On 16 December 2025, the Geneva Centre for Human Rights Advancement and Global Dialogue, jointly with the Permanent Mission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United Nations Office at Geneva and to the specialized agencies in Switzerland, convened a panel event entitled “Addressing Women’s and Girls’ Right to Health in Humanitarian and Refugee Contexts: Overcoming Barriers to Ensure Data-Driven Responses” at the Palais des Nations. The event was held in the framework of the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025.
The panel brought together the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Girls, senior representatives from UN Women, WHO and ICRC as well as civil society actors committed to advancing women’s and girls’ right to health in humanitarian and refugee settings:
- Ms. Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Ms. Sofia Calltorp, Director Geneva Office and Chief of Humanitarian Action, UN Women
- Ms. Audrey Midavaine, Health Coordinator Rapid Deployment Standing Team, Surge Division, ICRC
- Dr Alia El-Yassir, Director GRE (Gender, Equity, Diversity, and Rights for Health), WHO
- Ms. Amal Ireifij, Director of Program Development- The Royal Health Awareness Society
The event was attended with strong interest by several Permanent Missions, including Oman, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, the State of Palestine, the Russian Federation, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, and Greece. During the lively Q&A session, civil society organizations present in the room provided pertinent and critical observations. In particular, questions were raised regarding the role of artificial intelligence in data collection and its potential to address persistent data gaps, highlighting the intersectional nature of the challenges discussed.
Downloadable PDF version of the follow-up research paper: Addressing Women’s and Girls’ Right to Health in Humanitarian and Refugee Contexts
Year of publication: 2026