jeu., 23 mai 2013 09:09:08 +0000 jeu., 23 mai 2013 09:09:08 +0000 http://www.unfpa.org UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. UNFPA – because everyone counts. en-us serrano@unfpa.org (Alvaro Serrano) gruber@unfpa.org (Kimberly Gruber) http://www.unfpa.org/images/unfpalogoxs.gif http://www.unfpa.org 80 36 The world's largest international source of funding for population and reproductive health programmes http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/14117;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 MAHAJANGA, Madagascar  — Every day, 10 women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth in Madagascar. Many more survive, but  suffer from untreated complications of pregnancy, including the most debilitating injury of childbearing, obstetric fistulas. Although the condition was not recognized in the country until recently, it is estimated that 2,000 Malagasy women develop fistula each year. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/14027;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 CHITIXL, Guatemala --- "In my village girls do not have access to information nor education," said Sonia Delfina Cho Tún from the Chitixl community in the lush northern highlands of the country. "There isn´t a local high school. We only get to study to sixth grade. Mostly girls marry at age 15, not knowing what their future holds for them and their children. "Parents force them because they say that when they reach age 20 and are single, they can no longer find a husband and are left to grow old alone." http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/13899;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 Chidbirth is perhaps the riskiest and most miraculous time in a woman's life. And midwives are truly the unsung heroines of the challenge to reduce the risks women face in bringing forth life. Now, armed with better skills and training, midwives are increasingly able to deal with life-threatening emergencies and are playing a critical role in making motherhood safer around the world. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/13648;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 KARAMEH CAMP, Syria --- Against a hill of olive trees, thousands of tents are clustered together in a patchwork of white and blue. But due to recent heavy rains, the whole area is swamped in mud. Some 4,500 internally displaced persons, mostly women and children, live in the makeshift camp of Karameh in Syria’s Northwestern Idleb Province near the Turkish border. The first batch of life-saving UNFPAA clean delivery and dignity kits, to meet the needs of about 6,000 people reached the area in mid-February. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/13518;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 TBILISI, Georgia – Ia B. is a fit, elegant woman with bright hazelnut eyes, fashionable clothes and a vibrant personality that shines through her dazzling smile. She hasn’t always looked this poised and self-confident: According to Indira Robakidze, a programme coordinator at the Tbilisi-based shelter for the victims of domestic violence, tells me later Ia’s life was in shambles when she first entered the shelter. “She was pale, frightened and disoriented,” Indira recalls. “Look at how far she has come.” http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12673;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 The Tepeth are mountain people of northeastern Uganda. They reside in conical huts made of sticks, thatch and mud in the semi-arid savannahs and scrubby forests of Moroto district. For generations they have subsisted by herding animals and growing crops. If the harvest is good and food is plentiful, village elders will grant permission for a 'cutting' ceremony, in which girls 11 to 14 years of age undergo a rite of passage to womanhood by having all or a portion of their external genitalia removed with a blunt knife. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/13043;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 SABLOGO, Burkina Faso — Although Solange Lamoussa Sawadogo has no medical training, the 28-year-old mother of two is fondly called 'loctoré' – doctor in English – in her village 200 kilometres east of Ouagadougou, the capital. With the nearest health centre in Moaga, eight kilometres away, Solange, a volunteer Community Health Worker, promotes reproductive health, encourages couples to get family planning counselling – something rather new in this traditional community – and dispenses condoms and some contraceptives. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/13009;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 LOEI, Thailand — After four days of trekking from his village by foot, a two-day bus ride across Bhutan, an international flight to Bangkok and a long van ride, Sonam finally arrived at this mountainous province in northeastern Thailand. The midwife from Gelephu, a small village in eastern Bhutan, was one of more than 20 Bhutanese health professionals selected to participate in a technical training on reproductive health care services. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12658;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 SEPON HOSPITAL, Lao PDR — Twenty-five-year-old Xanya had twirled herself around her husband for comfort in the family tak-tak (an open-air cart attached to a motor by a long set of handlebars) along the 12 kilometres of rocky road from their home to the district hospital. He held her, hoping his body would absorb the continuous jolts. She had been in labour for more than ten hours. Now Than, her husband, stood in the delivery room in his bare feet, handsomely sturdy but helpless as their second baby refused to drop down. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12659;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 BAHIR DAR, Ethiopia — When she was just a toddler, Zufan Fentahun was married to a much older man. But at the age of seven, Zufan was among the first group of girls to join Berhane Hewan (Light for Eve, in Amharic) when the project was piloted in her locality, Messobo, in 2004. Just a year later, her marriage was annulled and, since then, her life has taken off in a new direction. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12646;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 GYAMDA COUNTY, Tibet, China—Xi're Qunzong is one of two designated health workers at Niangpu Township hospital, with the responsibility of ensuring that no woman dies from giving life. She serves a community of 2,800 people living in eight scattered villages, the furthest taking up to six hours to reach. A stressful experience last June still lingers in her mind. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12510;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 KHOVALING, Tajikistan --- “Things were different in my day,” says 70-year-old Tojigul Qurbonova, a mother of ten. “Mothers with a lot of children were showered with benefits and had a good life,” she adds, showing off a ‘Mother Hero’ certificate she was awarded in 1980. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12407;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 DAMASCUS — Around 2.5 million people, of whom 625,000 are estimated to be women of reproductive age, are directly affected by the escalating violence in Syria. While security remains a major challenge within Syria, military checkpoints, roadblocks and violent clashes disrupt both health service providers and patients from reaching health facilities in a timely manner. Coupled with depleted stocks of reproductive health supplies and medications, ensuring safe delivery in the Syrian context has become a challenge. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12347;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 TULEAR, Madagascar – Madagascar has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with devastating effects on the lives of the girls affected. For instance, Alphonsine, now 35, was married off in a traditional ceremony at the age of 16, and is still suffering from the harsh consequences. “I became pregnant shortly after the marriage, but during the delivery there were complications. Sadly, my baby was stillborn,” says Alphonsine. http://www.unfpa.org/public/cache/offonce/home/news/pid/12167;jsessionid=96A2E12BD5DE7FC955B723B9CEEEC09B.jahia02 KAPILVASTU, Nepal—Bijay Laxmi, 15 years old, has been married since she was 11. In a few months, she will move in with the family of a husband she doesn’t know. There, she will cook, clean, tend the livestock and, most likely, start having children of her own. She knows giving birth at such a young age is dangerous, but the choice will be not hers. “I’m sorry I was married young, but what can I do?” Bijay Laxmi asks. “I will try to convince my in-laws that it would be better if I started having children in four years.”