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UNFPA urges leaders to address gendered, discriminatory impacts of climate change at COP28
Trinidad and Tobago
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago – The domino effect is clear: Climate change causes extreme dry weather in Trinidad and Tobago, which forces women to expend more time and energy on the physically demanding task of…
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Childhood cut short: Three stories of adolescent pregnancy from Paraguay
Paraguay
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay – No one seemed to mind when Noelia* got a boyfriend. Nobody in her family said a word, even though her boyfriend was 18 years old and she was just 13.
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“Part of the solution”: Men and boys in Uganda work to stop cycles of gender-based violence
Uganda
KASESE DISTRICT, Uganda – Through his work as a village health team member in Kasese District, Uganda, Timothy Mbene Masereka had become adept at treating community members for illnesses such as malaria and pneumonia.
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Health, hygiene and protection needs spike after earthquake in Nepal
Nepal
KARNALI PROVINCE, Nepal – The strongest earthquake to hit Nepal in nearly a decade struck the country’s remote and mountainous western region on the night of 3 November, killing and injuring hundreds and sending 33-year…
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A new flour mill offers unexpected respite from threats of violence in Sudan
Sudan
BLUE NILE STATE, Sudan – Haleema Ibrahim, 36, walked a few minutes back to her home in the village of Shanisha, in Sudan’s Blue Nile State, carrying a basket of freshly ground grains from a newly-built flour mill.
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“I will stand tall for my children”: Dozens of pregnant refugees give birth amid turmoil after fleeing to Armenia
VARDENIS, Armenia – "The doctors were pessimistic. They were convinced that my child would not survive,” said 28-year-old single mother Marta Asryan. “I was weak, bleeding – but I insisted that my son was going to…
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After a month of siege, bombardments and a health system obliterated, pregnant women in Gaza are caught in a catastrophe
Palestine, State of
GAZA, Palestine – “The working conditions in our hospital are catastrophic. We lack basic life necessities and we’re struggling with a severe shortage of water,” said Yasmine Ahmed, a midwife at Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’…
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“Hope arrived in the form of Rahna”: The life-saving work of midwives after the Afghanistan earthquake
Afghanistan
ZINDAJAN, Afghanistan – Early in the morning on 15 October, 20-year-old Hanifa felt them: The contractions that signalled her baby was on its way.
The timing was less than ideal. Just one week prior, a 6.3-…
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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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