(Geneva) – The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) launched its 2024 Annual Report: Financing Women on the Frontlines Advancing Peace on Tuesday at a high-level event at the Palais de Nations in Geneva convening Member States, UN agencies, civil society actors, and donors to spotlight the collective impact and renew support for women and grassroots organizations advancing peace on the frontlines.
Co-hosted by the governments of Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine – together with UNHCR, UN Women and UNDP – the landmark event marked the Fund’s first-ever Annual Report launch in Geneva, a milestone moment as it continues to deepen its engagement of the international community and celebrate its critical role as a key financing and political tool for advancing the Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action (WPS-HA) agendas.
“Today’s report launch event is about spotlighting the profound results achieved by resilient frontline women leaders supported by WPHF over the last year,” said Tonni Ann Brodber, Head of the WPHF Secretariat. “We are here to celebrate their impact, shine light on their essential roles, and reflect on the urgent challenges that remain. We cannot afford to find ourselves in a world without Women, Peace and Security and that means platforming bold voices, forging stronger partnerships, and standing firm in our commitment to those leading change on the frontlines.”
The report illustrates WPHF’s support to 579 local women’s organizations across 34 countries in a year marked by intensifying humanitarian crises, historic funding cuts, and growing backlash against women’s rights. Almost half (44.3%) of the civil society organizations supported by WPHF in 2024 were first-time recipients of UN funding, underscoring the Fund’s unique ability to reach those often left behind.
The report findings present new global data collected from women’s civil society organizations and human rights defenders, shedding light on the risks they face and the strategies they adopt to continue their critical work on the frontlines of conflict and crisis. The report also emphasizes the urgent need for both programmatic and core institutional funding to operate in increasingly fragile environments and sustain their long-term impact.
The launch event was moderated by Syrian refugee journalist and WPHF partner Sandra Alloush and also served as the official announcement of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) joining WPHF as a new management entity, expanding the Fund’s capacity to channel resources to frontline women’s organizations. IOM joins existing UN partners, including UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, and UNHCR serving as the chair of the WPHF global board, reinforcing WPHF’s model as a pooled funding mechanism leveraging the comparative advantages of each UN entity to delivery timely support to local women’s civil society organizations and human rights defenders where and when they need it most.
“As chair of the WPHF Board, UNHCR is proud to champion a fund that is not only agile and responsive to fast-changing realities on the ground, but also a model for how we translate the call for localization into meaningful action,” said Elizabeth Tan, Director of the Division of International Protection at UNHCR. “We are particularly proud that 26% of WPHF-supported organizations are led by forcibly displaced women – a testament to the Fund’s commitment to inclusion and impact. And we are excited to announce our new partnership with WPHF to help fund unregistered CSOs, breaking down the barriers that still stand in the way of their full participation.”
Held on the margins of the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, the launch event served as a timely platform for Member States to reaffirm their commitments to gender equality, peacebuilding, and the protection of women rights defenders worldwide.
“WPHF has shown the immense potential of grassroots women’s organizations to drive peace, and the Fund’s mechanisms are proving to make a real difference on the ground,” said German Ambassador Nikola Gillhoff, Chargée d’affaires a.i. “As WPHF’s largest donor, Germany is committed to setting high standards and remaining a strong partner, standing by its side to ensure sustainable, meaningful support for local women’s leadership.”
“Canada is proud to be an early supporter of WPHF, having provided over CAD 12 Million since 2020,” said Marc Banzet, Canada’s Counsellor of Humanitarian Affairs. “The Fund is an innovative partner that puts resources directly into the hands of women-led civil society organizations – including through its Rapid Response Window for Women and Peace Processes, which we strongly support. In a moment where hard-won gains are at risk, now more than ever, we must stand with local women’s organizations in conflict and crisis settings to realize the promise of UNSC Resolution 1325.”
“We deeply appreciate the impact of WPHF support on women peacebuilders in Colombia,” said Juliana Bustamante, Director of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law at Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “WPHF is a fund that enables women leaders and human rights defenders to continue their vital work in crisis-affected territories. By supporting their efforts, WPHF is not only protecting lives but sustaining peace from the ground up.”
“Norway’s support to WPHF is based on our appreciation of the Fund’s flexibility and reflects our strong commitment to WHRDs, localization and promoting women’s participation in peace and reconciliation processes,” said Lena Eskeland, Humanitarian Affairs Senior Advisor at the Permanent Mission of Norway in Geneva. We are proud to have supported the various funding windows of WPHF since 2018, including our latest contribution of more than USD 4 Million for 2025. At a time when there is increasing demand and focus on local responses, WPHF is giving us the tools to do exactly that.”
“Since 2022, Italy has proudly supported WPHF through both flexible and earmarked funding including for critical projects in Haiti, Afghanistan and across Africa,” said Stefano Pisotti, Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN in Geneva. “As we look ahead to WPHF’s 10th anniversary, we underscore the importance of unearmarked contributions and of ensuring this crucial mechanism continues to localize funding and center women and girls in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and crisis response efforts.”
As the world approaches the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, and against today’s backdrop of ongoing emergencies and shrinking space and resources for local women’s organizations, WPHF remains committed to delivering on the promise of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda by investing in the work and amplifying the voices and advocacy of women civil society leaders advancing peace for all.
“With WPHF’s support, we’ve brought Afghan women’s testimonies to international platforms like the Human Rights Council, reminding the world that Afghan women are not alone,” said Suraya Azizi, a WPHF-supported CSO partner from Afghanistan. “This kind of advocacy opens space, strengthens human rights mechanisms and brings us closer to justice. Advocacy and human rights are not separate from justice, they are its tools, and we thank WPHF for standing with Afghan women in this fight.”
Download the WPHF 2024 Annual Report: Financing Women on the Frontlines Advancing Peace.
About the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF)
The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) is a multi-partner trust fund which mobilizes urgently needed financing for local and grassroots women’s rights organizations and women human rights defenders working on the frontlines to respond to crisis and build lasting peace. WPHF is a flexible and rapid financing mechanism supporting quality interventions designed to enhance the capacity of women to prevent conflict, respond to crises and emergencies, and seize key peacebuilding opportunities.
Since its launch in 2016, WPHF has funded over 1,500 local women’s organizations working to support women to be a force for crisis response and lasting peace in 46 countries. In addition, WPHF has supported the participation and the protection of over 800 women human rights defenders and women peacebuilders in 26 countries.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Matthew Rullo at matthew.rullo@unwomen.org & Bea Ciordia at beatriz.ciordia@unwomen.org
