News story
In Somalia, 100 mothers pledge not to subject daughters to female genital mutilation
Somalia
When Halima* was eight, she underwent female genital mutilation under the blade of her mother, a traditional birth attendant (TBA). “The procedure was painful, with no anaesthesia. I bled for days,” she recalled. “I was…
Read story
News story
Women refugees bear the brunt of Ethiopia’s forgotten crisis in Gambella
Ethiopia
Nyabel fled to Ethiopia more than five years ago from Nasir in the Upper Nile state of South Sudan, after conflict broke out in 2013 and displaced some 1.5 million people. She arrived at the camp with little more than…
Read story
News story
For gender-based violence survivors in Palestine, a little assistance goes a long way
Palestine, State of
After receiving psychosocial and well-being services at the UNFPA-supported women and girls’ safe space for gender-based violence survivors in Nablus, women may leave with vocational training experience to help them…
Read story
News story
Fighting for justice against gender-based violence in Madagascar
Madagascar
Cases of gender-based violence, including rape, are tragically common in Madagascar: over 14 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, and one women in four have been subjected…
Read story
News story
A fresh start for women sanitation workers in India
India
The UNFPA-supported Women’s Mechanized Cleaning Cooperative in India was launched in October 2021 to help eliminate the degrading and hazardous practice of manual cleaning of public sewer systems in India. Women…
Read story
News story
In this refugee camp, midwives have delivered over 14,000 babies with zero maternal deaths
Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic
"I consider all the children as my own, because I was there for them when their eyes saw light for the first time," said Ammoun Kitabi, a midwife working in the camp.
Read story
News story
Game-changing app tracks essential family planning supplies in Kenya
Kenya
ISIOLO, Kenya – As a frontline health-care worker at Isiolo County referral hospital, Denis Mutirithia has a critical role in saving lives – and a new digital tool to help him do so. The pharmaceutical technologist is…
Read story
News story
Adolescents with questions find answers via live-streamed sexuality education in China
China
An innovative eight-session live-streamed course on comprehensive sexuality education covers a range of topics that adolescents everywhere want to know about.
Read story
News story
In Pakistan’s remote areas, midwives ensure care beyond safe birth
Pakistan
During the pandemic, 24-year-old Seema moved to Koohi Goth, an urban slum on the outskirts of Pakistan’s largest city, to be closer to her parents. She had three daughters, the youngest of whom died as a newborn because…
Read story
News story
Emergency help is a phone call away for midwives in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Kabul, AFGHANISTAN – One evening in August, Firoza, a 34-year-old mother of five, was rushed from her village of Chesht-Sherat in Herat Province to a UNFPA-supported Family Health House. She was in labour but had…
Read story
News story
2021: A look back at a year of assistance amidst adversity
A look back at some of the year's photos, reminders of the everyday but extraordinary heroism shown by those working to secure the health and rights of their community, and a glimpse what we have to look forward to.
Read story
News story
Mobile health units are saving lives in Libya
Libya
Rahma was delivering at home when complications arose: obstructed labour, internal bleeding and low haemoglobin levels. The 18-year-old, a migrant from Niger, was rushed to a mobile health unit in Ghat, where after…
Read story