Reality check The case for women’s rights at these meeting-filled U.N. conferences can seem a bit abstract, in endless debates over the meaning of gender responsiveness and multiple intersecting forms of discrimination. But underlying the rhetoric of women’s rights *is an increasingly harsh reality*, heightened by unprecedented U.S. foreign aid cuts <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POiKRGbNY2OKC42jxnUn9zvqFAuBSCQOTnIEzD0_AEoclhuqtsfa2JraEePfhIXEVR_9m-76MhZldeFwlu8jGUWzWkEd698iddsnJYNQ9n2TNkGDKy12LVqppVvEzv8jMDLavfN_PhBsEkq5s4kO0IOOf0-8oHHiE4TnL5GcYY_bwRxQfzkmiBFGqapa0nf3A2Wy92ETCxHH_xXUO5CjjljjsI3b12_bnz-UDieliV9U-FzzRMN71gPhP84Ckxz5GuQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEI5k8vwl2WkoMSlTjGsxOswy32w5pTl1O4FAhXLEOmhUGIgN9KBqCvL7Q5JYSryjGCA=> and ongoing conflicts from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Gaza and Ukraine.
In Ukraine, U.S. foreign aid cuts have caused “*severe disruptions*” to 72% of 99 women-led organizations that advocate for women”s rights, political participation, and legal and psychological support for victims of conflict-related sexual violence, according to a survey <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEIxeJfbzvjc_kraF8SP2M6fKmPJ8GMkoOicJ8LOMHH1GhNQ7qqpb3bTWS6XkjsQqkZo=> by UN Women. In Yemen, nearly 1 million women are losing access to reproductive health services, according to figures compiled by the U.N. Population Fund <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEP2ug7waI9JYzcmn_cwwZjkhel4UhEo_zUV-t9FgHMxSMw6fkX7w98oNY_HVvVEE_-c=>. And in Ethiopia, 190,000 people, including 134,000 refugees, will lose access to sexual reproductive health and gender-based violence services. The resumption of Israel’s offensive in Gaza brought it home. During the ceasefire, UNFPA, and its partners resumed basic health services for thousands of women. Those gains are *at risk of evaporating*. “A lack of electricity and fuel has disabled hospital operations, and life-saving maternal health medicines have run out, again — particularly dangerous for the one in two pregnant women in Gaza who face a high-risk pregnancy,” UNFPA said in a statement on Thursday. “Portable incubators, ultrasound devices, and oxygen pumps, among other essential equipment, are now stalled at the border.” *Scoop:* UN Population Fund thought it prepared for the worst — it didn’t <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POiKRGbNY2OKC42jxnUn9zvqFAuBSCQOTnIEzD0_AEoclhuqtsfa2JraEePfhIXEVR_9m-76MhZldeFwlu8jGUWzWkEd698iddsnJYNQ9n2TNkGDKy12LVqppVvEzv8jMDLavfN_PhBsEkq5s4kO0IOOf0-8oHHiE4TnL5GcYY_bwRxQfzkmiBFGqapa0nf3A2Wy92ETCxHH_xXUO5CjjljjsI3b12_bnz-UDieliV9U-IRMR6niXeKr9mHnzdo4yDQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZZ3TfEI5k8vwl2WkoMSlTjGsxOswy32w5pTl1O4FAhXLEOmhUGIgN9KBqCvL7Q5JYSryjGCA=>
