UN News Today 27 October 2025 |

One in three organizations have suspended or shut down programmes on ending violence against women due to funding cuts

Sweeping aid cuts are dismantling the very organizations that are critical to ending violence against women and girls.

That’s according to a new report from the gender equality agency, UN Women, released on Monday. At Risk and Underfunded finds that on the back government cuts, more women are at risk of suffering violence with services reduced and advocacy silenced.

Over a third of organizations surveyed, or 34 per cent, have suspended or shut down programmes.

More than 40 per cent have scaled back or closed life-saving services such as shelters, legal aid, psychosocial and healthcare support due to immediate funding gaps.

Calling on governments and donors to expand and make funding more flexible, Kalliopi Mingeirou, who leads UN Women’s efforts to end violence against women and girls, said that “without sustained investment”, it would only increase. 

An estimated 736 million women – almost one in three – have experienced physical or sexual violence, most often at the hands of an intimate partner.

UN alarmed by ‘terrifying’ situation in Sudan’s El Fasher

The UN’s top humanitarian official has called for an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur region, amid reports of a rise in civilian deaths, hospital attacks and the city’s reported capture by the Rapid Support Forces militia.

Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of killings and displacement as fierce fighting engulfs the city.

“With fighters pushing further into the city and escape routes cut off, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified”, he said on Sunday.

He called for an immediate ceasefire, stressing that civilians must be allowed safe passage and humanitarian workers must be protected.

He stressed that rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access must be allowed to reach all in need, underlining that aid is standing by, if the RSF militia grants safe passage.

UN chief calls for stronger partnerships in Southeast Asia to tackle global challenges

The United Nations and Southeast Asian nations have reaffirmed their partnership to advance peace, sustainable development, and climate action at a summit in Kuala Lumpur.

Secretary-General António Guterres praised the region in his speech on Monday as “a beacon of cooperation” amid global turmoil. 

He commended the region’s contributions to UN peacekeeping and highlighted Malaysia’s role in helping facilitate a ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand.

Mr. Guterres also urged stronger action ahead of the crucial COP30 summit in Brazil next month.

“Across ASEAN, floods, droughts, rising seas and haze are threatening food security, health and economic stability. We need Nationally Determined Contributions that cut emissions much more deeply and accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. At COP30 in Brazil, we must go further and faster to close the ambition gap. We need more ambition in adaptation, mitigation and climate financial justice.”

Besides climate action, Mr. Guterres highlighted three key areas of partnership with the UN: peace and security, sustainable development and financial justice; and digital transformation and cybersecurity.

Ana Carmo, UN News