23-year-old volunteer Sarah Al Shamali and her colleagues are providing practical support, from educational programmes to distributing safe water, and cultivating a spirit of solidarity among Gaza's youth.

Esther, whose name has been changed for protection, was raped when she was four months pregnant and sleeping in a public square with her six children, having been forced from home. She received counselling from a UNFPA health centre, but her situation is still dire. You can hear her tell her story in this video.

The situation in Haiti is desperate. Gang violence has forced more than half a million people across the country to flee their homes. The capital reverberates with gunshots day and night, and sexual violence is carried out with impunity. Here, in this deeply personal series of portraits, women and girls share their insight into the stark reality of life today in Port-au-Prince, while UNFPA and partners work around the clock to prevent and alleviate suffering.

Hear Esther* tell her terrifying story and see how UNFPA—the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency—is supporting the care she's receiving.

Claudelina Ortellado Portillo gave birth for the first time at age 39 in the Katuete Public Health Centre in Paraguay. Ms. Ortellado told UNFPA, she credits the psychological support she received during the pre and postnatal periods in helping her navigate the emotional tides of pregnancy. Childbirth can take a heavy emotional and physical toll and requires respectful, responsive care – an approach that emphasizes women's dignity, their emotional state, beliefs, consent and autonomy. Respectful maternity care also means discouraging over-medicalization and protecting women from obstetric abuse and violence. Women must be assured the right to their chosen birth plan and able to access all available information in order to participate fully in decision making over their own labour process – including choices, such as the position to give birth in.

Hundreds of women and girls fleeing conflict in the Bandiagara region of Mali have found shelter at this displacement camp in Sokoura.

Every member of the human family, now 8 billion strong around the globe, has the right to be counted. Yet for millions – the world’s most vulnerable among them – this right continues to go unrealized. Why? The reasons range from financial constraints to the marginalization of harder-to-reach communities. But no one is unreachable. To mark World Population Day, here are four reasons why it’s more important than ever that data-collection processes are inclusive and that people are counted – in all their diversity.

When Gaby, a 27-year-old indigenous Awajún transgender woman, returned to Mamayaque, she confronted the pervasive violence against women and discrimination faced by LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Sexual violence and conflict in Sudan: A war on the bodies of women and girls

Aisha*, a 17-year-old from Khartoum, faced unimaginable hardship after losing both her parents last year. Isolated and unable to contact relatives due to the escalating conflict, her neighborhood was overtaken by an armed militia, effectively trapping her in her home. In the beginning, Aisha ventured out only for essential supplies. Although initially left unharmed by the soldiers, her situation deteriorated when two soldiers intruded her home, interrogating and then leaving her in fear. However, they returned, armed and intent on assault. Aisha endured repeated assaults over four days before escaping to a friend’s house in Kassala State. In Kassala, Aisha discovered she was pregnant. Rejected by her friend’s family, she faced isolation and despair. An attempted suicide underscored her desperation until a family directed her to a safe space for women and girls supported by UNFPA. Here, she received medical attention, counseling, and temporary shelter. Despite finding immediate help, her future remains uncertain as her due date approaches.

UNFPA's boat clinic brings vital reproductive health services to women in remote villages of Benin, addressing critical gaps in access to care.

El Salvador is a particularly dangerous place to be a woman. The Latin American country has a high rate of gender-based violence with an average of 23,398 cases reported annually between 2019 and 2022. The UNFPA is working with the Spotlight Initiative to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors in El Salvador. One program, Women at the Centre, trains social workers to recognize and support women and girls at risk of violence. This initiative is crucial, especially considering the stories of families who have lost loved ones to femicide in El Salvador. Here, they share their stories, along with one brave survivor whose life will never be the same.

The 65 million people living in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are on the front lines of the climate crisis. Each climate-related disaster poses a risk to people’s lives, livelihoods, homes, safety, and access to services. This risk is not gender-neutral. Gender-based violence (GBV) increases during crises, while services, including GBV-support and maternal and newborn health care, are disrupted. UNFPA is responding to protect women and girls living on the climate crisis front line in the Pacific.

Menstrual health and hygiene are vital to the well-being and empowerment of women and adolescent girls. However, hundreds of millions of individuals lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual health. Under the theme "Together for a #PeriodFriendlyWorld," this year's Menstrual Hygiene Day (28 May) urges the international community to prioritize menstrual health in both global and national health and development policies with investment reflecting the important role it plays in human rights, public health, gender equality and sustainable development.

See how UNFPA—the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency—is taking action to make motherhood safer at the International Medical Corps (IMC) field hospital in Gaza as the military assault on Rafah leads to more trauma and death: http://unf.pa/opt

In an ideal world, every mother-to-be would have access to a skilled midwife and could give birth in a safe and peaceful environment. Unfortunately, many women lack these assurances. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is striving to achieve this ideal scenario for every woman by investing in midwives and training, including in emergency humanitarian situations, and by equipping maternity wards and mobile health teams.

Midwives in Chad's Kalambari refugee camp provide crucial care and support, helping Cameroonian refugees navigate the challenges of displacement and access essential sexual and reproductive health services.