US Foreign aid pause threatens Ukraine’s women and girls

On January 24, 2025, the new US administration announced a sweeping pause on nearly all foreign aid, pending a 90-day review to ensure alignment with American values. Historically, the United States has been a strong advocate for women’s health and safety worldwide. 

Now, that legacy of support hangs in the balance – placing millions of women and girls at greater risk of another type of violence; and leaving behind the most vulnerable. This is especially true of Ukrainian women who are caught in a relentless war.

“Leave No One Behind” is a central value of the United Nations, but what does it look like? 

In Borodyanka, about an hour’s drive from Kyiv, it looks like a crowded survivor relief centre where women who have faced sexual violence in conflict come to seek help, and where local teams of women work with limited resources. They provide counselling, organize deliveries of essential goods, and check in on families still too traumatized to leave their homes.

The review on foreign aid could jeopardize this kind of critical support in Ukraine, where the United States has been a key partner in UNFPA’s response to the ongoing war. The US was set to fund life-saving services to prevent and respond to gender-based violence,  such as psychosocial and specialized support and safe spaces for women and girls. 

USAID support would have empowered women economically through career counselling and training to help reduce risks of violence, and position women to be active participants in Ukraine’s recovery. US assistance also included dedicated support for men returning from war, and support to local and women-led organizations that are at the forefront of the humanitarian response. 

In 2025, US support would have reached more than 600,000 individuals in need through UNFPA alone, across Ukraine.

The scale of the problem

More than 3.3 million women and girls in Ukraine need humanitarian support, and 2.4 million –  predominantly women and girls, but also men and boys – are at high risk of gender-based violence. 

Intimate partner violence, conflict-related sexual violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking for sex, sexual harassment and survivor sex are just some of its brutal forms. Many cases remain unreported, so the true number of people being abused is likely higher.

Intimate partner violence is increasing, partly due to men returning from war with trauma and nowhere to seek help. Estimates suggest nearly 10 million people in Ukraine could develop a mental health condition, with 3.9 million requiring moderate to severe treatment.

As the Government of Ukraine grapples with the grinding war, it relies on the international community and organizations like UNFPA to fill critical, life-saving gaps in supporting survivors of gender-based violence and providing reproductive health services. 

Working through Ukrainian national and local authorities, UNFPA ensures that the most vulnerable – often women and girls – are not left behind. The support offered is critical to the healing process Ukraine has to go through once peace is found. Psychosocial assistance during and after trauma occurs is key to responding to and preventing gender-based violence.  

The women on the frontlines

The UNFPA-supported Borodyanka survivor relief centre is run by a team that understands war’s toll firsthand. Some staff were displaced from other parts of Ukraine and know what it means to lose a home and lose their social support system. Others lived under occupation in Borodyanka, which saw severe destruction early in the conflict. The team itself needs regular psychosocial support sessions to cope with secondary trauma.  

During the occupation, Borodyanka had no electricity, water, or stable communications. They served more than 200 meals a day at first; that number soon climbed above 900. As the shelling temporarily eased, the same network that delivered food began offering legal aid, counseling, and safe houses.  

Leaving no one behind means recognizing that Ukraine’s recovery will not only be measured by roads repaired or bridges rebuilt. It will also be measured by whether survivors can heal and rebuild their futures.  

UNFPA stands with women-led organizations across Ukraine because these groups know their communities best. Ongoing support for survivors of violence and access to mental health services are, and will be, crucial.  

Safeguarding women’s fundamental human rights during wartime is a direct investment in the recovery of Ukraine. In the end, Ukraine’s future will be shaped by the women who ensure that society functions while the war is ongoing, the women who may be raising the next generation. Furthermore, when women can work, not only can economies grow, but social recovery is more likely to follow.  

Women’s mental and emotional healing are essential for justice, which in turn needs lasting peace, peace in our homes, in our hearts and minds and peace in our communities, because the scars of war linger long after the shelling stops. 

Frontline women workers are preventing social breakdown one survivor at a time. With the US foreign aid pause threatening life-saving services for Ukraine, we urge the international community to unite and continue to ensure women and girls receive the urgent support needed now – and for the future of Ukraine.