News story
Gender equality as a path to empowerment for refugee women and survivors of sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina
TUZLA, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Jasna* was just 19 years old when war broke out in her home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. In fear for her life, she hid in the basement of a neighbour’s house, near the town…
Read story
News story
“A point of no return”: An urgent call to support women and girls in Haiti
Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – “I gave birth on the ground at the camp with the help of a woman. She is still asking me for money because I couldn't pay her,” 18-year-old Jeanette* told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual…
Read story
News story
“As widespread as guns and bullets”: Sexual violence used to terrorize Sudan’s women and girls
GEDAREF STATE, SUDAN – “Every woman and girl here is at risk, no matter her age or background. No one is safe,” said Khadija*, a midwife at a maternity clinic in Sudan’s eastern Gedaref State.
Read story
News story
The fertility fallacy: Five things you didn’t know about global fertility rates
UNITED NATIONS, New York – “Do you want kids?” Every day, people around the world ask themselves, and others, this question. But it also begs another: “Do you feel able to have children?”
Read story
News story
From natural process to nightmare: How Gaza’s women and girls cope with their periods in a war zone
Palestine, State of
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestinian Territory – “Sometimes I need pads and soap more than I need food,” said Aisha*, a young displaced girl in Gaza, revealing a serious burden too often overlooked in crisis settings –…
Read story
News story
Don’t let the lights go out: UNFPA urges support for women and girls in the world’s most neglected crises
UNITED NATIONS, New York – In 2025, as crises multiply and conflicts become increasingly protracted, humanitarian aid budgets are being slashed across the board. Yet in many emergency settings, it is ordinary people –…
Read story
News story
The waiting game: How a maternity home in Namibia is offering women and newborns a better chance at surviving – and thriving
Namibia
KUNENE REGION, Namibia – Kuliua Maundu, 26, remembers the night seven years ago like it was yesterday. “I was at home when the pain started,” she said. “I thought it was just labour, so I tried to sleep, thinking I…
Read story
News story
As famine looms in Gaza, pregnant women and newborns face life-threatening health risks
Palestine, State of
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestinian Territory – “There’s a severe shortage of food and essential medicines, particularly during this siege,” said a doctor at Al-Awda Hospital, in Gaza’s central Deir Al-Balah governorate. “…
Read story
News story
Front-line midwives: Three reasons to support these humanitarian health workers amid a global funding crisis
New York
UNITED NATIONS, New York – “This week, I assisted 19 deliveries – two of which were life-threatening emergencies,” said Espérance, a midwife at Kyeshero General Hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. “We…
Read story
News story
How health workers in Indonesia are transforming care for survivors of gender-based violence
Indonesia
JAVA/LOMBOK ISLANDS, Indonesia – The districts of Brebes, Lombok Timur and Serang may be geographically distant, but they share a common struggle: The silence surrounding gender-based violence, as stigma and…
Read story
News story
Despite steep funding cuts, heroic teacher determined to keep girls in school and out of child marriage in Yemen
Yemen
HAJJAH GOVERNORATE, Yemen – “I strongly believe that girls impact the family: When a girl is educated, she can teach her sons and daughters,” said Aida Damoom, a 25-year-old teacher in Yemen’s northwestern Hajjah…
Read story
News story
After two years of war, has Sudan failed its female revolutionaries?
Sudan
SUDAN – “I was scared to see my neighbourhood again after two years of displacement,” said Sulaima, 32, who returned to Khartoum at the end of March. “There were bodies everywhere. I saw the body of a child in front of…
Read story