Summary of publication
The final evaluation of the Women’s Resilience to Disasters (WRD) Programme was conducted by UN Women’s Independent Evaluation Service (IES) of the Independent Evaluation, Audit and Investigation Services (IEAIS). The evaluation assessed the programme’s achievements and challenges from 2021 to 2025 across global, regional (Pacific) and country levels, against relevance and coherence, human rights and gender equality, effectiveness and sustainability, and organisational efficiency. The evaluation employed a non-experimental, theory-based approach using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods and collected data through semi-structured informant interviews and focus groups with 155 stakeholders. It included an online survey on the UN Women Knowledge Hub reaching 117 respondents; direct observation of WRD programme activities; and two in-depth case studies. The approach was guided by UN Women’s evaluation principles and aligned with United Nations Evaluation Group Norms and Standards, which aim to ensure both methodological rigour and practical utility for stakeholders. The evaluation summarised key learnings from the program and four recommendations, which UN Women have responded to with a Management Response.
The MTR generated a wealth of findings and several recommendations which are summarized in the rest of this section.
Full publication
Final Global Programme Evaluation: Women's Resilience to Disasters
UN Women Management Response
Management Response-Global Accountability and Tracking of Evaluation Use - GATE System
DFAT Management Response
DFAT notes that UN Women accepts all four recommendations of the Final Evaluation. UN Women has, over the course of implementing the Women’s Resilience to Disasters program, led institutional change in the gender and disaster risk reduction space and supported localisation approaches across prevention, preparedness and recovery systems. DFAT appreciates UN Women’s willingness to reflect on and learn from WRD to strengthen these program elements based on the Final Evaluation.
DFAT also notes UN Women commits to clarifying its corporate approach to gender responsive DRR, consolidating and embedding WRD lessons into ongoing work, simplifying programme governance and partnerships, and advancing inclusive, intersectional approaches that ensure meaningful participation of high at-risk groups in DRR planning and implementation. In particular, DFAT recognises the commitments made in UN Women’s management review to integrate the most effective WRD approaches, including the women’s leadership model, ensuring sustainability and government ownership. We note the value, at country and regional level, to align DRR and climate resilience initiatives with national systems and ensure that future UN Women efforts in DRR are integrated into ongoing programmes to maximize continuity, local ownership and long-term impact.
DFAT acknowledges that there may be cases where full implementation of recommendations proposed are constrained by funding and staff turnover, and encourages UN Women, where possible, to consider realistic actions to safeguard key WRD assets, knowledge and partnerships and ensure that the programme’s legacy remains embedded across UN Women’s broader climate and resilience work.
DFAT will work closely with UN Women on the longer-term recommendations as a donor, including incorporating a disaster risk reduction perspective across the DFAT funded portfolio of activities. DFAT is continuing to provide core funding to UN Women under the Strategic Partnership Framework and is a long-term supporter of UN Women and its work in supporting gender equality. In addition to core funding, Australia provides funding to support UN Women’s activities at the regional and country level, focused mainly on Women, Peace and Security, ending gender-based violence, and disaster risk reduction, primarily in the Indo-Pacific region.