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With a midwife’s help, quadruplets are safely delivered in remote Afghanistan
Afghanistan
It was midnight in the remote Afghan village of Balakoh, and 37-year-old Zainab was entering her tenth hour of labour in her mountainside home. With no skilled birth attendant present and her pain steadily increasing,…
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Door-to-door service: Home visits help fight gender-based violence in conflict-impacted eastern Ukraine
Ukraine
“I don’t remember the first time my husband beat me,” says Iryna, age 33. “Only the pain, shame and tears.” But she remembers the last time. As the now two-year old conflict in eastern Ukraine raged on, the already…
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Improving access to family planning in Haiti amidst the threat of Zika virus
Haiti
Reaching the health clinic closest to Baie D’Orange, a remote, landlocked town in the southeast of Haiti, requires walking two hours over poor roads to the town of Seguin. As a result, women and girls living in this…
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Midwives on the frontlines of fighting maternal death in Somalia
Somalia
Maymuum's mother died giving birth. Today, newly graduated midwife Maymuun provides lifesaving care to other pregnant women and newborns in Somalia.
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Pregnant in a city under siege: Yemeni refugees find safety and maternal services in Djibouti
Djibouti, Yemen
Four months pregnant and living amidst constant shelling and airstrikes, Jamila decided she had to flee her home in Taizz City, Yemen. “To leave everything behind and flee, not only for your own life, but for the life…
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Investing in girls: Cash incentives help promote gender equality in India
India
“I am getting financial support for my education from the government, whereas my brother, who is studying in the same school as me, is not eligible for that,” says Guneet*, an adolescent girl currently enrolled in…
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Women widowed by ISIL find hope and support in Iraq
Iraq
Nadyia had to make a decision. Shortly after members of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) seized control of Tall Afar, in north-western Iraq, she says the militants forcibly removed her…
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How the response to Nepal’s earthquake strengthened resources for the nation’s most vulnerable women
Nepal
Three days after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated Nepal on 25 April, 2015, forced her to leave her damaged home, Sabina Rimal, age 25, received an unexpected email.
It was an email that ended up not…
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Dispatches from the road: UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Ashley Judd describes visiting refugees in Jordan
Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic
Video and written excerpts from UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Ashley Judd's written and video diaries about her mission trip to visit Syrian refugees in Jordan.
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Spreading the word: Youth educators provide sexual and reproductive health outreach in Honduras
Honduras
A quiet student approaches a nondescript wooden box and casually slips in a folded piece of paper. On it is scrawled a burning question. “Can contraceptive pills cause infertility?” As the day goes on, the scenario…
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Two years since the Chibok girls’ abduction: Providing support for women and girls surviving Boko Haram
Nigeria
Two years ago on 14 April, Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from their dormitory beds at a secondary school in Chibok, Nigeria. Yesterday, on the two-year anniversary of their disappearance, a video surfaced showing 15 of…
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Transforming lives by improving access to fistula repair in Nepal
Nepal
When Rita Devi Chaudhary gave birth to her first child, at age 23, a small, congenital fistula that had caused her mild discomfort since age 10 tore into a much larger injury. As a result, like many of the 2 million…
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