GENEVA: The United Nations warned on Friday that one million women and girls had lost access to vital support due to dramatic cuts to foreign aid spending since January last year.

The UN Women agency decried a collapse of women’s organisations at a time when needs are soaring.

President Donald Trump slashed foreign aid after taking office last year, while other key donor countries have also tightened their belts.

As a result, “at least one million women and girls affected by conflict and crisis have lost access to critical services and support”, Sofia Calltorp, UN Women’s head of humanitarian action, told reporters in Geneva.

“We know that this number... is just the tip of the iceberg,” she said, describing the findings in a new report as “deeply disturbing”.

Speaking from Stockholm, she highlighted that the women’s organisations at risk of being shut down “work on the frontlines of the world’s most complex and dangerous crises”, in places like Afghanistan, Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Yemen.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2026