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UNFPA assists Balkan flood survivors
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina / BELGRADE, Serbia – Millions of people across the Balkans are facing the aftermath of the worst natural disaster to hit the region in more than a century. As the waters retreat,…
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“I will keep very strong”: An Ethiopian girl fights to delay marriage
AFAMBO, Ethiopia – From birth, Kadiga Mohammed was set to marry her first and eldest cousin, a traditional practice known as ‘absuma’ in her community in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. When she turned 16, her parents…
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Connecting mothers-to-be with health clinics in rural Zambia
LUKULU DISTRICT, Zambia – Olivia Kaunda, 34, just moved to a shelter in the Luvuzi Rural Health Centre in Western Zambia. Eight months pregnant, this is the place she will call home for the next few weeks, as she…
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Midwives could cut maternal, newborn deaths by two thirds, says new State of the World’s Midwifery
UNITED NATIONS, New York – When trained and supported by a functional health system, midwives could provide 87 per cent of the essential care needed for women and newborns, and could potentially reduce maternal and…
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Somali midwifery school helps tackle harsh conditions for women
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia is one of the worst places in the world to be a woman, especially a pregnant woman. According to recent statistics, one in 18 Somali women die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth…
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Myanmar’s “red angel” midwives prepare to bring care to displaced women in Rakhine
YANGON, Myanmar – Twenty-three-year-old Ma Thae Ei Phyu is one of five “red angel” midwives to participate in a recent UNFPA-supported intensive training programme at a maternity ward on the outskirts of the Myanmar…
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In Nigeria, fight against fistula points to problem of early marriage
ABUJA, Nigeria – Since her marriage at age 14, Zuera Mustapha, now 21, has experienced two stillbirths and a recurrent obstetric fistula. Yet even with these hardships, she has been luckier than some; her mother and…
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In Nepal, fight against obstetric fistula marches on
DHARAN, Nepal – Dhani Devi Mukhiya remembers the days when her relatives shunned her in public and her husband threatened to bring home another wife. For some of the villagers in her community in Nepal, the obstetric…
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A new lease on life for women living with obstetric fistula in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan – “I was 15 years old when I got married, and my husband was 22. My sister-in-law saw me at one of my relative’s wedding and made all the arrangements for her brother to have me,” Sharifa recalls.…
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