The Elsie Initiative Fund (EIF) has announced funding for a two-year pilot project with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) aimed at improving conditions for uniformed women peacekeepers deployed to remote areas. Assessments conducted by UNMISS between 2022 and 2024 revealed that inadequate accommodation and water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities within Company Operating Bases (COBs), Temporary Operating Bases (TOBs), and during Long Duration Patrols (LDPs) disproportionately affected women peacekeepers, limiting their ability to contribute effectively in these locations.
Currently, uniformed women are deployed to only 12 of UNMISS’s 25 locations, representing five percent of contingent troops and nine percent of United Nations Police (UNPOL) personnel as of June 2025. The pilot project will address these challenges by deploying ten relocatable ablution facilities to remote COBs and TOBs and distributing over 1,000 personal sanitation kits, including portable toilets, to support women peacekeepers during patrols. These measures aim to improve field conditions and enhance the deployment experience, enabling women to operate safely and effectively while strengthening UNMISS’s engagement with local communities.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, emphasized that the project is about “dignity, safety, and operational effectiveness,” highlighting that providing women peacekeepers with proper facilities allows them to fully participate in mission-critical tasks and contribute to lasting peace in South Sudan. Deployment experiences have been identified as a primary barrier to the full, equal, and meaningful participation of uniformed women in global peacekeeping. UNMISS, which has over 13,000 uniformed personnel with ten percent women, aims to increase women’s participation in line with the United Nations Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy.
The Elsie Initiative Fund is the only global fund dedicated to removing barriers and accelerating women’s meaningful participation in UN peacekeeping operations. Hosted by UN Women, the EIF supports troop- and police-contributing countries (T/PCCs) in security sector reform, strengthens the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and advances the UN Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy. Funded by donors including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom, the EIF provides financial assistance and incentives to support the sustainable deployment and meaningful participation of uniformed women peacekeepers.
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