estimated 16.8 million people in Ukraine require humanitarian assistance, including 2.4 million women and girls in need of specialized gender-based violence services. KSrelief’s funding will expand life-saving protection efforts, including in rural areas where support is hardest to access.

The contribution will allow UNFPA to deploy psychosocial support mobile teams and case managers to help survivors access medical, legal and economic support, as well as to operate safe spaces where they can seek refuge and support.

UNFPA will also distribute close to 28,000 dignity kits, which can serve as an entry point to gender-based violence discussions while meeting essential humanitarian needs. The funding will reinforce UNFPA’s ability to deliver while reinforcing long-term community-based solutions to respond to violence. 

“We’re grateful to KSrelief for funding this essential work, which not only provides immediate relief to people who have faced gender-based violence in Ukraine, but also more broadly empowers women to assume a crucial role in recovery efforts and in shaping Ukraine’s future,” said Andrew Saberton, UNFPA's Deputy Executive Director. “We are encouraged that KSrelief and UNFPA's longstanding partnership is expanding, and that women and girls in Ukraine who have faced unthinkable and life-shattering violence will benefit as a result.”

This investment will directly benefit nearly 50,000 of the most vulnerable people in Ukraine, with an indirect impact reaching three times as many.

With gaps in humanitarian funding placing life-saving programmes at risk, support from partners like KSrelief is more essential than ever. This support showcases a growing cooperation with partners like Saudi Arabia in addressing humanitarian needs in different regions of the world to protect the health, rights and dignity of the most vulnerable women and girls. With KSRelief and other partners, UNFPA will continue to work tirelessly to deliver on our collective promise to women and girls.  

In 2024, UNFPA secured $73.7 million of the $105 million needed to provide essential health services, leaving a $31.3 million shortfall. For 2025, UNFPA has launched a $94.4 million appeal for the Ukraine regional humanitarian crisis, yet only 39 per cent has been secured so far.