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Leaders at United Nations address sexual violence as a weapon of war
Iraq, Nigeria
“Our girls were not born to be sexual slaves. Each one of them had a dream or goal for future,” Zina Salim Hassan, a 21-year-old Yazidi advocate, told UNFPA ahead of an United Nations event focusing on the use of…
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UNFPA aid reaches Deir Ez-Zor City for the first time in three years
Syrian Arab Republic
For the first time in three years, UNFPA has been able to send aid to the city of Deir Ez-Zor, where tens of thousands of people are in urgent need. Relief was provided through a humanitarian convoy organized and…
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Flooding, mudslides leave communities devastated, pregnant women in need
Sierra Leone
“I saw the rocks from the hill fly up into the air,” Martha Kamara, 28, told UNFPA, describing the floods and landslides that devastated 13 areas in Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, last month.
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As Rohingya refugees pour into Bangladesh, UNFPA deploys midwives, safe spaces
Bangladesh
An “unprecedented” flow of Rohingya refugees is crossing the border into Bangladesh, with an estimated 370,000 people pouring across the border since 25 August to escape the latest violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
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UNFPA responds as entire population of Barbuda evacuated following Hurricane Irma
Antigua and Barbuda
Hurricane Irma, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, has destroyed almost all critical facilities in Barbuda, forcing the evacuation of the entire population to Antigua.
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Escape at dawn: running away from child marriage and FGM in Kenya
Kenya
I woke up one morning, and my father told me that we were poor and needed money,” said Faith Kiraison, describing the moment she learned she was engaged. She was 11 years old at the time. Her father explained that an…
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“I decide for myself”: South Sudanese woman shows the power of knowledge
South Sudan
Elizabeth Ayumpou Balang is a teacher at a nursery and primary school in Rumbek, a town in central South Sudan. It is her dream job, but it did not come easily. Like many girls in South Sudan, Ms. Balang was married,…
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Violence, fear limit access to pregnancy care in Democratic Republic of Congo's Kasai area
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Jacqueline Lusambo is 18 and pregnant, and has spent the last six months living in the bush, hiding from the conflict that rages through Kasai Central, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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Nepal floods put pregnant women and new mothers at risk
Nepal
Devastating floods have caused widespread displacement and destruction in southern Nepal, a disaster that has put pregnant women, post-partum mothers and other vulnerable women and girls at serious risk.
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Alarming shortage of health personnel in conflict-affected Nigeria
Nigeria
Retired but not tired. This is how people describe Hauwa Lassa, a nurse and midwife who came out of retirement to care for women and girls affected by the conflict in north-eastern Nigeria. “I have been working in the…
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Men in rural Ethiopia show that family planning is not just a women’s issue
Ethiopia
Sileshi Deguale said it was last year that he made the biggest decision of his life, a choice that would help his wife regain her health by protecting her from unplanned pregnancies – he got a vasectomy.
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Girls' voices essential in Philippines campaign against teen pregnancy
Philippines
“I want to be a doctor someday,” said Shaina Macmac, 16, a senior at the WPU-Agricultural Science High School in Palawan, a southwestern province of the Philippines. “Aspirations in life drive young girls like me to…
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