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In Port Sudan, UNFPA helps ensure safe birth for women and girls fleeing violence in Khartoum
Sudan
PORT SUDAN, Sudan – “I lost everything in the war. I did not want to lose my unborn child too.” At nine months pregnant, Omnia* left her home and everything she knew behind to escape the violent conflict engulfing Sudan…
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Bonded for life: A UNFPA-supported midwifery student in Gaza delivers her own baby sister
Palestine, State of
GAZA, Palestine – It all happened so fast. One minute, Raneen – then a 23-year-old midwifery student – was noting the beginning of her mother’s labour pains; the next, she was helping deliver her own baby sister.
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“A fight against oblivion”: How Colombia empowers communities to combat conflict-related sexual violence
Colombia
UNITED NATIONS, New York – “There are many women who have been raped, mistreated by armed actors or by society itself,” said Pastora, an indigenous woman from the Nasa community in Colombia.
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“Sanad is their lifeline”: Inside a UNFPA safe space in Egypt supporting women fleeing conflict in Sudan
Egypt, Sudan
CAIRO, Egypt – “There were dead bodies laying on the streets. I had to cover my six-year-old’s eyes so he didn’t see,” said Sudanese mother-of-six Hanaa Yassin.
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“My life completely changed”: Treating bodies, minds and lives affected by obstetric fistula in Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau – “I didn't know what obstetric fistula was, let alone that it could be treated,” says 33-year-old mother-of-two Maria.
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Midwives in Bangladesh bring hope to survivors of Cyclone Mocha in world’s largest refugee camp
Bangladesh
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – Khadija*, 21, lives in a displacement camp for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. A trained midwife, she knew all too well the danger she could face as she went into labour at home…
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How UNFPA helps elderly Venezuelan migrants and refugees envision their future in Brazil
Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
BOA VISTA, Brazil – “I had a house, a car, everything I needed. When the economic crisis started, everything came crashing down,” said 70-year-old widow Alegria Campos.
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In Angola, young people help shatter the stigma around comprehensive sexuality education
Angola
LUANDA, Angola – Silvia Francisco, 31, was struggling with a dilemma. She was concerned about a family member who wasn’t seeking the medical treatment she urgently needed, because she feared being ostracized if anyone…
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Lives of pregnant women and newborns at risk in Sudan as hospitals run out of fuel
Sudan
KHARTOUM, Sudan – “We are running out of fuel. If the electricity cuts persist, we don’t know how we will be able to assist pregnant women giving birth a week from now,” said Sarah, a midwife at the Ombada Hospital in…
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“We are making a difference”: Advocating against period poverty and female genital mutilation in The Gambia
The Gambia
BASSE, The Gambia – “When a girl starts to menstruate, that's when the problems usually start,” said Ndeye Rose Sarr, UNFPA’s representative in The Gambia.
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Restoring hope, rebuilding lives: A day in the life of a fistula surgeon in Zambia
Zambia
NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCE, Zambia – Around the world, half a million women and girls are thought to be living with obstetric fistula, a serious childbirth injury that can cause incontinence and result in significant…
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Prevention, treatment, reintegration and advocacy: How UNFPA and partners work to end obstetric fistula
Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar
UNITED NATIONS, New York – According to an African proverb, “the sun should not rise or set twice on a labouring woman”.
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