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Relentless attacks, collapse of health and safety systems leave Gaza's women and girls facing “unthinkable challenges”
Palestine, State of
GAZA, Palestine – "I sleep on the streets, just like you found me. The situation is unbearable here,” a pregnant woman, due in just weeks, told UNFPA.
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Smoothing rough roads to reproductive health services in the Philippines
Philippines
GUINDULUNGAN, The Philippines – For many members of the indigenous Teduray tribe residing in the southern Philippines, going to the doctor means gearing up for a major journey.
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“They need someone to listen”: UNFPA supports essential psychosocial service delivery after deadly earthquakes in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
HERAT, Afghanistan – “I thought that somebody was shaking me. And then the roof collapsed.”
This is what 25-year-old Shamaiel from Naieb Rafi village, Afghanistan, recalled to midwife Nafisa Hotak following a 6.…
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“Race against death” amid relentless bombardment in Gaza, pregnant women tell UNFPA
Palestine, State of
GAZA, Palestine – “My baby was feeling every explosion,” a pregnant woman from northern Gaza told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, from the school where she is currently sheltering. The…
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Sudan’s women and girls endure six months of conflict with no end in sight
KHARTOUM, Sudan – Lubna still remembers the sound of shelling in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, six months ago. The 34-year old was, at the time, mother to six children and pregnant. “I was wondering how I can…
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Building a generation of leaders and empowering girls to be students, not brides, in Indonesia
Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia – What girls want for their futures matters. And, according to new survey data, what they want most is the chance to learn. The study, published 10 August 2023 by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn…
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“I miss my home”: Fleeing conflict, tens of thousands of women and girls cross into Armenia
Armenia
VAYOTS DZOR, Armenia – “I didn’t even know whether my parents were alive or not. It was a very difficult time,” said Mariam, a 16-year-old from Martakert in Karabakh.
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Afghanistan quake leaves most vulnerable – women and girls – in dire situation
Afghanistan
HERAT, Afghanistan – More than 12,000 people have been impacted by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake which struck on the morning of 7 October, with most of the severely injured believed to be women and children.
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“Giving birth to another child is not in my plans anymore”: New UNFPA report finds sexual and reproductive health omitted from most national climate plans
Madagascar
MAJUNGA, Madagascar/UNITED NATIONS, New York – Only one third of countries have committed to upholding the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls in their national climate plans, according to new…
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Services without stigma: Halting HIV’s spread in Lesotho through non-discriminatory care
Lesotho
MAPUTSOE, Lesotho – Since the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the rate of the virus’s spread has slowed significantly, with new infections down 59 per cent from 1995. But that hasn’t stopped it from newly infecting 1.3…
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“Psychological wounds will take time to heal”: Treating immense trauma in Derna in the aftermath of Storm Daniel
Morocco
DERNA, Libya – “The hospital was overwhelmed with emergency cases and dead bodies,” said 29-year-old gynaecologist Dr. Nehal Anwar, who works at a maternity hospital in Derna, a port city on Libya’s northeast coast. “…
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Defying conflict and child marriage to champion girls’ education and rights in Ethiopia
Ethiopia
BENISHANGUL-GUMUZ, Ethiopia – “I was very scared when I first entered the safe house. I was lonely and wouldn’t leave my room for a month,” said Ms. Alemtsehay*, now 18.
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