A global study by Women’s Deliver and Focus 2030 has found that women are being excluded from COVID-19 response and recovery plans. Women account for 70% of frontline workers, but only 20% of the World Health Organization’s emergency committee are women. Research by the World Bank and UN shows women have been disproportionately affected by...

The African Union (AU) held the 38th Ordinary Session of its Executive Council at the beginning of February 2021. One of the agenda items was to elect six new members of the AU Commission. The Commission is the AU’s secretariat, which carries out its day-to-day operations. These are the first commissioner elections since the Union’s reform process began...

What is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Female genital mutilation (FGM) involves the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The practice has no health benefits for girls and women Who is at risk? FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between...

It will soon be a year since WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. By now, every corner of the world has felt the devastating impact of the pandemic, and women and girls in science are on the front lines of response. They are healthcare workers and innovators. They are researching vaccines and pioneering treatments....

As part of our Generation Equality campaign, UN Women is issuing a global call for original artwork that visualizes and celebrates activism for gender equality. As we approach International Women’s Day (8 March) and as world leaders and activists prepare for the 2021 Generation Equality Forum — a global gathering to invest and innovate for gender equality — we are...

Diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Accurate diagnostic tests for STIs are widely used in high-income countries. These are especially useful for the diagnosis of asymptomatic infections. However, in low- and middle-income countries, diagnostic tests are largely unavailable. Where testing is available, it is often expensive and geographically inaccessible; and patients often need to wait...

WHO highlights resources for continuing the crucial work of preventing female genital mutilation (FGM) and providing healthcare to girls and women at risk or affected – during COVID-19 and beyond. Marking the annual International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the context of COVID-19 is a timely reminder of the health sector’s...

For 35 years, Yatta Fahnbulleh earned a living in north-western Liberia by initiating girls into adulthood through rituals that included female genital mutilation (FGM) – a practice that violates girls’ bodies and their human rights. She is one of many FGM practitioners who wanted to stop but who could not find an alternative way to support herself...

The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (GAMCOTRAP), an advocacy group supported by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, holds an Anti-FGM workshop aimed at empowering women to claim their rights and those of their daughters in February 2016. Photo: UN Trust Fund to End Violence...

2021 promises to be a milestone year for accelerating global progress on gender equality. We are determined not to miss that opportunity, even under these unusual conditions. And I am sure all of us who are here today believe that we cannot miss that opportunity. At the Generation Equality Forum we will call on governments,...