How UNFPA helps mothers around the world embrace their right to good health and safe pregnancy
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 5 April 2024(UNFPA)* -–Everyone has the right to health; and for women and girls, one aspect of this fundamental promise is the right to safe motherhood.
Yet every two minutes, a woman or girl still dies due to pregnancy or childbirth, with the vast majority of these tragedies preventable.
A young mother in Madagascar has been describing how she was forced to make a 200km emergency journey on challenging rural roads to a specialist regional hospital after she experienced difficulties giving birth at home.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson | Young mothers recover in the maternity ward of the Androy Regional Referral Hospital.
“I thought I was going to lose my baby and die on the journey to hospital.”
The chilling words of Samueline Razafindravao, who had to make the harrowing hours-long trip to the nearest specialist hospital in Ambovombe town in the Androy region of southern Madagascar after it became clear she might lose her child if she did not seek urgent medical attention.
(OXFAM)* 3 April 2024 — People in northern Gaza have been forced to survive on an average of 245 calories a day – less than a can of fava beans – since January, as Israeli forces continue their military onslaught. Over 300,000 people are believed to still be trapped there, unable to leave.