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Family planning a development imperative, leaders at AU Summit emphasize
Marie Josee Mukankuranga stood before international health and development experts in her home in the Rwamagana District of Rwanda, talking about her community’s need for family planning.
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The world must make faster progress to end female genital mutilation by 2030
It irreparably damages girls’ bodies, inflicting excruciating pain. It causes extreme emotional trauma that can last a lifetime.
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Dropping the knife: One woman joins the fight for women’s rights in the Gambia
For years, Aja Babung Sidibeh would gathered girls together in the Central River Region of the Gambia and prepared them to take part in an initiation rite. The girls would come stay with her until a circumciser arrived…
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In Botswana, future depends on investments in young people
Two years ago, 12-year-old Xhute could not afford shoes to wear to class. She was forced to drop out of school – like her mother before her. Xhute’s mother also started having children when she was very young. She gave…
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In Colombia, efforts to end FGM are empowering women to be leaders
Solany Zapata first heard about female genital mutilation (FGM) when she gave birth to her daughter. Her mother-in-law insisted she had to cut her newborn’s clitoris. Shocked, Ms. Zapata refused.
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New study finds child marriage rising among most vulnerable Syrian refugees
An alarming rise in child marriages has been seen among the most vulnerable Syrian refugee populations in Lebanon, according to a newly completed survey conducted by UNFPA, the American University of Beirut and Sawa for…
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Women’s health needs persist in conflict-affected Kachin State
When Dr. Kyaw Linn Htun arrived at Thar Ga Ya, a camp for displaced people, almost 20 women were already lined up to see him. The women were all displaced from their homes when the armed conflict in Myanmar’s Kachin…
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From teen mother to mentor in the Comoros
When Jiminie Moussa was 16, she began dating a man who was old enough to be her father. Her family in Ngazidja, the largest island in the Comoros, tolerated the relationship because her boyfriend supported her studies…
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Initiative brings sexual health information to remote parts of Cambodia
“I still remember when my neighbour experienced complications during delivery. She passed away on the way to the referral hospital. It was terrifying,” Kem Lean, 16, told UNFPA in the northern Cambodian province of…
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