In 2020, UNFPA witnessed the greatest humanitarian crisis since the organization’s creation 52 years ago: the COVID-19 pandemic. This public health catastrophe brought with it socioeconomic, political and human rights crises, doubling the global need for humanitarian assistance from the previous year. Women and girls bore many of the worst impacts. Watch this video to see how UNFPA rose to the challenge. Learn more. 

The world is currently facing an acute shortage of 900,000 midwives, which represents a third of the required global midwifery workforce. The COVID-19 crisis has only exacerbated these problems, with the health needs of women and newborns being overshadowed, midwifery services being disrupted and midwives being deployed to other health services.