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The time is now: A call to end female genital mutilation, child marriage and son selection by 2030
India, Kenya
“When I was 12-years old, my family organized a ceremony to transition my sisters and myself to become women,” says Kakenya Ntaiya, a member of Kenya’s Maasai ethnic group. “I was first because I was the oldest. I was…
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Global leaders launch a new programme to support women in conflict zones
“When there is armed conflict, it is often more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier,” said Susana Camarero Benitez, Spain’s Secretary of State for Equality and Social Services, during an event launching a new global…
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Honour roll: Child brides return to school in Niger
Niger
When Fati was 12-years old, her father removed her from school in Niamey and sent her to Nigeria to marry a 40-year-old man. A year later, she was hospitalized with injuries inflicted by her new husband. It took several…
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UNFPA saves over $750K in 2015 by increasing use of quality assured generics contraceptives
This reports shows the savings gained in 2015 from purchasing generic RH medicines.
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5000th baby born at a UNFPA-supported clinic for refugees in Jordan
Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic
When Mohammad and Kholoud Suliman were told that their infant daughter was the 5000th baby born at the UNFPA-supported women’s clinic in Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp, they immediately knew how they would mark the…
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Passage to change: Empowering adolescent girls this International Women’s Day
India
In India, 47 percent of women age 20-24 married before the age of 18. In rural, tribal regions of Udaipur district, the rate of child marriage is 56 per cent. Few of the region’s girls are enrolled in school, and most…
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Rebuilding Nepal: Youth take the lead in post-earthquake sexual and reproductive health outreach
Nepal
“I was unaware of the fact that young people have the right to decide freely on matters related to their sexuality and that sexual and reproductive rights are basic human rights,” said Barun Kuinkel, age 17, after…
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On the move: A new mobile clinic reaches refugee women in the Balkans
North Macedonia
On a bleak, cold day in late February, hundreds of refugees, bundled in winter coats and carrying bulging bags and baskets, stream into the Tebanovce transit centre, stationed on the border between the former Yugoslav…
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Zika outbreak: Ensuring that sexual and reproductive health services are part of the response
Brazil
Daniela Souza Batista, age 32, was in her third month of pregnancy when she first noticed she had symptoms of Zika virus. It was late spring 2015, early in the Zika outbreak and months before the possible link between…
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Zika virus: Frequently asked questions
In early 2016, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of Zika virus an international public health emergency. Currently, UNFPA is helping lead global efforts to promote widespread information…
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The chain of hope: Treating obstetric fistula in Cameroon
Cameroon
Due to complications during the birth of her 11th child, Zandelé Colette, now 56, underwent an emergency caesarean section. However, the procedure occurred too late to save the child, who died shortly after birth, and,…
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UNFPA and The Guardian present the first pan-African award for reporting on female genital mutilation
Kenya
“My father forced me to get married to an older man almost his age. The old man gave him 20 cows. I tried to run away from that old man, but my father warned me that he would beat me to death if he was forced to return…
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