Why do UNFPA and the humanitarian workers we support continue to help the seemingly endless number of women and girls in need? Because we care, and we know you do too.

Learn more about our mission to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. 

At the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, world leaders recognized that sustainable development requires prioritizing human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, and empowering women and girls. While progress has been made, it has not been equal for everyone, and crises like climate change and war threaten to roll back advances. 30 years later, 47 UN Member States are meeting to assess progress and commit to closing gaps and ensuring rights and choices for all.

The two-year violent clashes in Ethiopia's Tigray region damaged or destroyed over 90% of health facilities, leading to an increase in obstetric complications and maternal deaths. Cases of obstetric fistula, – a condition in which prolonged, obstructed labour without access to medical care causes a hole between the birth canal and bladder or rectum, or both – also rose due to a lack of medical care. However, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supports several initiatives to both heal and prevent fistula, including a network of six regional facilities run by Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia. UNFPA also supports a network of 54 "maternal waiting homes" across Ethiopia to reduce obstetric complications and maternal mortality.

Aissata's difficult journey to access maternal health care underscores the persistent challenges faced by women in Mali, highlighting the need for increased support and accessibility to essential services.

Today in Geneva, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) unveils its flagship report "The State of World Population 2024: Interwoven Lives, Threads of Hope". The report calls for global action to dismantle unjust and discriminatory structures that hinder millions from realizing their full rights and potential. Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of UNFPA, along with a panel of experts, will delve into the report's compelling evidence on the systemic and intersectional discrimination impacting women's health and well-being.

Chioma Uzoma, a 26-year-old Nigerian, is leading a team of six women to empower young women to take charge of their health. The team is one of the 14 winners of the female-led 4HerPower Challenge, an initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to support innovations in sexual and reproductive health for young people worldwide. Gender inequality in health research, data collection, and investment results in women spending 25% more of their lives in debilitating illness than men do, costing the global economy an estimated $1 trillion. However, women innovators are stepping up to bridge the gap and save lives. Despite this, UNFPA estimates that $222 billion would need to be invested in the health and rights of women and girls by 2030, a goal that funding is not currently on track to meet.

There aren’t enough ventilators at Al-Emirati Hospital in Rafah, Gaza to support the babies being born there. Dr. Ahmed Al-Shaer, Deputy Head of the Incubator Care Unit at the hospital, describes the desperate situation.

UNFPA's Palestine Representative Dominic Allen describe the heroic efforts of desperate medical staff helping women in Gaza give birth safely at the overcrowded Al-Emirati Hospital in Rafah as doctors run out of basic medical supplies.

Mali's central and northern regions have been plagued by violence and insecurity in recent years. Terrorist groups have taken control of many remote villages, causing mass displacement, while maternal mortality rates are up to 35 times higher than in developed countries. Access to maternal health services is nearly impossible. In this complicated scenario, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is equipping the maternity ward at Sominé Dolo Hospital in the Mopti region. UNFPA partner HELP sends mobile health units to rural areas of Mopti to reach women and girls with essential services and transport critical cases to health centers.

Survivors of female genital mutilation advocate tirelessly to end the harmful practice, empowering communities and challenging entrenched cultural norms.

Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Svetlana and her family had to leave their home in Odessa and seek refuge in the coastal town of Zatoka. When the bridge across the Dniester Estuary was attacked, they decided that Svetlana had to take the children to Moldova while her husband Ruslan stayed behind due to martial law. They have now been separated for 20 months and share how they maintain their family life and love across the border.Throughout Ukraine and neighboring countries, the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) Safe Spaces provide expert psychosocial support to people coping with the effects of war and displacement.

UNFPA takes swift action in response to critical medical shortages in Northern Gaza, with Representative Dominic Allen emphasizing the urgent situation.

Two years into the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, a hospital near the front line is saving the most vulnerable citizens – babies born into war – with state-of-the-art incubators that can transport newborns between facilities and into bomb shelters at the sound of air-raid sirens. At the Zaporizhzhia Regional Perinatal Centre, the new incubators – provided with support from UNFPA and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation – are equipped to maintain optimal temperature, humidity and oxygen levels, allowing babies to be moved safely. Despite the challenges, UNFPA and its partners continue to support Ukraine to strengthen the delivery of maternal health and gender-based violence prevention and response services, reaching more than 879,000 women, girls, men and boys with such services in 2023. 

One year on, reproductive health and protection services have yet to fully recover. Many women and girls still remain in temporary shelters – in both Türkiye and Syria – where risks of violence, sexual exploitation and abuse have soared, and where access to services and support to prevent and respond to gender-based violence are limited. 

Post-childbirth complications such as obstetric fistula have agonized women in Senegal, yet UNFPA and partners are aiding women to reclaim their dignity and rebuild their lives.