Noticias

UNFPA scales up response after Iraq earthquake

calendar_today24 Noviembre 2017

UNFPA is distributing essential hygiene supplies to women and girls displaced by the earthquake. Photo courtesy of Civil Development International
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Vídeo

Five things you need to know about Yemen's blockade

calendar_today16 November 2017

Five things you need to know about Yemen's blockade

Five things you need to know about Yemen's blockade

As the blockade in Yemen enters its second week, assistance to 27 million people has been disrupted. Here are five critical facts about the effects this is having on the people of Yemen. 

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Noticias

“Your voice is your weapon”: Taking on sexual harassment in Egypt

calendar_today30 Octubre 2017

Amany Abdel-Aal, a Wen-Do instructor and psychologist from the organization Etijah, teaches women how to defend themselves. © UNFPA/Rebecca Zerzan
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Noticias

From child bride to beauty expert: one Jordanian woman’s story

calendar_today19 Octubre 2017

Child marriage rates are rising in Jordan, according to a recent report. © UNFPA Jordan/ Elspeth Dehnert
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Noticias

Las adolescentes hablan de la desigualdad

calendar_today11 Octubre 2017

¿Cómo se manifiesta la desigualdad? Estas cinco adolescentes te pueden contar. Ilustraciones: Bodil Jane para UNFPA.
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Noticias

Líderes piden por acceso a suministros de salud reproductiva en situaciones de crisis

calendar_today28 de septiembre de 2017

Ahlam fue capaz de dar a luz de forma segura mediante cesárea en un centro de salud gracias a los materiales suministrados por el UNFPA. © UNFPA Yemen / Fahmia Al-Fotih
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Noticias

Líderes abordan en las Naciones Unidas el uso de la violencia sexual como arma de guerra

calendar_today20 de septiembre de 2017

"Por favor, no se den por vencidas ", dice uno de los mensajes depositados en una clínica en Dohuk, Irak, especializada en el tratamiento de supervivientes de la violencia sexual. La violencia sexual y de género son comúnmente consideradas como tácticas de guerra © UNFPA Iraq / Turchenkova
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Noticias

La ayuda del UNFPA alcanza Deir Ez-Zor por primera vez desde hace tres años

calendar_today15 de septiembre de 2017

El UNFPA trasladó suministros de higiene a la ciudad de Deir Ez-Zor, inaccesible para los trabajadores humanitarios desde hacía tres años. © UNFPA Siria
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Cuando las vacaciones escolares significan MGF
10 Ago 2017
Cuando las vacaciones escolares significan MGF
For some girls, school holidays are not all fun and sunshine.
In countries like Guinea, Nigeria and Somalia, the vacation period could be called "cutting season," when the break from school means girls have time to undergo, and recover from, female genital mutilation (FGM).
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
“This is the peak season, when parents bring their children to be cut,” said Asha Ali Ibrahim.
In her community in Somalia, she is a circumciser, a role she inherited from her mother. She supports her family with income from the practice, and is considered the keeper of a cultural tradition. “Circumcision is important as a transition to adulthood," she said.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
Most of the girls she cuts are from her neighbourhood or the nearby displacement camp.
They are usually 7 to 10 years old. But she sometimes cuts girls visiting Somalia from abroad, who tend to be a little older. “It is a bit cumbersome to carry out the procedure on tissue that is more mature,” she said.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
The most common type of FGM in Somalia involves cutting the genitals, then sewing them closed.
This practice can cause significant and long-lasting medical problems, including haemorrhage, infection, complications in childbirth and even death
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
Ms. Ibrahim is clear-eyed about some of the dangers. She has taken girls to hospital when they bled excessively.
When her own daughter was cut seven years ago, the girl developed an infection and has never fully recovered.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
Ms. Ibrahim tries to prevent these problems.
She uses a new razor for every girl she cuts, and she treats their wounds with a powder she creates out of traditional herbs and antibiotic capsules.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
She gets many of her supplies from local pharmacies.
Her other tools include lidocaine, disposable syringes and cotton wool. She says she pours raw egg onto the wound to promotes healing, then uses a thick thread to sew the girls closed. Afterward, she cleans up with methylated spirits.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
Though she knows FGM is risky, Ms. Ibrahim denies it has serious consequences like childbirth complications.
Her granddaughter is due to be cut this season, but the procedure has been delayed because the girl has been ill.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
But Cibaado Ismail knows all too well the risks are real.
Her daughter died in childbirth at age 17; the baby died as well. Ms. Ismail blames FGM. “I have since banned all my 10 female grandchildren from being cut,” she said.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
At the Hargeisa Institute of Health Sciences, Asha Ali Suldan teaches midwifery students to discourage FGM.
The school – as well as local organizations, religious leaders and youth – have partnered with UNFPA to encourage community members and policymakers to abandon the practice.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
Ms. Suldan teaches her students how to manage FGM-related complications during childbirth, including how to cut open women who have been sewn shut.
The institute’s midwifery curriculum was recently revised, with help from UNFPA, to cover the wide range of problems that can occur due to FGM.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
Religious leaders are also working to end the practice.
Sheikh Almis Yahye Ibrahim preaches about the harms of FGM to roughly 5,000 people at his mosque. He is one of six sheikhs in the Arab region who have formed a network calling for FGM’s abandonment.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin
But the biggest difference will be seen among the country’s youth.
In Hargeisa, youth activists with the group Y-Peer talk to health workers, community members and other young people about ending FGM. “I wouldn’t marry any girl who has undergone FGM because I don’t want to live with the health complications,” said Mustafa, one of the youth activists.
© UNFPA/Georgina Goodwin