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UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

A Compact Kept: Zambia’s commitment to reproductive health

To bridge these gaps, UNFPA has stepped in with third-party logistics support, which now accounts for about 7 per cent of ZAMMSA’s total distributions, helping move commodities closer to communities in need

Chomba, a 29-year-old mother of four, has accessed family planning services for the first time since marrying a decade ago. Until recently, the nearest health facility was a two-hour walk from her rural village, making it nearly impossible for her to space her children or attend antenatal appointments. Her story…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

Mobile Clinics Bring Care Closer in Comoros: How UNFPA-supported services are transforming the lives of women in the islands

The mobile clinic on the island of Anjouan has been in use since 2020

When the white tent appears at the edge of Bougweni, it feels like relief after a long drought. For Sitty Ahamadi, moving joyfully and smiling while at the clinic, “The place has opened my eyes. I now know that I can choose when to have a child, think about my health,…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

From Seoul to Seke - The Shared Struggles of a Generation

Around the world, too many young people are being denied the power to choose their own futures

Exploring how young people across continents face different barriers to the same fundamental choice By Young Hong, Deputy Regional Director, UNFPA East and Southern Africa I never imagined that one day I would be advocating for the right to have children, while listening to young people across continents tell me…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

Fewer babies in Botswana acquire Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) thanks to dedicated push to eliminate mother to child transmission

Women living with HIV who do not receive antiretroviral (ARV) medicine have a 15–45% chance of transmitting the virus to their children during pregnancy, labour, delivery or breastfeeding

Eliminating mother to child transmission of HIV is possible. And Botswana is celebrating becoming the first country in Africa – and the first country with a high burden of HIV - to be awarded a Gold Tier status by the World Health Organization (WHO), for its efforts to eliminate vertical transmission of…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

Empowered Voices: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) survivor shares her journey to freedom in Tanzania

In recent years, significant progress has been made in Tanzania’s fight against FGM, particularly in Manyara, Dodoma, and Mara regions

In Tarime, a small village in the Mara region in Tanzania, Amina, a survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM) shares her story of hope. Growing up in a rural community, Amina experienced the weight of cultural traditions, including FGM. In her early teens, she endured the painful practice – a…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

Democratic Republic of Congo - A million displaced, one story at a time: Protecting women and girls in the heart of conflict

It is estimated that there are around 20,000 pregnant women, 15 per cent of whom are at risk of serious complications

It was past midnight when Amina felt the first contraction. In a makeshift tent on the outskirts of Goma, surrounded by thousands displaced by the escalating conflict, she gripped her belly, praying for the pain to subside. But war does not pause for new life.  Bombs struck her IDP camp,…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

“This support gives us hope”: A journey to motherhood in the midst of Tropical Cyclone Chido

Tropical Cyclone Chido is estimated to have killed 120 people and affected over 450,000. A lack of shelter, food shortages and the need for long-term medical and psychosocial support are some of the key priorities for recovery

When Tropical Cyclone Chido tore through northern Mozambique in December 2024, 26-year-old Massiala Agostinho was eight months pregnant with her fifth child.  Like almost all others in her village of Sambene, in the Mecufi District of Cabo Delgado Province, Ms. Agostinho’s home was quickly reduced to rubble by powerful winds and torrential…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

“Marriage is a choice”: Working with people with disabilities to address gender-based violence in Madagascar

Child marriage is one of the most common types of gender-based violence in Madagascar, with 40 per cent of girls married before they are 18

“I live with my six children, one of whom has a disability,” said 40-year-old Zeteny, from the Anôsy region in Madagascar’s Grand Sud region. “I look after my disabled son full-time, and my 14-year-old daughter had to leave school to work and support us.”  Years of successive droughts have wrought…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

Delivering hope and saving lives: Reflections on maternal health progress in East and Southern Africa

Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the region has dropped by 48 per cent since 2000, with skilled birth attendance rising to 70 per cent

The cries of newborn twins broke the silence of a small clinic in Malawi, a sound that might not have been heard without the lifesaving skills of Nora, a UNFPA-supported midwife.  Late one night, a young mother arrived after walking for hours, her pregnancy complicated and her life hanging by…

UNFPA - East and Southern Africa
Source: UNFPA - East and Southern Africa |

Even as they flee crisis and disaster, women and girls have the right to safety and support

UNFPA is determined to end the scourge of gender-based violence, to protect women and girls, and to assist survivors on their journey to recovery

Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. When conflict and disaster force women and girls to flee their communities and homes, they face grave danger. Displacement takes a devastating toll on their well-being and leaves them exposed to…