Gambia: Female Genital Mutilation in Infancy Still Common, Gambian Mothers Say

Hulay Damba, 55, spent years performing female genital mutilation on girls in her community. Her role as a practitioner was passed down from her grandmother. "It was what I was… Read more »

Africa: International Humanitarian Law Flouted As Health and Aid Workers Are Targeted in Conflicts Around the World

Across the world, wars are being waged on the very systems set up to protect civilian populations: Health workers, hospitals, health centres and ambulances are being targeted in… Read more »

South Sudan: The Scars of Gender-Based Violence Run Deep in South Sudan - but So Does the Will to Heal

BAHR EL GHAZAL REGION, South Sudan - Tucked between mango trees in a compound in Wau, a town in the western Bahr el Ghazal region of South Sudan, stands a quiet shelter. On the… Read more »

Chad: Pregnant Refugees in Chad See Faltering Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Amid Funding Crisis

"I arrived at the health center very early this morning for a prenatal appointment, but I've already been waiting for several hours," Amina told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual… Read more »

Somalia: A Chance to Breathe - How Life-Saving Incubators Are Transforming Newborn Care in Somalia

"I didn't know if she would make it." When Faduma Mohamed gave birth to her daughter at Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, the silence that followed was terrifying. Her premature… Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: Lack of Reproductive Rights and Choices Undermines a Generation of Young People in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

GOMA, Democratic Republic of the Congo - "I wanted three children," Ombeni Mburano, 31, told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. "I've already had… Read more »

Sudan: 'As Widespread As Guns and Bullets' - Sexual Violence Used to Terrorize Sudan's Women and Girls

"Every woman and girl here is at risk, no matter her age or background. No one is safe," said Khadija*, a midwife at a maternity clinic in Sudan's eastern Gedaref State. Read more »

Africa: The Fertility Fallacy - Five Things You Didn't Know About Global Fertility Rates

"Do you want kids?" Every day, people around the world ask themselves, and others, this question. But it also begs another: "Do you feel able to have children?" Read more »

Africa: Don't Let the Lights Go Out - UNFPA Urges Support for Women and Girls in the World's Most Neglected Crises

In 2025, as crises multiply and conflicts become increasingly protracted, humanitarian aid budgets are being slashed across the board. Yet in many emergency settings, it is… Read more »

Namibia: The Waiting Game - How a Maternity Home in Namibia Is Offering Women and Newborns a Better Chance At Surviving - and Thriving

Kuliua Maundu, 26, remembers the night seven years ago like it was yesterday. "I was at home when the pain started," she said. "I thought it was just labour, so I tried to sleep,… Read more »

Sudan: After Two Years of War, Has Sudan Failed Its Female Revolutionaries?

"I was scared to see my neighbourhood again after two years of displacement," said Sulaima, 32, who returned to Khartoum at the end of March. "There were bodies everywhere. I saw… Read more »

South Sudan: Women At the Crossroads - Fleeing War in Sudan for an Uncertain Future in South Sudan

Mary Kak is threading beads onto a string, making jewellery she hopes to later sell at a marketplace in Renk, a border town in South Sudan's Upper Nile State. Read more »

Africa: Every Two Minutes a Woman Dies in Pregnancy and Childbirth - Tackling a Global Maternal Health Crisis

An average of 712 women die every day during pregnancy or childbirth - one woman every two minutes - according to a new United Nations report. Released today, this report finds… Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: A Chance Encounter Leads to Critical Maternal Care in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Chance Azina walked slowly along the streets of Goma in North Kivu Province, her body weighed down by the heat at seven months pregnant. Like many others, she was trying to… Read more »

Sudan: 'I Witnessed Unimaginable Horrors' - Sexual Violence Used As Weapon of Terror Against Women and Girls Across Sudan

In late 2024, armed men forced their way into Layla's* home in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, while she was alone with her children. "They arrested my son and took me to a… Read more »

Central African Republic: 'Life Is Dangerous for Women in This Camp' - in the Central African Republic, Survivors of Sexual Violence Lose Critical Support As Funding Is Slashed

"Life is dangerous for women in this camp," said Mariam Zakaria, 32, who recently fled brutal violence and conflict in Sudan, returning to the Central African Republic, her home… Read more »

Central Africa: Giving Birth Under Fire in North Kivu, As Conflict Grips the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo - As fighting intensified in North Kivu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Francine Toyata clutched her pregnant belly,… Read more »

Africa: Explainer - How Does Family Planning Save Lives?

When a war forcibly displaces tens of thousands of people, UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, equips displacement camps and medical personnel with… Read more »

Djibouti: 'The New Generation Is Different' - in Djibouti, Survivors and Allies Lobby to End Female Genital Mutilation

"I still see the knife, and the lady who held me down," said Hawa'a Mohamed Kamil. Now 30, she was subjected to female genital mutilation at just six years old - an experience that… Read more »

Africa: Explainer - What Is UNFPA and Why Does It Matter?

Choosing whether, when and with whom to have a baby. Giving birth safely. Living free of sexual and gender-based violence. These are rights now enshrined in international law, yet… Read more »

Mozambique: 'This Support Gives Us Hope' - a Journey to Motherhood in the Midst of Tropical Cyclone Chido

When Tropical Cyclone Chido tore through northern Mozambique in December 2024, 26-year-old Massiala Agostinho was eight months pregnant with her fifth child. Read more »