By Nellie Chepkemoi (Nalafem Collective)

On 9th April 2025, the Nalafem Collective took part in a regional roundtable meeting held in Nairobi by the Embassy of Norway and DG ECHO at their offices in Delta Towers, Waiyaki Way, Nairobi. The meeting was focused on seven high-risk countries prone to escalated Gender-Based violence in the face of shrinking donor support and funding.  The countries include Burundi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Somalia DRC, and Ethiopia. 

Community-based organizations and Survivor alliances urgently testified on the impacts felt at the grassroots levels in Sudan, Burundi, and the DRC amid funding cuts. One social enterprise that had essentially delivered approximately 10,000 GBV-related services had been forced to shut down. Some of the essential services that were being offered included safe houses for victims, mental health support, case management, and legal services. The survivors are turned away due to a shortage of resources to facilitate the delivery of the services. 

Many of the participants were in agreement that GBV services are equally essential and should be Non-Negotiable. This includes safe houses, psychosocial support, as well as case management.  

It was agreed that the coordination within the GBV clusters, especially in the conflict-affected regions like in DRC and Sudan, should be strengthened. The real-life stories were traumatising: a young girl was trafficked from Burundi to Saudi Arabia after she was sexually assaulted. 

Nalafem Collective calls on donors and allies to centre all the survivors in their decisions, the non-negotiables i.e, Availability of funding to Young Feminist Organizations & women-led organizations, funding availability, Mental health services, advocacy on coordination within the protection clusters, and unwanted teenage pregnancies and marriages.