Gender Alert: Voices of Strength: Contributions of Palestinian Women-Led Organizations to Humanitarian Aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (EN/AR) – Occupied Palestinian Territory

Palestinian women-led organizations must be at the forefront of humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank

Eighty percent of women in the Gaza Strip depend on food aid to survive, and women-led organizations are well equipped to support them, according to the new UN Women Gender Alert.

Cairo / New York – UN Women’s latest Gender Alert on the war in Gaza reveals the enormous challenges facing Palestinian women-led organisations, highlights their tireless commitment to saving lives, and calls for urgent, coordinated investment in their operations on the ground.

Women-led organizations operate in some of the most dangerous and difficult areas of Gaza and the West Bank. Through their extensive community-based work, they are best placed to reach women and girls who most need assistance. Over the past eight months of war, UN Women has published a series of gender alerts documenting how the lives of women and girls have deteriorated in all areas, from food security to shelter, health and safety. New UN Women data collected in April 2024 show the continued deterioration of women’s basic survival conditions. Over 80 percent of women surveyed in Gaza reported being dependent on food aid, and 83.5 percent said the aid they received was insufficient to meet their basic family needs.

Today, UN Women launches the fourth Gender Alert focusing on the work of Women-Led Organizations (WLOs). It features the results of a UN Women assessment of 25 Palestinian women-led organizations operating in Gaza and the West Bank. It shows that these organizations are on the front lines of humanitarian response despite this dire situation. Together, these 25 organizations maintain a network of 1,575 staff in Gaza and the West Bank. The assessment shows that 89 percent of the organizations surveyed have suffered damage to their offices, with 35 percent having been completely destroyed. These offices serve as operational hubs and are critical for providing assistance and coordination.

Despite this difficult situation, nearly 60 percent of organizations report being able to operate at full capacity. The commitment of women-led organizations to their communities is evident: 88 percent have focused on emergency response and are providing essential services, including distribution of relief items (64 percent of organizations), food (56 percent), cash assistance (48 percent), and protection-related services, including psychosocial support and case management. While their services are vital and they continue to adapt their operations, financial challenges are significant: 56 percent of women-led organizations report funding losses and 88 percent are facing major financial difficulties that prevent them from providing essential services.

“The work of women’s organizations in Gaza and the West Bank is as much about the survival of women and girls as it is about maintaining hope, dignity and the possibility of a better future for those they serve. Investing in their resilience is not just important – it is key to an inclusive response that leaves no one behind,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.

Conscious of their central role in crises and crisis response, UN Women and women-led organizations urge the international community and all stakeholders to take decisive action: actively fund women-led organizations as they are critical to reach the women and girls who need assistance most; advocate for improved humanitarian access to enable these organizations to scale up their life-saving operations; and include women-led organizations in all humanitarian coordination structures to ensure truly effective and comprehensive humanitarian response.