In January 2026, the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group in Ukraine, co-chaired by UN Women, NGO Girls, and CARE Ukraine, assessed the evolving and cumulative effects of foreign assistance cuts on women’s organisations. This assessment builds on a rapid impact assessment conducted in February 2025 following the United States’ decision to reduce foreign assistance, allowing for a comparative review of how trends, risks, and sustainability challenges have developed over time.
The survey examined emerging risks, organisational coping strategies, and programmatic implications, with particular focus on whether women’s organisations can continue to deliver lifesaving and gender-responsive services. It also explored how reduced funding is shaping organisations’ ability to plan, retain staff, maintain operations, and respond to changing needs.
Findings from the 2025 period indicate that foreign assistance cuts had a substantial and widespread impact on the 108 women-led and women’s rights organisations in Ukraine that participated in the second round of the survey, affecting both the continuity of services and the longer-term sustainability of their work.
