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Global summit urges to end sexual violence in conflict
UNITED NATIONS, New York – In conflicts the world over, women’s bodies become battlegrounds and rape becomes a weapon of war. This week, government ministers and representatives from the United Nations and other…
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Africa launches historic campaign to end child marriage
CAIRO, Egypt / ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – One in three girls in low- and middle-income countries continue to be married by age 18, and an estimated one in nine girls is married by age 15. In response to these dire numbers…
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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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