Missing in Action: COVID-19 Response Funding for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRHR) in Five Countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to skyrocketing gender-based violence (GBV) rates and reduced access to GBV prevention and response services and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services. Countries reliant on foreign aid to fund some or all of these services face growing funding gaps for GBV and SRHR programming. As donor agencies redirect regular development and humanitarian aid budgets to COVID-19 response, GBV and SRHR programs have been pushed to the back of the queue. In 2020, GBV funding only accounted for $55.12 million out of $26.7 Trillion in COVID-19 response funding opportunities. SRHR is not coded separately from other health sector funding in key global funding databases, making funding amounts impossible to track. This rapid assessment looks at international funding streams for GBV and SRHR programs between January and July 2020 in five countries: Colombia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. It is part of a larger Columbia University study of the impact of the pandemic on GBV and SRHR services in these countries and the United States, conducted in collaboration with researchers in each country. The study uses self-reported data from multilateral and bilateral donors and private foundations, as well as interviews with donors and service providers. The assessment found that funding for GBV and SRHR was poorly prioritised during the pandemic.