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“They have to fight”: People of African descent face deadly, systemic racism and sexism in health sectors across the Americas, UNFPA reports
Costa Rica
TALAMANCA, Costa Rica/UNITED NATIONS, New York – “When I’m working in the gynaecology area and I see an Afrodescendent person, I feel concerned. Because I know that they wouldn’t come in unless they were feeling very…
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How UNFPA is engaging men and boys to shift damaging attitudes and further gender equality
Azerbaijan, Viet Nam
BAKU, Azerbaijan/BAC GIANG, Viet Nam – For many people, finding out their baby’s birth sex is a cause for celebration – revealing the son or daughter they always dreamed of having. For others, it can be a source of…
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As drought and floods threaten millions in Ethiopia, midwives are a lifeline for pregnant women and newborns
Ethiopia
DUDUMACAD, Ethiopia – “Saving the life of this baby was a miracle and a blessing for my family. I am immensely grateful,” said Amino Bashir, 25, as she held her newborn.
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The threads that bind: How bilum-weaving in Papua New Guinea tells stories from the lives of women and girls
Papua New Guinea
GOROKA, Papua New Guinea – ”The bilum is woven by women. The fibre is twisted by women. The designs are created by women; so when you talk about bilum, it’s a woman’s thing,” says bilum weaver Florence Jaukae Kame
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“I want my baby safe, this is all I need.” Supporting women and girls in Myanmar after Cyclone Mocha tears a path of destruction
RAKHINE STATE, Myanmar – “We need more health-care services and facilities in operation. I want my baby safe, this is all I need.” Nan Nwe, 40, is pregnant and newly displaced in Sittwe, in Myanmar’s cyclone-battered…
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In Port Sudan, UNFPA helps ensure safe birth for women and girls fleeing violence in Khartoum
Sudan
PORT SUDAN, Sudan – “I lost everything in the war. I did not want to lose my unborn child too.” At nine months pregnant, Omnia* left her home and everything she knew behind to escape the violent conflict engulfing Sudan…
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Bonded for life: A UNFPA-supported midwifery student in Gaza delivers her own baby sister
Palestine, State of
GAZA, Palestine – It all happened so fast. One minute, Raneen – then a 23-year-old midwifery student – was noting the beginning of her mother’s labour pains; the next, she was helping deliver her own baby sister.
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“A fight against oblivion”: How Colombia empowers communities to combat conflict-related sexual violence
Colombia
UNITED NATIONS, New York – “There are many women who have been raped, mistreated by armed actors or by society itself,” said Pastora, an indigenous woman from the Nasa community in Colombia.
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“Sanad is their lifeline”: Inside a UNFPA safe space in Egypt supporting women fleeing conflict in Sudan
Egypt, Sudan
CAIRO, Egypt – “There were dead bodies laying on the streets. I had to cover my six-year-old’s eyes so he didn’t see,” said Sudanese mother-of-six Hanaa Yassin.
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“My life completely changed”: Treating bodies, minds and lives affected by obstetric fistula in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau – “I didn't know what obstetric fistula was, let alone that it could be treated,” says 33-year-old mother-of-two Maria.
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Midwives in Bangladesh bring hope to survivors of Cyclone Mocha in world’s largest refugee camp
Bangladesh
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – Khadija*, 21, lives in a displacement camp for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. A trained midwife, she knew all too well the danger she could face as she went into labour at home…
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How UNFPA helps elderly Venezuelan migrants and refugees envision their future in Brazil
Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
BOA VISTA, Brazil – “I had a house, a car, everything I needed. When the economic crisis started, everything came crashing down,” said 70-year-old widow Alegria Campos.
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