Dear Deeply Readers,
Welcome to the archives of News Deeply’s Women & Girls Hub. While we paused regular publication of the site on January 22, 2018, and transitioned our coverage to Women’s Advancement Deeply, we are happy to serve as an ongoing public resource on the Arctic. We hope you’ll enjoy the reporting and analysis that was produced by our dedicated community of editors contributors.
We continue to produce events and special projects while we explore where the on-site journalism goes next. If you’d like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at [email protected].
Women are dying from botched backstreet abortions in Liberia, a country where access to terminations is severely restricted. Because of the stigma associated with abortion, they often refrain from seeking out medical help until it’s too late.
Hospitals in the city of Goma can handle the costs of natural childbirths. But mothers who have Cesarean deliveries or whose newborns need intensive care can incur higher bills – and one hospital won’t let them go home until they can pay.
Some of those working with Yazidi former slaves say they have never before seen such severe psychological trauma. As part of our “Women and Jihad” series, experts tell us there are not enough resources to provide long-term care to all of the survivors, who could take a lifetime to recover.
Last year, around 45 percent of all deaths of children under the age of five occurred in the first 28 days of life. A new neonatal survival kit puts medications and supplies into the hands of mothers to help them keep their babies alive.
In many areas of rural Kenya, women spend hours each day searching for water. As they worry about the impact on their families and livelihoods, one project could help them take back the time stolen by the search for water.
Our video series “Choice and Change” continues with a look at an innovative way to get family planning services to the women in Uganda’s overcrowded slums: tuk tuks loaded with sexual health supplies.
From clean water solutions to detecting pneumonia and pre-eclampsia, a new report from PATH highlights a handful of key measures that could avert the deaths of over 6 million mothers and children by 2030.
As counselors for the Meri Saathi helpline, midwife Hima Mishra and her team field hundreds of calls a day from people with questions about sex, pregnancy and abortion, helping to shed light on reproductive health rights in Nepal.
A major study on maternal health released by Lancet aims to help the U.N. achieve its development goals. Report co-author and expert in obstetric epidemiology Wendy Graham says change in maternal mortality will only come when we approach the problem at a local level.
From getting formula to hungry babies to teaching women how to run their own businesses, NuDay Syria gives aid and support to millions of Syrians. For the nonprofit’s founder, Nadia Alawa, it’s about helping women and children survive the war with dignity.
Melissa Upreti Regional Director for Asia, Center for Reproductive Rights
By forcing women who wish to end their pregnancies after 20 weeks to either go to court or risk an illegal procedure, India’s abortion law is a violation of human rights, says Melissa Upreti of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
Bushra escaped from Iraq, but she and her family remain stuck in a makeshift shelter at Berlin’s former Tempelhof airport. Now the mother of five is expecting again and fears she’ll have to raise her newborn in the shelter’s dire conditions.
Unsafe abortion leads to 47,000 deaths and 5 million disabilities worldwide each year. One organization wants to help cut these numbers by giving online advice and counseling and, for some women, sending out medical abortion supplies they can’t get hold of at home.
After Uruguay implemented a harm reduction approach that dealt with abortion as a public health issue rather than a moral one, maternal deaths from unsafe abortions plummeted. Now countries with strict abortion laws are taking notice.
Abbey Kocan Executive Director, Kupona Foundation
Each year, 3,000 new cases of fistula are recorded in Tanzania, leaving thousands of women to suffer the stigma of chronic incontinence. But mobile technology makes it possible for NGOs to get women the help they need, writes Abbey Kocan of the Kupona Foundation.
Claire Rogers Research Advisor, Nepal Program of Marie Stopes International
Jaya Dantas Professor of International Health, Curtin University, Western Australia
Shilpa Lohani Public Health Professional
After Nepal’s devastating earthquakes last year, the nation was embroiled in a border conflict with India. Health experts Claire Rogers, Jaya Dantas and Shilpa Lohani explain how these events continue to impact the sexual and reproductive health of Nepali women.
The World Health Organisation advises people living in Zika-affected areas to avoid getting pregnant. But some experts say that suggestion is unrealistic in a region where women’s reproductive rights are severely limited by law.
At around 200 deaths per 100,000 live births, Myanmar has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the region. As part of its plan to bring down those numbers, the government is giving women long-term contraception for free.
From barely regulated marketing to a lack of healthcare services, there are many factors that make it difficult for mothers in developing countries to breastfeed their babies. The solution, say experts, requires more than just saying “breast is best.”
More than 225 million women want to prevent pregnancies but aren’t using contraception. Making sure they can access a choice of methods is essential. We speak to the experts who say supply chain management is key to women’s reproductive health.
A mobile health project in Ethiopia gives any health worker with a smartphone access to the information they need to deal with emergencies during childbirth. Now it’s being scaled up to reach 10,000 health workers across Africa and Southeast Asia by 2017.
Almost 23 percent of adolescent girls registered as Syrian refugees in Lebanon were married before they turned 18. With the help of UNFPA and aid organization INTERSOS, some young Syrian refugees are spreading the word about the dangers of marrying too young.
For many couples in the developed world, the only route to having a baby is international surrogacy. But the rapid rise of the industry in Cambodia has raised concerns about the welfare of women.
Some 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient malnutrition, with consequences that include cognitive delays, weakened immunity and increased risk for birth defects. Food fortification is one low-cost solution – and it’s already working.
Adolescent girls in Bangladesh face severe threats to their health: Two-thirds marry by age 18, and a third of girls are mothers before age 20. A national network of teen girls called Shornokishoree aims to improve girls’ health through peer-to-peer advocacy.
Gripped by a conflict that has devastated its healthcare system, South Sudan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates on earth. Two doctors share their stories of struggling to save women and their babies in the world’s newest nation.
Liberia’s Ebola outbreak exposed huge gaps in wider health communication and education issues, particularly in rural communities. Health workers are now helping fill these gaps, sharing information about maternal and reproductive health.
The trafficking of young women is on the rise in India, but poor documentation, corruption and discrimination mean the crime is largely ignored.
Maternal disorders are the leading cause of death for young women. Experts say teaching children about sexual health and reproductive rights can help reverse that trend and contribute to gender equity.
During times of conflict, access to reproductive healthcare can mean the difference between life and death for a woman. With medical equipment and social support, UNFPA Yemen helps women and children stay safe amid the country’s civil war.
Strict abortion laws criminalize obstetric emergencies that end in stillbirth or miscarriage. This is one reason the U.N. and NGOs say such laws discriminate against women and should be changed.
Nearly one-third of the world is obese or overweight, leading to a rise in chronic diseases in developing countries. Combating the problem requires funding, innovation and an understanding of the link to undernutrition.
International sanctions from 2009 to 2014 all but eliminated donor aid for the island’s healthcare system. Community volunteers stepped into the breach – and many continue to help mothers and children get care.
Women in the former Soviet state used to deliver in large, damp, often freezing maternity rooms without any family support. Now an ambitious health program has reduced the maternal mortality rate by 40 percent over the past six years.
Why is discussing pleasure in the context of sexual health and education overlooked? With a recent study showing unsafe sex to be the highest risk for women, Anne Philpott and Arushi Singh of the Pleasure Project believe it’s the key to mitigating this risk.
An inexpensive and easy-to-administer drug can prevent women from bleeding to death after childbirth, but governments concerned about its alternative use in abortions are stopping the drug from saving mothers’ lives.
Around one in 10 women refugees travelling through Europe is pregnant. Better coordinated approaches from states and NGOs are urgently needed to keep women and their newborn babies safe and well.
The Population Council is a unique research organization: Its work has resulted in the development of contraceptive technologies now used by over 170 million women worldwide. Julia Bunting, president, explains.
Nosakhare Orobaton Served as Chief of Party to John Snow Inc.'s USAID-funded Targeted States High Impact Project
Bolaji Fapohunda Senior Technical Advisor, Monitoring & Evaluation, JSI
Anne Austin Consultant, JSI
It’s not cultural preferences that force women to give birth alone: poverty and lack of supportive health policies do. Nosa Orobaton, Bolaji Fapohunda and Anne Austin share insights from health policies – where one in five women give birth with no help.
Unable to work, socialize or bear children, more than two million women in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia suffer severe disabilities from childbirth-caused fistula – an entirely preventable injury. How can we eradicate this condition?
Have a story idea? Interested in adding your voice to our growing community?
Learn more