Across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria, more than half of gender-based violence (GBV) survivors supported in early 2025 have lost access to essential services due to broad funding cuts. In Menaka, Mali, nearly 90% of survivors’ cases remain unresolved. Burkina Faso’s Sahel and North regions have 52% of GBV cases unaddressed, leaving over 500 women and girls at risk of losing access to dignity kits, awareness sessions, and case management. In Nigeria, 42–67% of GBV cases remain open following program closures across Borno, Adamawa, Katsina, and Zamfara States. Niger’s Diffa and Tillabéri regions report 26% of GBV cases are no longer actively managed, with IRC often the sole provider of protection services.
The suspension of case management services following funding cuts has deprived survivors of vital support, interrupting recovery and leaving them without access to safe spaces, medical care, psychosocial support, and legal assistance. Service shutdowns lasted three to five months depending on the country. Even as some programs have partially resumed, fewer than 55% of specialized GBV caseworkers have been rehired, resulting in limited coverage of essential services.
Survivors have expressed the emotional impact of these disruptions. Safiatou from eastern Mali described feeling isolated and unable to share her fears after losing access to IRC services, which had provided listening sessions and awareness activities. Yolande Longang, IRC’s Women’s Protection and Empowerment Technical Advisor in West Africa, emphasized that survivors were left in the dark, enduring trauma without timely medical and psychosocial support. Partial restoration of services has only addressed the most critical cases, leaving many survivors without help for issues such as child marriage and intimate partner violence.
The interruption of GBV services has created dangerous gaps, particularly in regions where IRC is the primary or sole provider. Survivors of sexual assault face delays in accessing essential care within the critical 72-hour window. Local organizations and government structures, though trained, lack the resources to fill the gap, leaving many communities reliant on under-resourced mechanisms.
Humanitarian funding cuts, administrative barriers, and security constraints have left numerous cases without follow-up care, putting the progress made in GBV response at risk. Without urgent action to restore funding and strengthen local systems, gains in staffing, community engagement, and survivor protection could be reversed. IRC calls for sustained funding to support GBV response organizations and strengthen local structures, emphasizing that GBV prevention and response are lifesaving services that must be prioritized in all humanitarian planning.
