Sudan: 'Hope Had No Place in Our Hearts' - UNFPA Mobile Health Teams Treat Pregnant Women Fleeing Violence in Sudan

Under shelling and gunfire, 32-year-old Esraa cradled her newborn son. As the war in Sudan broke out in April 2023, she was trying to reach a health clinic for treatment for her… Read more »

Cote d'Ivoire: 'Bringing Smiles to Mothers and Babies' - Midwives Promote Safe Births At Nimbo Health Centre in Côte d'Ivoire

Entrepreneur Rosine Gnohou was at a prenatal check-up when the midwife she was seeing delivered some concerning news: Her amniotic fluid levels were low. Read more »

Zambia: Child Marriage, HIV and Hunger On the Rise for Women and Girls

"They don't have any food, and the teenagers can become vulnerable," said nurse Suvannah Sinakaaba, in the village of Hakankula in Zambia's Monze District. "HIV rates are quite… Read more »

Cameroon: UNFPA-Supported Tech Innovations Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls in Cameroon, Kenya and Turkmenistan

Technology has transformed people's ability to meet their sexual and reproductive health needs and claim their rights, serving as a gateway to information, revolutionizing… Read more »

Sudan: Sexual Violence and Conflict in Sudan - a War On the Bodies of Women and Girls

Aisha* lost both her parents last year, aged just 17. "I was left alone at home. I couldn't reach out to any of my relatives because the situation was extremely tense," she told… Read more »

Burundi: UNFPA-Supported Surgeries Help Survivors of Obstetric Fistula to Advocate for Others in Burundi

"During my contractions, my mother-in-law and my own mother refused to let me go to the health centre to give birth," Gloriose Mbonimpa told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and… Read more »

Africa: 5 Reasons Why Menstruation Support Is Critical in a Humanitarian Crisis

Every month, nearly 2 billion people menstruate, but gender inequality, poverty and other forms of marginalization mean the world has still not adapted to become period-friendly.… Read more »

Guinea: 'I Suffered a Lot' - How UNFPA Helps Women in Guinea Heal From Obstetric Fistula

"It happened at the hospital. I realized I was leaking urine," fistula survivor Kadiatou Bah told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Read more »

Djibouti: Women Leaders in Djibouti Speak Out Against Gender-Based Violence and Harmful Practices

"There are so many young girls who get pregnant and have hidden, illegal abortions. Young girls are forced into sex work, and many are forced to undergo female genital mutilation." Read more »

Africa: Empowering Women Is Key to Unlocking $12 Trillion in Economic Growth

During the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) in New York, UNFPA hosted an event that brought together global leaders, policymakers and innovators to… Read more »

Madagascar: Hero's Journey - How UNFPA Helps Mothers in Madagascar to Access Emergency Obstetric Care

It was time to leave for the hospital. Samueline Razafindravao had intended to give birth at her home in southern Madagascar, but after encountering difficulties, decided to go to… Read more »

Zambia: How a UNFPA-Supported Shelter Empowers Women and Girls to Break Free From Abuse

"We began our life together from scratch. I was full of life, passion and blind love," says mother-of-three Mwaka*. "Then, later, you find out who the person truly is." Read more »

Africa: Investing in Equality - How Young Women Are Innovating to Improve Their Health, Rights and Lives.

"I lead a team of six amazing women, with specialties from pharmaceutical supply chains to software engineering and digital marketing - our journey so far in empowering young women… Read more »

Mali: Mali Conflict Carries Heavy Toll for Pregnant Women Amid Rising Insecurity

"Many women come here to give birth as a last resort," said Kadiatou Karembé, a midwife at the Sominé Dolo hospital in Sévaré in Mopti, in central Mali.… Read more »

Africa: Somali Survivors of Female Genital Mutilation Advocate to Change Minds - and Lives

"I used to feel fear when it was night time," mother-of-two Nurto Abdi Osman told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Read more »

Tanzania: Champion of Change - How a Tanzanian Youth Activist Is Rallying for Gender Equality in Her Community

"If only we had a community free from gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, child marriage and female genital mutilation, then all girls would be able to achieve their dreams,"… Read more »

Congo-Kinshasa: After Surviving Sexual Violence, Youth Leader Creates Change for Girls With Disabilities

MATADI, Democratic Republic of the Congo - Ngoma* is deaf, so she didn't hear the group of boys as they snuck up behind her on a road in her hometown of Matadi, in the Democratic… Read more »

Ethiopia: Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault in Ethiopia, and Working to Stop Violence Before It Starts

Ayantu* was 14 when she was betrayed by someone society had taught her to trust. Read more »

Sudan: A Glimmer of Hope for Women and Girls As a Sexual and Reproductive Health Clinic Reopens in Sudan's West Darfur State

"I came to the health centre after the fighting calmed down, but I found it destroyed - there were no beds left, no equipment, no supplies," recalled Hiba*, a doctor in the city of… Read more »

Uganda: Men and Boys in Uganda Work to Stop Cycles of Gender-Based Violence

Through his work as a village health team member in Kasese District, Uganda, Timothy Mbene Masereka had become adept at treating community members for illnesses such as malaria and… Read more »

Sudan: Sudan's Women and Girls Endure Six Months of Conflict With No End in Sight

Lubna still remembers the sound of shelling in Khartoum, the capital city of Sudan, six months ago. The 34-year old was, at the time, mother to six children and pregnant. "I was… Read more »

Libya: 'Psychological Wounds Will Take Time to Heal' - Treating Immense Trauma in Derna in the Aftermath of Storm Daniel

"The hospital was overwhelmed with emergency cases and dead bodies," said 29-year-old gynaecologist Dr. Nehal Anwar, who works at a maternity hospital in Derna, a port city on… Read more »