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Menstruation is not a girls' or women’s issue – it’s a human rights issue
“My periods are a nightmare,” Nyanjuma Galoth, 20, told UNFPA at a civilian protection camp in South Sudan. “They are very painful, and I can’t get any sanitary products.” It is a major source of stress, she said. “The…
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Treatment for traumatic childbirth injury gives new hope to women in Afghanistan
“I saw myself as the living dead,” 50-year-old Laila* told UNFPA. She suffered terribly while giving birth in Pakistan 27 years ago. The prolonged, obstructed labour left her with an obstetric fistula – one of the most…
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Ending obstetric fistula: Devastating and preventable childbirth injury continues to haunt women
Despite her best efforts, the delivery went worse than she could have imagined. Ms. Yakobo ended up with an obstetric fistula – one of the most serious and tragic injuries that can occur during childbirth.
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5 ways female genital mutilation undermines the health of women and girls
Girls and women who undergo FGM face a range of serious health risks – from potentially fatal bleeding to childbirth complications to long-term psychological problems.
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A long road to safety, healing for refugee mothers in Iraq
"I felt the world just stopped and the few minutes that passed felt like an eternity. I couldn’t feel my heart beating anymore and broke into heaving sobs."
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Safe pregnancies for displaced mothers as mobile clinics reach deep into Kachin camps
Anenatal checkups provided by mobile clinics are saving lives of mothers and babies among displaced people in Myanmar.
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In China, women work to raise the status of girls
“Must a girl be of lesser value than a boy?" Wen Xiujuan asked, after having two daughters.
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Reaching pregnant women at risk from conflict in Maguindanao, Philippines
Up to 1,400 pregnant women, 500 of whom are expected to deliver in the next three months, are among the displaced by the fighting.
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No mountain too high: Midwives protect women, save lives
Midwives serve in some of the most remote health posts in the world, saving the lives of women and babies in settings that are often harsh and resource-poor.
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