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“Horse-cart of hope” offers critical health-care access to expectant mothers
Senegal
DAKAR, Senegal – Asta Gaye was bleeding too much, said the traditional birth attendant in Diomande Walo, a Fulani village in northern Senegal. It was still dark on the morning of 30 September 2013, and Ms. Gaye had been…
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Mobile teams resume reproductive health care in Rakhine, Myanmar
Myanmar
SITTWE, Myanmar – UNFPA-supported mobile medical teams have resumed providing life-saving reproductive health services in 15 camps for displaced people in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Four teams have been deployed,…
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Training helps Filipino police officer uncover human trafficking case
Philippines
TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – A female police officer who intercepted four people suspected of trafficking five girls from an area affected by Typhoon Haiyan attributes her alertness to the training on human trafficking…
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Schools for Husbands gaining ground in rural Niger
Niger
NIAMEY, Niger – In the courtyard of a health centre in Maiki Village, in Niger’s Maradi Region, men are gathered under the shade of a makeshift shelter. Sitting on colourful carpets, they are deep in conversation about…
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Father Aldo Marchesini and Jhpiego recognized with UN Population Award
Mozambique
UNITED NATIONS, New York – On 12 June, UNFPA celebrated the winners of the 2014 United Nations Population Award: Father Aldo Marchesini, a doctor and Catholic priest who treats obstetric fistula sufferers in Mozambique…
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Global summit urges to end sexual violence in conflict
UNITED NATIONS, New York – In conflicts the world over, women’s bodies become battlegrounds and rape becomes a weapon of war. This week, government ministers and representatives from the United Nations and other…
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Africa launches historic campaign to end child marriage
Ethiopia
CAIRO, Egypt / ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – One in three girls in low- and middle-income countries continue to be married by age 18, and an estimated one in nine girls is married by age 15. In response to these dire numbers…
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UNFPA assists Balkan flood survivors
Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina / BELGRADE, Serbia – Millions of people across the Balkans are facing the aftermath of the worst natural disaster to hit the region in more than a century. As the waters retreat,…
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“I will keep very strong”: An Ethiopian girl fights to delay marriage
Ethiopia
AFAMBO, Ethiopia – From birth, Kadiga Mohammed was set to marry her first and eldest cousin, a traditional practice known as ‘absuma’ in her community in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. When she turned 16, her parents…
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Connecting mothers-to-be with health clinics in rural Zambia
Zambia
LUKULU DISTRICT, Zambia – Olivia Kaunda, 34, just moved to a shelter in the Luvuzi Rural Health Centre in Western Zambia. Eight months pregnant, this is the place she will call home for the next few weeks, as she…
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Midwives could cut maternal, newborn deaths by two thirds, says new State of the World’s Midwifery
Uganda
UNITED NATIONS, New York – When trained and supported by a functional health system, midwives could provide 87 per cent of the essential care needed for women and newborns, and could potentially reduce maternal and…
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Somali midwifery school helps tackle harsh conditions for women
Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia is one of the worst places in the world to be a woman, especially a pregnant woman. According to recent statistics, one in 18 Somali women die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth…
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