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Cursed no more – women in western Ethiopia reject childbirth alone in the bush
Ethiopia
Three times, Abebech Kabla has given birth alone in the woods. Each time, she thought she might die. The first time, she was only 13 years old, a year into her marriage. “Even after giving birth, I didn't go back…
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“I thought I might die”: Pregnant women struggle to access care in embattled Syria
Syrian Arab Republic
Ruqayya was pregnant when she fled the embattled city of Deir ez-Zor, in north-eastern Syria, with her husband and two young children. The family took refuge in Al-Areesheh camp, in Al-Hasakah Governorate – but Ruqayya’…
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Yemen’s deadly cholera outbreak puts pregnant women in danger
Yemen
The cholera outbreak in Yemen is spreading at an unprecedented rate, with suspected cases of acute, watery diarrhoea increasing by an average of 5,000 every day, and nearly one person dying every hour, according…
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To end violence against women, Cambodian project teaches healthy relationships
Cambodia
Women in Cambodia’s Kampong Cham Province are no strangers to violence. A staggering 33 per cent of women in the province have experienced physical violence since age 15, a 2014 survey revealed . Statistics for the…
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Youth offer solutions to global problems, if leaders take action now
Uganda
Today, the world faces daunting challenges, from persistent poverty to entrenched inequalities. Yet one key solution is just over the horizon, if countries and leaders take action now.
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After devastating birth injuries, 33 women’s lives transformed
Cameroon
Amina was married when she was just a child . Soon after, she became pregnant, and, at only 13 years old, she went into labour. As is the case with many girls her age, Amina’s body was not mature enough to bear a child…
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Leaders around the world commit support for voluntary family planning
Uganda
Kate Opio, 33, was buoyant, cuddling one of her newborn twins in the maternity ward at Inomo health centre, in Uganda’s Apac District. The other twin slept peacefully beside them. But this lovely moment, Ms. Opio’s…
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In Bangladesh’s tea gardens, saving mothers and newborns
Bangladesh
When labour pains started for Anjana, 20, she had no idea her life was at stake. She was 36 weeks into her first pregnancy, and felt contractions for a full day before her family called for the midwife. By then, she was…
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To secure a better future, teens in Sierra Leone look to family planning
Sierra Leone
When Aminata Kabba became pregnant last year, at 15 years old, she had no idea how difficult her life would become. “Having a child at my age was a big mistake,” she said. Becoming a mother has disrupted her education…
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Workplace family planning project empowers women, and is good business
Philippines
Seven months ago, Mae Esparcia, 30, gave birth to her first child, Maria Carmen. After her delivery, Ms. Esparcia, a garments factory worker at Hamlin Industrial Corp. in Cavite, Philippines, decided to start using…
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Violence in Marawi displaces thousands of pregnant women and new mothers
Philippines
Nineteen-year-old Tarhata Mostare gave birth to her third child at home on 23 May – the same day fighting erupted between government forces and the Maute and Abu Sayyaf armed groups in the city of Marawi, on the long-…
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One year after Ebola’s end, Sierra Leone's midwives help mend health system
Sierra Leone
The horrific Ebola outbreak in West Africa came to an end one year ago. The crisis left over 3,900 Sierra Leoneans dead and health systems in disarray – yet the true toll of the epidemic has been even higher.
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