JOHANNESBURG, June 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As the world races to stem the coronavirus, Democratic Republic of Congo is racing to also stop the spread of measles and a new outbreak of Ebola, leaving women delaying reproductive health needs, aid groups warned. Congo is also facing armed conflict, bringing with it sexual violence against...

The pandemic is gifting us an unprecedented opportunity to take innovative action and comprehensively confront the scourge of violence against women. We have a unique window in which, as a human family, we are able to boldly address the social ills Covid-19 is unearthing, and redesign and rebuild our social fabric. In this process of...

Activists have welcomed the Sudanese government’s move to criminalise Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The transitional government amended the criminal code in an effort to protect women and girls from the traditional practice that is considered a violation of human rights. “There is so much that women’s groups are pushing for and the criminalization of FGM...

The COVID-19 pandemic is a disaster that has severely disrupted the normal functioning of populations around the world and continues to proliferate indiscriminately. Disease outbreaks like COVID-19 threaten the health of all. But women and girls are disproportionately affected. During epidemics, the very measures taken to protect populations and keep health systems afloat leave women and girls especially...

In developing countries, and around the world, there are millions of girls who could right now be learning from home – if only they were connected. On International Girls in ICT Day, we urge governments not to leave these girls behind. Almost half the world’s population is still offline; with girls, women and other marginalized...

Abigail*, a young woman who lives in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare became pregnant by a much older married man when she was 14. She had left school because her mother couldn’t afford to pay for her fees, books and other school supplies. Her mother was also struggling to buy food and other basics for the family....

A new story book that aims to help children understand and come to terms with COVID-19 has been produced by a collaboration of more than 50 organizations working in the humanitarian sector, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of Red Cross...