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UNFPA responds to gender violence in conflict-scarred Kachin
“Some women are very upset and are not able to immediately explain what has happened,” caseworker Daw Lu Bu explained in Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Kachin State, where she treats survivors of gender-based violence. “I…
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Over 1 million affected by brutal flooding, landslides in Peru
More than 1 million people have been affected by an unprecedented level of flooding, landslides and heavy rains in Peru. Twenty-four out of the country’s 25 departments are grappling with the crisis, including Lima,…
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Traditional leaders stand up to protect youth from HIV, unintended pregnancy
“We have high youth unemployment and high teenage pregnancy,” Mr. Obed, a traditional leader in Shiselweni, Swaziland, told UNFPA. Yet many conservative, rural communities have resisted publicly discussing topics that…
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Cambodian midwives hone skills to save lives
In Cambodia, giving birth is often called “crossing the river.” Both can be dangerous – even deadly – if something goes wrong. This is particularly true for women living in the remote areas, who may lack information…
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Teen mothers in Kenya become powerful advocates for change
Purity Bahati was only 15 when she started dating her boyfriend, a 28-year-old man. “He told me he loved me, and I believed him,” she said. She was pregnant by the time she was 17.
The pregnancy forced…
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At two-year mark, Yemen’s conflict takes heavy toll on women and girls
On 26 March 2015, the conflict in Yemen dramatically escalated. Two years later, it has become one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
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Girls in crisis settings overlooked for life-saving care, say health advocates
“To be pregnant in the middle of a humanitarian setting is already a dangerous situation, but for girls aged 15 to 19 the risk of pregnancy-related death is already twice as high than for somebody in their twenties. For…
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Efforts to end FGM must be intensified, leaders urge
“I will soon be the happy mother of a baby girl,” Shaimaa Ahmed Ali told UNFPA in Egypt last summer. “I will definitely not have her circumcised. My husband and I agree on that. She will grow up to be a strong and…
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Sex selection leads to dangerous gender imbalance; new programme to tackle root causes
“I’ve been a priest for 25 years. During this time, I’ve met a lot of families ready to terminate their pregnancy just because of expecting a girl,” said Giorgi Ugrekhelidze, a religious leader in Georgia. “In most…
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