News on Adolescent pregnancy

10 April 2019
News
Marta Paula, from Guinea-Bissau, was hospitalized when she gave birth at 13. Doctors were worried she might die. Today, she calls for young people to have access to family planning. © UNFPA/I. Barbosa
Vast numbers of women lack decision-making power over their own bodies, says UNFPA flagship report
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Reproductive rights and choices have become a reality for more women than ever, says UNFPA’s flagship report, State of World Population 2019, released today. Yet despite these gains, vast... Read more
19 March 2019
News
After years of conflict, the population is seeing a cascade of health and human rights problems fall "like dominoes". © UNFPA Syria/Sufian Abdul-Mouty
Health, rights situation critical among women and girls in conflict-scarred Dara’a
DARA’A, Syrian Arab Republic – With the crisis in Syria soon to enter its ninth year, the people of Dara’a Governorate face especially harrowing conditions, with hostilities killing civilians as recently as July.  Dara’... Read more
1 February 2019
News
“Many of my friends dropped out of school because of early marriage," said Soukaina, in Morocco. “I am grateful I have been able to finish school and delay motherhood." © UNFPA Morocco
The future at her fingertips: What happens when girls say #IDONT
UNITED NATIONS, New York – More than 150 million. This is the number of girls who could become child brides by 2030 if the world does not act decisively to end child marriage. On average, tens of thousands of girls are... Read more
24 January 2019
News
Chief Mwanza has put women and girls at the top of her agenda since rising to power. © UNFPA Malawi/Henry Chimbali
When women rule: Malawi chief battles harms against girls
MWANZA, Malawi – Chief Mwanza knows all too well the opportunities that are lost when girls are married off as children. She was married when she was only 14 years old. Born Chalendo MacDonald in 1952, she had wanted to... Read more
18 January 2019
News
Young people outside a youth-friendly health centre in Kamenge, Bujumbura. © UNFPA/Chiara Frisone
In Burundi, sexual health education helps youth protect themselves, their futures
BUJUMBURA, Burundi – “During my youth, I had to abort four times,” said Cecile Nshimirimana*, a student in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura. The procedures were illegal – in Burundi, abortion is permitted only to save a... Read more
12 November 2018
News
When her friend became unexpectedly pregnant at an early age, Azlifa sought a way to share sexual and reproductive health information with other young people kept in the dark about their bodies. © UNFPA Maldives/Tatiana Almeida
Youth advocates for family planning break taboos in the Maldives
MALE’, Maldives – When Azlifa was 11 years old, something troubling happened to her friend. “She dropped out of school,” Azlifa remembers. “Her family was very upset. Everyone on the island – it was a very small... Read more
3 December 2015
News
507 maternal deaths take place every day in emergencies, fragile settings, flagship report says
UNITED NATIONS, New York –  “The health and rights of women and adolescents should not be treated like an afterthought in humanitarian response,” Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA’s Executive Director, said today at the... Read more
2 August 2018
News
Maria with her youngest daughter. She lost weight after each pregnancy, alarming her doctors. © UNFPA Moldova/Dan Gutu
“They were afraid I would die”: Early motherhood puts girls at risk in the Republic of Moldova
CIMISLIA, the Republic of Moldova – Maria* gave birth to her first child when she was 16, an age when most of her peers were graduating from secondary school. Today, at 22 years old, she has three daughters. “People who... Read more
26 July 2018
News
Pregnant child brides need extra attention, says Huda, a UNFPA midwife in the Hayati Harrani women's and girl's safe space. “But our hands are tied because so few come for care.” © UNFPA Turkey/Usenabasi Esiet
In Turkey, refugee child marriages drive adolescent pregnancies underground
SANLIURFA, Turkey – “Even today, we saw a 17 year old who is pregnant and already has a child,” said midwife Neval, sitting in the Devtesti Centre, a women’s and girls’ safe space in Sanliurfa, Turkey.  Some 475,000... Read more
21 June 2018
News
Young people from the Kakheti region of Georgia participate in peer education training on gender equality and reproductive health and rights. © UNFPA Georgia
Breaking taboos around sexual and reproductive health in rural Georgia
TBILISI, Georgia – Like many other girls from rural villages in Georgia, Elene* didn’t learn much about her sexual and reproductive health as an adolescent. Her mother told her about menstruation, but before Elene... Read more

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