Statement from UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem on International Day of the Midwife Right now, around the world, millions of lives are in the hands of midwives. Whether they are wading through flood waters to reach pregnant women or delivering babies amid the rubble of an earthquake, midwives are the unsung heroes of community health services. Thanks to midwives, births are safer. The sexual and reproducti...

New York 29 April 2024 – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will join global leaders to call for renewed commitment towards progress on eradicating preventable maternal and newborn deaths at a 29 April event during the 57th Session of the Commission on Population and Development. At this ministerial event, UNFPA and the Governments of Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, S...

Handiya Abdu’s journey is one of resilience amidst adversity, a tale all too common in the Afar region, especially in Chifra woreda. At just 24, she’s already a mother of five with another child on the way. But her path to motherhood was anything but easy. At the tender age of 14, Handiya was married off, a practice still prevalent in her community. She hadn’t even completed the 3rd grade when her family decided she...