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Amid displacement and despair in Gaza, glimmers of hope for a better tomorrow
Palestine, State of
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestinian Territory – "My family and I have been displaced more than 18 times,” Riman said last week, shortly before the current ceasefire took effect. “We are staying in a place that feels like a…
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Midwives in Uganda ramp up action against postpartum bleeding, a leading cause of maternal death
Uganda
KAMPALA, Uganda – In the relentless, high-pressure maternity ward of Kawempe National Referral Hospital, Uganda’s busiest public birthing centre, a quiet revolution is underway. Amid the beeping of machinery and cries…
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“I still want to finish school”: A crisis of reproductive agency for girls in Namibia
Namibia
KUNENE REGION, Namibia – “I should have been in Grade 11 this year,” said 21-year-old Elly Tjondu. “That’s all I want, to go back and finish school.”
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“I had no choice but to deliver my own baby”: Health workers in Gaza city describe impossible conditions
Palestine, State of
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestinian Territory – “The labour pains hit me at 4 am, but there was no one to help,” said Yasmeen, a midwife in Gaza city. “I felt it might end with my death, and the death of my unborn baby.”…
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“I don't want to be surprised by another pregnancy”: Contraceptive options offer young people in Côte d’Ivoire a fairer future
Côte d'Ivoire
BOUAKÉ DEPARTMENT, Côte d’Ivoire – Thérèse Kouadio, 18, is the eldest of five siblings from the N'Gattakro district, in Côte d’Ivoire’s central Bouaké Department.
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Holding space for hope: Mobile health teams are a lifeline for survivors of gender-based violence in Hebron
Palestine, State of
HEBRON, Occupied Palestinian Territory – Ayat, 29, is a mother of four and pregnant. She lives in Deir Al Shams, a rural community in southern Hebron where there are no nearby health services, no places for women to…
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Health workers lose support structures and pregnant women die: The reality of funding cuts hits in Yemen
Yemen
HADRAMAUT/HAJJAH/TAI’Z GOVERNORATES, Yemen – “The patient was in her third trimester and arrived with severe bleeding,” said Ms. Akaber, a community midwife from the Ku'aydinah District, in Yemen’s northwestern…
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Contraceptive stocks dwindle in Kenya, affecting most vulnerable women
Kenya
NAROK COUNTY, Kenya – Decades of progress in expanding access to contraception in Kenya could be unravelling, as global funding for contraception plummets. Stocks of many contraceptives are now dwindling in public…
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“Women and girls are traumatized” after earthquake shatters communities in eastern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – When 15-year-old Salma* said goodbye to her mother and siblings to spend the weekend at her grandmother’s house, she had no idea it would be the last time she would see them alive.
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Reaching the last mile: Motorbike ambulances improve maternal and newborn health in rural Benin
Benin
HÊVIÉ, Benin – In rural communities of Benin, where rough roads and long distances often stand between patients and life-saving care, bike ambulances are transforming maternal and newborn health outcomes.
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Adolescent pregnancy in Latin America and the Caribbean: Seeking reproductive justice for Afrodescendent women and girls
BOCAS DEL TORO PROVINCE, Panama – “We don't have special care for women,” said Jakelyn Chiu, a single mother of three from the Bocas del Toro Province in Panama. “Here in the district, we don't have a…
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Famine confirmed in Gaza – pregnant women and newborns at acute risk
Palestine, State of
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestinian Territory – “Where is the world watching what’s happening to us, and to our children? All families in the world have children,” said Inas, who lives in a displacement camp with her three…
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