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Young people call for education, health care, rights – and politicians are listening
Liberia
Life is not often easy for Liberia’s young people. It has been 14 years since the end of a brutal civil war, but in many ways communities are still reeling. Poverty is rampant, school enrolment rates are low and…
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Investments in male condoms save lives, make economic gains for countries
UNITED NATIONS, New York - Increasing investments in procuring and distributing male condoms provides a significant economic returns for countries with scarce resources, a new study finds. The study, written by experts…
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This Mother’s Day, remembering the joys – and dangers – of motherhood
Syrian Arab Republic
Motherhood should be a time of joy, but for too many women, it comes with something else: peril.
"Becoming a mother and having a family was always a dream of mine. But I never expected it to happen…
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New survey shows violence against women widespread in Indonesia
Indonesia
Dita* never imagined that she would be a single mother at the age of 33. But after enduring 10 years of an abusive marriage, she found herself alone and struggling to raise two children.
Her husband had…
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Midwives offer care, dignity and a lifeline for Haiti's mothers
Haiti
Elizabeth was exhausted after hours of contractions at the Petite Place Cazeau clinic, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Finally, with gentle guidance from the midwife, she gave one last push. Stifled cries filled the delivery…
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To reduce maternal deaths, look to midwives
Rwanda
“Mothers and babies lose their lives due to complications that could have been prevented,” Burcard Umuhoza, 28, told UNFPA in a frank conversation about the trials he faces as a midwife in Rwanda’s Gisenyi District…
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Heroic midwives save lives amid Syria’s chaos
Syrian Arab Republic, Türkiye
Midwife Shatha Al Mostafa started her career at the most difficult time possible – amid the escalating violence, insecurity and human rights abuses in her home country, Syria. Since graduating from midwifery school two…
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South Sudan clashes force pregnant women into the bush, over the border
South Sudan, Uganda
Nine mothers stood in a single-file line, cuddling their newborn babies, in a refugee reception centre in northern Uganda. Visibly exhausted and anxious, each had a story to tell about being heavily pregnant, nearing…
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With bicycles, impoverished indigenous girls in Guatemala get a taste of freedom
Guatemala
Like many girls in Pecajbá, in Guatemala, Gladys Azucena Cho Cuc was forced to drop out when she reached secondary school. The high school was simply too far from home. In rural communities around here, girls travel an…
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Study shows meeting adolescents’ health needs would yield tenfold return
A study published today in The Lancet shows that improving the physical, mental and sexual health of adolescents, at a cost of about $4.60 per person per year, would yield more than 10 times as much in benefits to…
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Taekwondo champion fights gender inequality in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
“As you know, in this society, we have problems with equality between men and women,” said Farida Azizova, a 21-year-old taekwondo champion from Azerbaijan. She knows all too well the barriers women face. “I would say…
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Sexuality education offers life-saving lessons to Zambia’s young people
Zambia
“I have seen girls become pregnant, become victims of violence and become HIV-positive, and I don't want to become one of those girls,” said 13-year-old Lydia Mwelwa, a student at Kabulonga Basic School in Lusaka,…
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