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Alarming shortage of health personnel in conflict-affected Nigeria
Nigeria
Retired but not tired. This is how people describe Hauwa Lassa, a nurse and midwife who came out of retirement to care for women and girls affected by the conflict in north-eastern Nigeria. “I have been working in the…
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Nepal floods put pregnant women and new mothers at risk
Nepal
Devastating floods have caused widespread displacement and destruction in southern Nepal, a disaster that has put pregnant women, post-partum mothers and other vulnerable women and girls at serious risk.
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Men in rural Ethiopia show that family planning is not just a women’s issue
Ethiopia
Sileshi Deguale said it was last year that he made the biggest decision of his life, a choice that would help his wife regain her health by protecting her from unplanned pregnancies – he got a vasectomy.
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Girls' voices essential in Philippines campaign against teen pregnancy
Philippines
“I want to be a doctor someday,” said Shaina Macmac, 16, a senior at the WPU-Agricultural Science High School in Palawan, a southwestern province of the Philippines. “Aspirations in life drive young girls like me to…
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Over 10,000 women and girls reached in disaster-affected Peru
Peru
Flooding and heavy rains on the northern coast of Peru caused widespread displacement and damage between February and April. Over a million people were affected and a state of emergency was declared.
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Shattering five myths about sexual violence in emergencies
Common misconceptions about gender-based violence end up stigmatizing survivors and undermining efforts to keep people safe. World Humanitarian Day is an opportunity to recognize that the world’s humanitarian…
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Mobile clinics deliver essential care to women and girls in remote Haiti
Haiti
Delicate and petite, Nélia is 25 but looks like a teenager. She has already been pregnant three times, and has endured more than her share of tragedy. She lives in Pichon, a remote community in Belle-Anse, where the…
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For many girls, school holidays means FGM “cutting season”
Somalia
Asha Ali Ibrahim, 41, has been performing female genital mutilation (FGM) on girls in Diaami, Hargeisa, and other parts of Somalia since 1997. July and August are her busiest months of the year. “This is the peak season…
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Tens of thousands of girls reached through Mozambique empowerment programme
Mozambique
“Some adolescent girls will leave school to marry for money,” 21-year-old Edma told UNFPA. “Some are engaging in unsafe sexual behaviours, unaware of the risks and their rights.” Edma sees these realities every day. And…
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Teen pregnancies, and attendant health risks, a major concern in El Salvador
El Salvador
“I could have died the day my son was born,” said Evelyn*, who became pregnant when she was only 13. Her pregnancy was complicated, and she spent most of the time bedridden and in constant discomfort.
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Midwifery hotline offers emergency support in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
“It was seven in the morning, and I had not yet started my working day, when Hafsa* was brought to the clinic with normal labour pains,” said Mahbooba, a midwife in Afghanistan. Everything seemed fine until the new…
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Contraceptives reach rural women through pioneering system
Myanmar
Nan Aye Aye Lwin walked for three hours to reach the Nam Khoke Rural Health Centre. When she arrived, in the late afternoon, the anxiety was apparent on her face.
She has two children, she told the clinic…