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Five myths – and facts – about contraception
UNITED Nations, New York – Around the world, more people than ever are using modern methods of contraception. The number of users has about doubled since 1990 – a major public health success that has allowed millions of…
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“When girls succeed, entire communities change”: A rural shelter in Kenya giving girls hope beyond female genital mutilation
NAROK COUNTY, Kenya – “Female genital mutilation is carried out in secret, and in some villages in Narok County the rate is as high as 99 per cent,” explains Patrick Ngigi, founder of the community-based organization…
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Amid Sudan’s grinding war, maternity hospital offers a beacon of hope
Sudan
WHITE NILE STATE, Sudan – In the heart of Sudan’s White Nile State, Kosti Maternity Hospital stands as a beacon of hope. This vital facility, a main referral point, supported by UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and…
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Amid displacement and despair in Gaza, glimmers of hope for a better tomorrow
Palestine, State of
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestinian Territory – "My family and I have been displaced more than 18 times,” Riman said last week, shortly before the current ceasefire took effect.
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Midwives in Uganda ramp up action against postpartum bleeding, a leading cause of maternal death
Uganda
KAMPALA, Uganda – In the relentless, high-pressure maternity ward of Kawempe National Referral Hospital, Uganda’s busiest public birthing centre, a quiet revolution is underway. Amid the beeping of machinery and cries…
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“I still want to finish school”: A crisis of reproductive agency for girls in Namibia
Namibia
KUNENE REGION, Namibia – “I should have been in Grade 11 this year,” said 21-year-old Elly Tjondu. “That’s all I want, to go back and finish school.”
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“I had no choice but to deliver my own baby”: Health workers in Gaza city describe impossible conditions
Palestine, State of
GAZA STRIP, Occupied Palestinian Territory – “The labour pains hit me at 4 am, but there was no one to help,” said Yasmeen, a midwife in Gaza city. “I felt it might end with my death, and the death of my unborn baby.”…
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“I don't want to be surprised by another pregnancy”: Contraceptive options offer young people in Côte d’Ivoire a fairer future
Côte d'Ivoire
BOUAKÉ DEPARTMENT, Côte d’Ivoire – Thérèse Kouadio, 18, is the eldest of five siblings from the N'Gattakro district, in Côte d’Ivoire’s central Bouaké Department.
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Holding space for hope: Mobile health teams are a lifeline for survivors of gender-based violence in Hebron
Palestine, State of
HEBRON, Occupied Palestinian Territory – Ayat, 29, is a mother of four and pregnant. She lives in Deir Al Shams, a rural community in southern Hebron where there are no nearby health services, no places for women to…
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Health workers lose support structures and pregnant women die: The reality of funding cuts hits in Yemen
Yemen
HADRAMAUT/HAJJAH/TAI’Z GOVERNORATES, Yemen – “The patient was in her third trimester and arrived with severe bleeding,” said Ms. Akaber, a community midwife from the Ku'aydinah District, in Yemen’s northwestern…
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Contraceptive stocks dwindle in Kenya, affecting most vulnerable women
Kenya
NAROK COUNTY, Kenya – Decades of progress in expanding access to contraception in Kenya could be unravelling, as global funding for contraception plummets. Stocks of many contraceptives are now dwindling in public…
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“Women and girls are traumatized” after earthquake shatters communities in eastern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – When 15-year-old Salma* said goodbye to her mother and siblings to spend the weekend at her grandmother’s house, she had no idea it would be the last time she would see them alive.
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