Throughout this Mother’s Day season, we’ve shared a lot of stories recently of women and girls living through natural disasters, warfare, and humanitarian crises around the world.

Like Ifrah's, who was on the brink of starvation when she fled her home in Somalia to seek refuge at a camp for displaced peoples. Millions of women and girls like Ifrah across the Horn of Africa spend hours a day securing food and water, suffer from violence, and even experience pregnancy complications due to malnourishment.

We shared Maryna’s story — who took cover with her newborn in a cold basement that had been converted into a bomb shelter, before fleeing the city as northern Ukraine came under siege.

And Busenya’s who was forced to flee her home in Adıyaman, Türkiye, while heavily pregnant after devastating earthquakes decimated the city.

And tragically, the story of a pregnant woman in Sudan who was killed in the crossfire after an outbreak of military violence. UNFPA medical staff were miraculously able to help save her baby.

While the world looks elsewhere, we think it’s important to share the stories of the women and girls living through warfare and crises that too often go unnoticed — do you agree?

Today, we want to hear from you: Should we continue shining a light on the most dangerous regions for women and girls? Take our short survey to share your response:

UNFPA is working in more than 150 countries to ensure every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every woman and girl can live free from violence. We are:

• Operating motorcycle ambulance systems in the Horn of Africa to reach women and girls in even the most hard-to-reach locations.
• Supporting maternity hospitals in Ukraine, expanding access to free and quality reproductive health services, and providing hospitals with essential supplies.
• Opening emergency clinics and deploying midwives across Syria and Türkiye, where childbirth can quickly become a death sentence after horrific earthquakes decimated health care systems.
• Providing direct support to pregnant women giving birth during war in Sudan, establishing new phone lines to deliver midwife assistance for home births, and scaling up mental health counseling for those impacted by violence.

We think sharing the stories of women impacted by warfare, violence, and extreme drought is a critical way to uplift our mission. Please, let us know if you agree by taking our survey →

Thank you for your support,

— USA for UNFPA