Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

A travelling theatre in Guinea-Bissau sparks conversations and changes minds about gender-based violence

To help counter practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage, 25 actors from the National Ballet, the Nossa Patria Amada, performed three plays at local markets

“The piece on forced marriage touched my soul, because I am a victim of this harmful practice,” said Domingas* in Quinhamel, in the western Biombo region of Guinea-Bissau. “I speak with my mother every single day about my marriage to an older man, but she always says ‘these are our…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

Empowering Somali Youth: Inauguration of the Berbera Youth Center

This event marked a significant milestone in UNFPA's commitment to empower Somali youth and women and foster their socio-economic development

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) along with the Somaliland Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Government of the Netherlands successfully inaugurated the Berbera Youth Center. This event marked a significant milestone in UNFPA's commitment to empower Somali youth and women and foster their socio-economic development.  The establishment of…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

Somali survivors of female genital mutilation advocate to change minds – and lives

Through their Joint Programme on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, UNFPA and UNICEF support grassroots activists

“I used to feel fear when it was night time,” mother-of-two Nurto Abdi Osman told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Ms.Osman was seven years old when she was forced to undergo female genital mutilation. The dangerous procedure left her grappling in agony for days, bleeding until…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

Champion of change: How a Tanzanian youth activist is rallying for gender equality in her community

Community leaders like Bhoke are working hard to change the trajectory of girls’ lives in Mara, and their advocacy – together with investments in programmes like Chaguo Langu Haki Yangu – have had tangible successes

“If only we had a community free from gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, child marriage and female genital mutilation, then all girls would be able to achieve their dreams,” Tanzanian teenager Bhoke* told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Bhoke lives with her mother and two siblings in…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

After surviving sexual violence, youth leader creates change for girls with disabilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Reports of sexual violence and coercion are soaring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the country grapples with escalating conflict, economic instability and recurrent climate crises

Ngoma* is deaf, so she didn’t hear the group of boys as they snuck up behind her on a road in her hometown of Matadi, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “They ambushed me, then dragged me to a secluded area and abused me,” she told UNFPA, the United…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

Raising the voices of survivors to create a generation free from female genital mutilation in Ethiopia

The UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme works in 17 countries to eliminate female genital mutilation and has launched initiatives across four districts in Ethiopia’s Central region

When she was fourteen, Zekia discovered that her parents were secretly preparing for her older sister to undergo female genital mutilation. “My brother heard about it and tried to discourage them,” she told UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. “He reminded them that the practice has been…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Kenya Red Cross join forces to deliver critical reproductive health supplies in ongoing El-Nino response

The distributed supplies will bolster the ongoing flood response efforts in Garissa, Mandera, Tana River, Wajir, Isiolo, Samburu, and other affected counties

Recent climate-driven disasters, including the devastating drought and floods that swept through various regions of Kenya, have had a profound impact on the lives of women and girls. These disasters have exacerbated vulnerabilities in access to maternal healthcare, family planning, and the safety of those most susceptible to gender-based violence.…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

Supporting survivors of sexual assault in Ethiopia, and working to stop violence before it starts

Around the world, 6 per cent of women report having survived sexual assault by someone other than a partner

Ayantu* was 14 when she was betrayed by someone society had taught her to trust. One night in February 2021, the teenager from the town of Bule Hora in southern Ethiopia, left her home following a heated argument with her family. Seeking out a relative at a local government office…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

A glimmer of hope for women and girls as a sexual and reproductive health clinic reopens in Sudan’s West Darfur State

UNFPA together with local partner the Child Development Foundation and international donors replaced essentials such as beds, lighting, surgical tools and midwifery equipment so the clinic could resume operating

“I came to the health centre after the fighting calmed down, but I found it destroyed – there were no beds left, no equipment, no supplies,” recalled Hiba*, a doctor in the city of El Geneina, in Sudan’s West Darfur State. The Ardamata clinic is supported by UNFPA, the United…

Source: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) |

“It's about our health and our future”: Ensuring sexual and reproductive health support in northern Mozambique

Health workers offer HIV tests and information about family planning options – a crucial commitment to service provision as communities across the region grapple with violence, insecurity and a series of health crises

Early in the morning, queues begin to form outside the Lichinga health centre in Mozambique’s northwest Niassa province, as staff prepare to treat patients. Nearby, health workers offer HIV tests and information about family planning options – a crucial commitment to service provision as communities across the region grapple with…