News on Youth leadership & participation

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
30 October 2018
News
Five things you didn’t know about disability and sexual violence
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Fifteen per cent of the world’s population lives with a disability, and nearly 200 million are between the ages of 10 and 24. Yet they are often invisible in government statistics. Girls and... Read more
26 August 2015
News
One year after Gaza conflict, situation for women and youth remains dire
GAZA – Khalet* has just celebrated his first birthday. He was born during the recent hostilities in Gaza, which ended in August 2014. During the conflict, his pregnant mother, Samah, moved from shelter to shelter to... Read more
9 October 2018
News
Girls and women in Syria’s Areesha camp have flocked to UNFPA-supported safe spaces for health and social services, including literacy courses. ©UNFPA Syria
In Syria, safe spaces for women and girls provide more than protection
AL HASSAKEH, Syria – Ghalia*, 18, never went to school. There were none in her village. Instead, she worked in the fields alongside her sisters and father, despite his lifelong dream for the girls. “My father always... Read more
25 September 2018
News
UN Youth Strategy commits support to a new generation of leaders
UNITED NATIONS, New York – The world is home to 1.8 billion people between the ages of 10 and 24. Nearly 90 per cent live in developing countries.  Young people worldwide contend with poverty, discrimination, violence,... Read more
29 August 2018
News
Salia, now 18, tends to animals to provide for herself and her family. Just two years ago, Salia thought she would be a child bride. © UNFPA Ethiopia/Abraham Gelaw
Ethiopian girls learn the skills they need to thrive – and secure their independence
SOKORU, Ethiopia – Two years ago, 16-year-old Salia Shemsu waited to be married off. She had just failed the national exam, barring her from pursuing the education she longed for. As the first-born girl in her family,... Read more
31 July 2018
News
Me Me teaches adolescent girls in the camp about their health and human rights, and helps them understand their own potential. © UNFPA Myanmar
Finding a role model amid confinement of Myanmar’s Rohingya camps
RAKHINE, Myanmar – Harlee Dar, 14, does not go to school. There are no books, TV or radio in the family’s small shelter, which is sweltering in the summer and rain-beaten during monsoon season. Asked what she does when... Read more
24 July 2018
News
Girls attend a football programme run by UNFPA and the Special Olympics in Azerbaijan. The programme brings together girls living with disabilities and those without, to play sports and learn about their rights. © UNFPA Azerbaijan
Girls in Azerbaijan battle disability stigma with sports
ABSHERON, Azerbaijan – Fourteen-year-old Maryam stood, awe-struck, at the edge of an indoor football pitch in Absheron, Azerbaijan. “For me, seeing a real soccer pitch, a real goal net, and putting on a real soccer... Read more
23 July 2018
News
“Condoms will just disappear from our homes and we will know they are being used,” said 'Maneo Ramabanta, in Lesotho, where HIV prevention efforts must reach vulnerable adolescents. © UNFPA Lesotho/Violet Maraisane
HIV prevention efforts must reach most vulnerable – adolescents, young women, LGBTI communities
Netherlands/Lesotho/Botswana – The number of AIDS-related deaths has fallen to its lowest point this century thanks to improved access to antiretroviral treatment, according to a newly released report. Yet prevention... Read more
2 July 2018
News
As the monsoon season hits Cox's Bazar, refugees at Kutapalong refugee camp and elsewhere fear they are vulnerable to landslides. © UNHCR/Adam Dean
Health facilities, safe spaces reinforced as monsoon rains threaten Rohingya refugees
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh – With monsoon rains unleashing floods and landslides in Bangladesh, UNFPA and partner agencies are urgently working to secure Rohingya refugee camps and settlements in Cox’s Bazar District.  “... Read more

Pages