Source: Save the Children
About 167 million adolescent girls growing up in countries with the widest gender equality gaps are among those worst hit by this years’ aid cuts, with the massive fall in global aid having a disproportionate impact on countries where it is hardest to be a girl, according to Save the Children analysis.
The analysis, released on International Day of the Girl, found that 17 of the 20 countries most severely affected by global aid cuts this year were ranked as having ‘poor’ (4) or ‘very poor’ (13) gender equality on the global SDG Gender Index .
Girls living in Jamaica, Eswatini and Namibia are among the worst impacted – with the highest nexus of reduction in per capita country programmable aid and gender inequality – but around 167 million adolescent girls now have fewer opportunities to achieve their basic rights such as go to school, and face greater risks of violence and exclusion [1].
The aid cuts come in a year already devastating for girls living in crisis-affected countries, with more than 3.5 million adolescent girls affected by natural disasters and their aftermath since the beginning of this year and 122 million living with the uncertainty, fear and tragedy that come with life in fragile and conflict-affected areas.
Despite these emergencies, global aid has fallen about 14%, with US$22 billion lost in essential programmes and humanitarian support [2].
For many girls this translates directly into lost dreams, with no single country on track to achieve gender equality by 2030, a global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target agreed by world leaders to help achieve more peaceful and prosperous societies.
Maria-, 16, lives in a refugee camp in Tanzania, one of the countries with low levels of gender equality and where girls have been worst impacted by 2025 aid cuts. She dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon. However, recent reductions in school services have made it difficult for her to continue her education. She told Save the Children:
“I want to study, I want to be a doctor, but without the right materials, it feels like I’m losing the fight. When we are given tests, only a few of us can do them because many don’t have notebooks. It feels unfair, but what can we do?”
Isack, Maria’s teacher, said attendance rates, dropouts and academic performance at the school have worsened because funding cuts mean children no longer receive free notebooks and girls cannot receive the sanitary pads they need to attend school.
Inger Ashing, Save the Children International CEO, said:
“Girls growing up in countries impacted by massive aid cuts were already facing disproportionate barriers to realising their rights. Now, with programmes halted and essential services reduced, these girls are facing increasing risks of violence, inequality and conflict with even less support.
“Hope lies with girls. They are organising in their communities, fighting for climate justice, demanding an end to violence and reimagining their futures. Girls are asking to be seen not only for the challenges they face, but for who they are and the solutions they bring.
“Not a single country on earth is on track to achieve gender equality by 2030, and at current rates a girl born today will have to wait until her 97th birthday – beyond her expected lifespan – to celebrate an equal society.
“Global governments, corporates and leaders must invest and re-invest in girls. Gender equality is a critical foundation for peace, economic and social development. Girls have a crucial stake in the future of gender equality and of global development cooperation, and we have a responsibility to support them.”
As a child rights organisation dedicated to ensuring all children have an equal opportunity to survive, learn, and live free from violence, Save the Children works around the world to support girls’ empowerment and gender equality.
This includes supporting the meaningful participation of girls in decision-making, providing improved and inclusive gender-responsive access to services, conducting research and budget analysis to inform good practice programming, laws and policies, and advocating to ensure decision-makers are accountable to girls.
