Women Deliver CEO Dr Maliha Khan has warned that progress on gender equality is being rapidly eroded by shrinking civic spaces, funding cuts and organised anti-rights movements, as preparations ramp up for the Women Deliver 2026 Conference (WD2026) in Narrm (Melbourne), Australia.
Since the last Women Deliver Conference in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2023 (WD2023), the global gender equality landscape has shifted sharply. Across regions, movements are facing widening pressure on rights and civic space while also accelerating movement-building, cross-border collaboration and youth leadership in response.
“From Kigali to Narrm, we are seeing feminist movements respond to instability by organising more deeply across borders, generations and issues, and by sharpening the demand for accountability from those in power,” Dr. Khan said.
“Following our last conference, Women Deliver has worked with partners and movements to help shape the path to WD2026, strengthening regional consultations, investing in narrative and systems change, supporting collective action and shifting power to youth advocates.”
As part of the Journey to WD2026, Women Deliver has undertaken consultations across the Oceanic Pacific, including engagement linked to the WD2023 Oceanic Pacific Regional Convening, as well as a listening tour with First Nations leaders in Australia to inform the pathway to WD2026 and emerging governance structures.
Women Deliver has also convened visioning and ideation workshops to bring together feminist leaders and partners, strengthening shared approaches to how movements frame gender equality, accountability and systems change ahead of WD2026.
This work is helping shape the Feminist Playbook – a shared global effort to help movements work together more closely and press for real accountability from those in power. Since the first consultations at UNGA in September, Women Deliver has held 15 consultations in Mexico, Nairobi, Beirut, Bogota, Paris and Geneva so far, with more to come in 2026.
Alongside this, through the Collective Action for Change program, Women Deliver has supported global convenings and coalition work to align priorities and accelerate joint action. Women Deliver has also launched the Emerging Leaders for Change Program, investing in adolescent and youth activists with tools, networks and opportunities to influence policy and lead change.
Dr. Khan said these efforts reflect how movements are responding to two interconnected and mutually reinforcing pressures that have intensified since 2023.
“We are seeing cuts to official development assistance across many countries, alongside high-profile funding freezes such as those affecting USAID, destabilising support for sexual and reproductive health, education, gender-based violence prevention and humanitarian programs,” she said.
“These funding contractions are occurring in parallel with the rise of authoritarian governance and well-organised anti-rights movements, which are targeting bodily autonomy, sexuality, gender expression and reproductive freedom, closing the spaces where rights were won in the first place.”
“These pressures are real but so is the response. Movements are adapting quickly through strengthening alliances, sharing strategy and insisting on accountability,” Dr Khan said.
The Conference will take place in April 2026 in Narrm (Melbourne), Australia, bringing together thousands of advocates, policymakers, researchers, funders, young leaders and grassroots organisers from across the world.
Registrations are now open for Women Deliver 2026. For more information visit womendeliver.org/wd2026
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Interviews with Maliha Khan, CEO of Women Deliver, are available.
Please contact:
Tammy Wayne-Elliot, Fifty Acres t: 0414 428 440 | Kristie Lin, Fifty Acres t: 0485 954 652
