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African presidents urge investment in youth as continent sees rare demographic opportunity
Burkina Faso
Presidents, ministers, and United Nations and World Bank officials met yesterday at UN Headquarters in New York to strengthen their commitments to the young people of Africa. The continent is undergoing a seismic shift…
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World leaders adopt ground-breaking plan to address refugee and migrant crisis
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Global leaders broke new ground today with a historic agreement that “rallies all partners around collective commitments to protect the human rights of all refugees and migrants,” said United…
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As displacements soar, Juba’s burdened clinics improvise to keep childbirth safe
South Sudan
Since the July outbreak of in violence , UN-protected camps in South Sudan’s capital have seen a spike in displaced people seeking shelter. The surge has compounded demands at the camps’ already heavily burdened health…
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Young people take the lead against Zika in Brazil
Brazil
Young people are taking the lead against Zika in the slums and favelas of Brazil, where poor sanitation has led to a proliferation of mosquito-borne illnesses, including dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus. "The…
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Refugees’ and migrants’ reproductive health needs overlooked
As world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, they will set out to address some of the greatest catastrophes in a generation: grinding conflicts that have set whole populations adrift,…
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The first rule of the married girls’ club is: empower girls
Ethiopia
Fatuma was married off five years ago, when she was just 13. Like most girls from the remote Afar Region of Ethiopia, she had undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) when she was just a baby, and it was expected that…
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Refugee mother and daughter fight rocketing rates of child marriage
Jordan
“A girl I know from school here in the camp got married last year when she was 15,” Saba, 16, told UNFPA. Saba encouraged her friend to delay pregnancy until her body was more mature. But the pressure to have a child…
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“One-stop shop” brings life-saving HIV care, reproductive health to Botswana’s women
Botswana
When Rose Matuulane was pregnant five years ago, she had to wait for a nurse to visit her small village, Otse, to provide antenatal check-ups. When the nurse could not make it, Ms. Matuulane had to travel 84 km to the…
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Flood relief in Myanmar includes family planning supplies
Myanmar
Monsoon floods are an annual hazard for Phoo Ngun’s family. Although their bamboo home stands on tall stilts, the kitchen has been submerged in rainwater. Ms. Phoo Ngun, 31, has set up a makeshift cooking area in their…
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Once frowned on, family planning offers a lifeline in South Sudan
South Sudan
Life is harsh in the northern city of Malakal. Once a vibrant commercial hub, much of Malakal is now a ghost town, its residents crammed into a protection camp on the city’s outskirts. Even there, safety is not assured…
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Giving birth amid Boko Haram insurgency; UNFPA reaching millions with care
Nigeria
Zarah Bunu was just a teenager when she was forced to flee her home in north-eastern Nigeria in 2014. The steady drumbeat of fear and violence caused by the Boko Haram insurgency pushed her and millions of others into…
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Haitian women felled by preventable cancer; simple test to save lives
Haiti
Midwife Amoin Soulemane is running late for her appointment. With the consent of her patient, a 48-year-old woman, Ms. Soulemane quickly ushers her guests into the consultation. They will be observing a cervical cancer…
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