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Equal opportunities for girls with intellectual disabilities in Ukraine
Ukraine
Many societies fail to equip persons with disabilities with even the information and communication skills necessary to allow persons with disabilities to address their vulnerabilities, needs, desires and experiences. …
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Training midwives in Madagascar to bridge a dangerous gap in maternal health care
Madagascar
“It wasn’t until I stood alongside my classmates in the delivery room, encouraging an anxious mother-to-be as she gave birth to a little baby boy, that I realised just how valuable this work can be.”
A critical…
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Reclaiming bodily autonomy for persons with disabilities in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
“All women, regardless of disability, have the right to decide whether to have a child, how many children to have, and how often,” said Lyazzat Kaltayeva, Chairperson of the Shyrak Association of Women with Disabilities…
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Drones to transport maternal health medicines to rural Benin
Benin
COTONOU, Benin – When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Benin on 16 March 2020, authorities knew the virus posed a dire threat to other health priorities – especially maternal and newborn health. The health system faced…
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India is fighting rising online harassment in the workplace
India
When the world went into pandemic-induced lockdown, those fortunate enough to keep their jobs and work from home turned to virtual platforms to conduct business with supervisors and team members. But with the spike in…
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Mobile health teams: On the road saving lives in Afghanistan’s most remote areas
Afghanistan
NANGARHAR, Afghanistan – At just one year old, Shahpirai’s son was suffering from severe malnutrition. Yet without the means or available facilities for him to receive proper health care, his mother could only hope he…
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In post-quake Haiti, rebuilding lives and welcoming new ones
Haiti
On the grounds of the Hôpital de Référence Communautaire de l’Asile in the southwest, Désir Murielle rests in a tent steps from hunks of twisted, fissured metal that once was the hospital’s maternity wing with her…
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Female village head in China changes rules to empower women
ANFEITANG, China – Yuan Qing’s father passed away when she was 5 years old. When her mother remarried and moved to another village, Ms. Yuan was raised by her aunt. In their small village in the Anhui Province,…
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Married at 12; a single mother at 16 in Yemen
Yemen
At 16, Ghada* was illiterate, with no work experience, no job prospects – and the mother of three children.
One of seven children herself, she had been married off at 12 years old by her father, a farm…
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Changing perceptions to end a harmful tradition in northern Iraq
Iraq
SULAYMANIYAH, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – “Come with me, we need to go to the bakery, my mother told me one morning. That day, I experienced fear, deception and excruciating pain. I was only seven,” Dania* explained…
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Commitment to supporting childbirth amid Afghanistan’s deteriorating security situation
Afghanistan
DAIKUNDI, Afghanistan – As the security situation deteriorated in Afghanistan in recent weeks, the delivery of reproductive health services, including safe childbirth, was seriously affected. Najaba, 36, experienced…
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For breast cancer survivors and supporters in Palestine, a chance to come together
Palestine, State of
When Bahia was diagnosed with breast cancer, she had to contend not only with a frightening disease but also with a social stigma that left her feeling rejected and isolated. “I was bullied by my own community. They…
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