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Ukraine crisis rooms, created for survivors of domestic violence, now house survivors of war
Ukraine
They are called “crisis rooms”: temporary accommodation for women and their children, with a kitchen, furniture, utensils and food, operated by local social welfare centres. This network of safe spaces was created to…
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8 myths about unintended pregnancy debunked
Half. That is the alarmingly high proportion of pregnancies that girls and women do not deliberately choose.
The neglected crisis of unintended pregnancy is the subject of UNFPA’s flagship 2022 State of…
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UNFPA and WFP join forces to meet soaring reproductive health and nutrition needs in southern Madagascar
Japan, Madagascar
Just weeks away from delivering her fifth child, Homoroe Haova, 33, looked down at her stomach and smiled, reassured she could give birth safely as well as feed her children in the coming weeks.
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Empowering and investing in midwives could save millions of lives each year
“My great-grandmother was a midwife,” said Erika Martinez, 23. “She was one of my biggest inspirations.”
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5 things to know about motherhood
Celebrated around the world throughout the year, Mother’s Day is exactly that: celebratory. But for some women, motherhood can be fraught. Women have become mothers below ground in wartime (Ukraine), under bridges after…
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War in Ukraine shocks global food supply, putting lives at risk
Ukraine, Yemen
At 16, Thekra Obied was one more mouth to feed in her impoverished family, so they married her off to Ahmed, a wood collector 15 years older. At 19, she became pregnant with their first child, but they could barely…
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One woman’s winning idea in taking climate action harnesses the power of the sun
As a girl, Agnes Kimweri would visit her village’s sole medical dispensary in Tanzania and see a steady stream of motorcycles emitting noxious fumes dropping off patients. When she grew up, “I realized that the…
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Women and girls in South Sudan battle mounting sexual violence amid conflict and climate crises
South Sudan
An estimated 2.6 million people in South Sudan are at risk of gender-based violence in 2022, an alarming 25 per cent increase on 2021 estimates. Nearly 40 per cent of women and girls reported having to avoid essential…
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Hope on wheels: Emergency maternal health units reach farthest corners of the Philippines
Philippines
Typhoon Rai demolished hundreds of thousands homes across the Philippines, splintering trees and forcing residents to run for their lives. Nearly four months on, many are still without stable housing or access to food…
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Risk of sexual violence, unintended pregnancy soars in crisis settings, new report highlights
South Sudan
UNITED NATIONS, New York/JUBA, South Sudan – Globally, an estimated half of all pregnancies are unintended, a recent UNFPA report highlights. But during a humanitarian crisis, the conditions that erode women’s ability…
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A 72-year-old refugee from Ukraine tells of a life left torn apart by war
Ukraine
In the midst of Russia’s bombardment of her hometown of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, 72-year-old Valentina Ejova made a decision that would divide her life into before and after. Over the course of a few hours, she…
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In her words: A heavy monsoon, a flooded hospital and twins on the way. A midwife’s story in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Shakila Parvin has been a UNFPA-trained midwife in the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar since 2019. In Bangladesh, obstetric care during delivery by medically trained providers, which contributes to reducing maternal and…
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