New York, NY, March 9, 2026 — As world leaders begin to gather at the United Nations today for the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the urgent needs of women and girls in humanitarian crises remain dangerously unmet.
This year’s convening takes place against a backdrop of significant global aid cuts, with devastating impacts on programs supporting women’s health, protection, and economic empowerment. Over 670 million women now live within 50 kilometers of deadly conflict, the highest level since the 1990s. At the same time, reporting shows that 90% of women-led and women's rights organizations in crisis zones have been financially impacted by global funding cuts. At a moment when the needs are greater than ever, resources are shrinking, leaving women in fragile and conflict-affected settings at heightened risk.
Kelly Razzouk, Vice President for Policy and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee (IRC), said: “Leaders attending the Commission have an opportunity to go beyond rhetoric and pledge both their political support and the resources required to reach women in humanitarian crises. New innovations and partnerships have the power to unlock opportunity and protect women’s futures. But without sustained funding and political will, millions of women and girls will continue to be left behind.”
- An estimated 70,000 women die each year from postpartum hemorrhage—the leading cause of maternal death worldwide and a major handbrake on economic development. Women in humanitarian and fragile settings account for the majority of these deaths, where access to skilled birth attendants, life-saving supplies, and functioning health systems is severely limited. To address this crisis, the IRC is leading the Safer Births in Crises initiative in partnership with International Medical Corps, Jhpiego, United Nations Population Fund, and the Matariki Fund for Women. The initiative aims to significantly reduce preventable maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage in some of the world’s most dangerous places to give birth, including South Sudan and Burkina Faso by closing the last-mile gap and bringing proven, evidence-based interventions to the front lines. In South Sudan, ranking third on the IRC’s 2026 Emergency Watchlist, a woman giving birth faces a maternal mortality risk roughly 30 to 40 times higher than a woman giving birth in the United States.
- In partnership with the World Bank, the IRC is implementing the Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Facility (WEOF), the entrepreneurship component of a broader $70 million investment in women’s social and economic empowerment in South Sudan. WEOF is a $10 million initiative implemented by the IRC and Open Capital Advisors, in partnership with South Sudan’s Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare and UN Women. Since launching in May 2024, the program has enrolled more than 1,200 women-owned businesses in intensive training, disbursed nearly $1,400,000 in business grants, and linked more than 1,200 entrepreneurs to public and private sector actors to help scale and sustain their enterprises.
- IGNITE (Inspiring Girls and Grassroots Organizations for Inclusive and Transformative Education) amplifies the voices and agency of feminist-led CSOs and adolescent girls to subvert gender-related social norms that hinder girls’ participation in education and promote girls’ social inclusion and empowerment. IGNITE is a consortium led by the IRC in partnership with Urgent Action Fund-Africa (UAF-Africa), and the René Mowad Foundation (RMF), with funding from the French Development Agency (AFD). The 10 million euro project is being run over a 36-month period and has built and supported a network of 86 feminist, women-led, youth-led, and grassroots CSOs with flexible funding, organisational and technical capacity sharing, and tailored feminist accompaniment. Together, IGNITE has reached approximately 83,000 adolescent girls, including 5,200 refugees and internally displaced girls.
Kelly Razzouk continued: “In 2026, what is urgently needed is clear: remove barriers that prevent women in fragile settings from accessing health care, safety and recovery from violence, financing, markets, and decision-making spaces. Protect and increase funding for women-focused programs in crisis contexts. Scale what works. Support local women-led organizations. And ensure that innovation reaches the last mile. As leaders convene in New York, commitments must translate into action. Women and girls in the world’s most fragile settings cannot afford another year of promises without progress. We owe it to them to commit to their futures not just with words, but with sustained political will, partnership, and resources.”
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The IRC focuses on the unique needs of women and girls in crisis contexts, seeking to address the inequalities facing them in every area of our work. This includes protection and empowerment programs for women to ensure their safety and take control of their futures; economic development opportunities and investment in female-led businesses; access to health services to give more women and girls the care they need; and high-quality education and safe spaces for women and girls.