The executive director of an international refugee-serving organization said: “The U.S. aid cuts ushered in a new landscape of harms for women and girls in humanitarian crises. These cuts did not simply reduce funding; they also shattered lives and livelihoods and dismantled the foundations of stability in crisis-affected communities. When health, safety, and education services disappear overnight, systems collapse and lives are destroyed, leaving individuals and families struggling to rebuild.”

Date: 1/26

Region: Global

Country: Global

Topic: Gender Equality & Inclusion, Refugees & Displacement

Policy Lens: Moral Leadership

Entry Type: Field Observation

Additional Context: This quote comes from the Women Refugee Commission's, or WRC, report, "A Year of Harms: The Impact of US Foreign Aid Cuts on Women and Girls in Humanitarian Crises." WRC researchers analyzed publicly available evidence on how the 2025 US foreign aid cuts have affected women and girls. Drawing on 105 gender-disaggregated sources from humanitarian crises in 32 countries, the report shows that funding reductions triggered cascading failures in health, protection, education, livelihoods, and civil society systems—impacts that have compounded over the past year.

The quote is attributed to Sarah Costa, Executive Director of WRC.

Source: WRC