Still Just a Girl. What it takes to end child marriage by Plan International   July 2026   Every three seconds, somewhere in the world, a girl under 18 is married. This reality touches the lives of 12 million girls each year, robbing them of their childhood, education and the chance to shape their own future.   Girls who marry before their 18th birthday are more likely to drop out of school, experience intimate partner violence and become trapped in a lifetime of poverty. They are also at higher risk of health complications from pregnancy and childbirth, a leading cause of death among adolescent girls.   Globally, the rate of child, early, and forced marriages and unions (CEFMU) has declined in the past decade, but progress has been uneven and too slow to meet sustainable development goals by 2030.   At the current pace, it will take 300 years to eliminate this harmful practice.   Three regions bear the greatest burden. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of child marriage in the world, affecting one in three girls. South Asia still has the highest number of child brides due to its larger population, despite making the most progress in reducing child marriage. In Latin America and the Caribbean, progress has stalled for decades and informal unions are common, falling under the radar of legal frameworks against child marriage.   http://plan-international.org/publications/still-just-a-girl/ http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/en/ Visit the related web page
	676 million women live within 50 kilometers of deadly conflict by UNFPA, UN Women, IPU, PMNCH, agency   May 2026   How war impacts women and girls. (UN Women)   Around the world, conflicts are becoming longer, more brutal, and increasingly fought in cities and communities rather than distant battlefields. Homes, schools, hospitals, and shelters are being destroyed, and civilians are paying the price.   Today the world is experiencing the highest number of active conflicts since 1946. Last year, a UN report warned that 676 million women live within 50 kilometers of deadly conflict.   Imagine fleeing your home overnight as bombs and missiles fall, and basic services – like water or electricity – collapse around you. Since that report, even more conflicts have erupted.   Bombs do not discriminate between men and women, but the consequences of war do. This explainer examines why modern wars are becoming deadlier for women and girls, and how conflict deepens existing inequalities.   During conflict, women and girls are more likely to be displaced from their homes, pushed out of school or work, lose access to healthcare, and face sexual violence, trauma, hunger, and poverty.   As services collapse and families struggle to survive, women are expected to hold communities together by caring for children, the injured, and the elderly, often while navigating danger and trauma themselves.   Despite the essential role of women in ensuring that families and communities survive conflict, they are routinely excluded from political decision-making and peace negotiations.   Today’s conflicts are often fought in populated and residential areas rather than distant battlefields. Homes, hospitals, schools, and even designated shelters are being damaged or destroyed, placing civilians at greater risk of injury and death.   For many women and girls, there is nowhere safe to go. Some are killed while sheltering in their homes, others are injured fleeing attacks, searching for food, or trying to keep their families alive as essential services collapse around them.   Sexual violence against women and girls rises sharply during conflict. In wars around the world, rape and other forms of gender-based violence are used to terrorize civilians, punish communities, force displacement, and assert control.   In conflict-affected areas, a lack of accountability for these crimes continues to fuel cycles of violence and impunity. Fear and social stigma also prevent many women and girls from reporting violence and accessing support.   War tears through economies, livelihoods, and the systems that families rely on to survive. Women are often the first to lose paid work and last to recover because they are more likely to be in insecure or low-paid jobs and take on more unpaid care responsibilities during conflict.   As schools close, transport becomes unsafe, markets collapse and public services disappear, many women lose their income, but also access to systems that help them pursue paid work, education, and care for their families.   Conflict also makes it harder and more dangerous for women to move, work, and access markets.   Economic harm during war is not only about losing income. Women often lose assets, land, documentation, savings, social networks, and access to credit. Displacement can also force them into unsafe work, debt, and exploitation.   Across conflict zones, women are often expected to fill the gaps left behind by collapsing systems – caring for children, the sick, and the elderly while trying to keep families afloat under impossible conditions.   Despite the unequal and devastating impact of wars on women, they continue to be the backbone of survival and recovery in conflict-affected zones. From Ukraine to Gaza and Sudan – women and women-led organizations are feeding families, providing medical and psychosocial support, and leading economic recovery in their communities.   Yet, support for women’s organizations is shrinking as needs rise. A 2025 global report by UN Women showed that half of women-led and women’s rights organizations in humanitarian crisis zones were at risk of shutting down within six months due to funding cuts.   Worldwide, 119 million girls are out of school. In conflict-affected countries, girls are more than twice as likely to be out of school than girls living in non-affected countries. Girls struggle more than boys to access or continue their education when conflict disrupts infrastructure, safety, and reduces family income.   For far too long, history, media, and decision-makers have painted the picture that war is the same for everyone. But when inequality already shapes women’s lives in the absence of wars, conflict only deepens that divide.   http://www.unwomen.org/en/articles/faqs/how-war-impacts-women-and-girls-a-simple-explainer-on-gender-and-conflict   Apr. 2026   Mobilizing parliamentary leadership to protect women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health in times of crisis   The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly:   At the 152nd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Istanbul, Turkiye (15–19 April 2026), The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) delivered a clear and urgent message to global parliamentary leaders: protecting the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents (WCAH), who are the bed rock of society and also the most vulnerable, is fundamental to peace, justice and sustainable development.   Without urgent action to uphold the rule of law, humanitarian principles and global solidarity, women, children and adolescents will continue to bear the greatest cost in these times of compounding crises.   Convened under the theme “Nurturing hope, securing peace and ensuring justice for future generations,” the Assembly brought together over 1,500 delegates, including more than 720 parliamentarians from 126 countries, alongside 65 Speakers and 46 Deputy Speakers of Parliament.   Through key resolutions, the Assembly called for urgent parliamentary action and partnerships to:   Sustain ceasefires and advance peacebuilding efforts in the Middle East and beyond, alongside clear condemnation of breaches of international humanitarian law.   Ensure post-conflict recovery is anchored in nationally led peacebuilding and reconciliation processes, with a particular focus on safeguarding the rights and needs of women, young people and displaced populations.   The Assembly concluded with the adoption of the Istanbul Declaration which reinforces a shared commitment to peace, human rights and the principles of the United Nations, while addressing pressing global challenges.   The symposium focused on the actions that parliamentarians must take to hold the line for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (WCAH) issues in these challenging times.   Dr. Sezin Eda Karsli, a frontline health care worker, and Executive Committee Member, World Association of Trainees in Obstetrics & Gynecology, Turkiye highlighted the stark reality that even in the midst of crises, pregnancies and child birth continue unabated, and that women, children and adolescents are pushed to the margins losing access to essential services when they need them most, and that these services are often the last to be restored.   She underscored the importance of developing resilient healthcare systems supported by adequate finances that can provide continuous and timely care to avert preventable deaths in crises as well as the importance of supporting the health and well-being (including mental health) needs of health care professionals in times of crises.   The attendees agreed that the Parliamentary Network should drive change for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (WCAH) by focusing on the following two priorities:   Scaling up domestic resource mobilization to support resilient health systems capable of delivering essential health services for women, children, and adolescents—including displaced populations—with continued access to sexual and reproductive health services, even in crisis settings.   Investing in the health and well-being of adolescent because their well-being today defines our collective future.   There was a strong consensus that:   Parliamentarians are central to the execution of country-led solutions in the face of global instability. The Parliamentary Network for WCAH is a critical space for dialogue, peer exchange, collaboration, and advancing accountability. Placing WCAH as integral to peace, prosperity and sustainable development for all.   Throughout the Assembly, The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health advocated to ensure that Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health was not treated as a sectoral issue but, rather, recognized as key to peacebuilding, social and economic resilience as well as sustainable development.   Through interventions including at the General Debate and Forum of Young Parliamentarians PMNCH called on parliamentarians to:   Protect essential health services and rights by ensuring that the health services that WCA require are guaranteed as enforceable rights through legislation which is aligned with international humanitarian and human rights law and international frameworks.   Reprioritize and protect sustainable financing for WCAH as a peace and stability investment and recognize WCAH not as a cost—but as a strategic investment in peace, resilience and human security - resulting in fewer maternal deaths, more girls in school, and overall, more resilient communities.   Strengthen inclusive accountability by ensuring that policies reflect lived realities by engaging communities, civil society and young people, and by tracking results across generations.   Advance inclusive governance as a foundation for peace, legitimacy and effective policymaking by accelerating progress toward gender parity and increasing youth representation in parliaments.   As crises deepen and resources tighten, parliamentary leadership will be decisive in protecting progress on WCAH. There can be no peace, justice or sustainable development without investing in the Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.   * The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) is the world's largest alliance for women's, children's and adolescents' health and well-being, with more than 1,400 partner organizations. PMNCH is hosted by the World Health Organization, based in Geneva.   http://pmnch.who.int/news-and-events/news/item/27-04-2026-mobilizing-parliamentary-leadership-to-protect-women-s-children-s-and-adolescents-health-in-times-of-crisis-pmnch-at-the-152nd-ipu-assembly http://pmnch.who.int/news-and-events/news   8 Apr. 2026   Gender-Blind Conflict Analysis in Middle East Crisis is failing Women and Girls. (UNFPA)   Six weeks into the 2026 Middle East military escalation, UNFPA Arab States Regional Office warns that its impact on 161 million women and girls living in conflict-affected areas across the region remain largely invisible in conflict analysis, humanitarian response, and funding priorities.   A new Call to Action, Regional Analysis of the Socio-Economic Impact of the 2026 Middle East Conflict on Women and Girls published by the UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, highlights that current response mechanisms remain overwhelmingly gender-blind, treating gender-based violence (GBV) and maternal health as secondary concerns rather than life-saving priorities.   “The omission is not merely analytical – it is structural,” the report states. Without sex-disaggregated data and gender perspectives, the international community is conducting incomplete risk assessments, misaligning interventions, and missing critical opportunities for stabilization and peace.   The conflict is projected to cost regional economies $120–194 billion – equivalent to 3.7 to 6 percent of collective GDP. Four million additional people are estimated to be pushed into poverty and 3.64 million jobs may be lost. Women – overrepresented in informal employment – face disproportionate livelihood collapse while shouldering increased unpaid care work.   Supply chain shocks through the Strait of Hormuz threaten to delay lifesaving humanitarian supplies by up to six months. Across Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan, and Yemen, more than 260 health facilities and 14 mobile medical units have already shut down. Food insecurity is intensifying, with documented patterns showing women and girls eat last and least.   The report also highlights a surge in GBV risks driven by hyper-displacement, while sanctions and financial “de-risking” are crippling the ability of women-led organizations to deliver essential services. These organizations—often the first responders in crises—are being cut off from the very funding streams meant to sustain them.   UNFPA is calling on national governments, UN agencies, donors, and civil society to:   Integrate gender systematically into all conflict analysis and response frameworks. Protect and fund GBV and sexual and reproductive health services as core, lifesaving interventions.   Finance and empower local women-led organizations, removing barriers to their access and participation. Ensure women’s leadership in recovery, peacebuilding, and decision-making processes.   “Making women and girls visible is not optional,” the report concludes. “It is fundamental to effective humanitarian action, sustainable recovery, and lasting peace.”   http://arabstates.unfpa.org/en/news/unfpa-warns-gender-blind-conflict-analysis-2entity26-middle-east-crisis-failing-women-and http://arabstates.unfpa.org/en/publications/regional-analysis-socio-economic-impact-2entity26-middle-east-conflict-women-and-girls   Dec. 2025   With maternity centres under attack, more women are at risk of dying in pregnancy and childbirth in Ukraine.   In a neonatal unit at Kyiv Hospital, Anton rests in a mobile incubator. He was born premature three days earlier, an occurrence that health workers say has become increasingly common.   “Many of the women coming here are under immense stress,” obstetrician Dr. Heintz told UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, which provides mobile incubators to the hospital. “The fear, the uncertainty, the travel – all of it contributes to complications in pregnancy.”   The violence, stress and displacement have had devastating consequences for pregnant women and newborns in Ukraine, with a 37 per cent rise in maternal death rates from 2023 to 2024, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners.   “We’ve seen a rise in premature births, and these babies depend on ventilators, on drugs that help them breathe, and on the staff who stay even during shelling,” added the doctor, himself displaced from his home in Donetsk.   Frequent electricity cuts, infrastructure damage and stock-outs of supplies and equipment mean many premature babies like Anton rely on humanitarian supplies and equipment from organizations like UNFPA.   “It’s the difference between life and death in some cases,” explained Dr. Heintz. “When the shelling starts, we just keep going on with our duties.”   Healthcare under attack   In early October 2025, a missile struck a UNFPA-supported maternity hospital in the city of Sumy, in northeast Ukraine. More than 160 pregnant women and new mothers, newborns and healthcare workers made it to a basement shelter just before impact.   And just last week, a maternity hospital in Kherson supported by UNFPA was damaged in an attack. Health workers and patients once again took shelter in the basement unit, which was constructed with UNFPA’s support.   The Kherson City Perinatal Centre is just 1.5 km from active front lines and remains under constant threat from artillery and drone attacks. Luckily, no one was injured – and a baby girl was even safely delivered underground.   Many hospitals have relocated delivery rooms to underground facilities, adjusting to terrifying conditions that few healthcare systems globally could withstand.   For health workers, these interventions are part of a daily reality that has redefined what it means to provide maternal care. The country’s doctors and midwives now operate in wards where electricity can fail at any moment, where air-raid sirens interrupt deliveries.   The attacks are part of a broader pattern of terror across Ukraine, where more than 80 maternity and neonatal care facilities have been damaged or destroyed since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022 – among over 2,500 healthcare sites hit nationwide.   War, stress and lack of access to medical services   Each new assault adds to a deepening national exhaustion. Mental health needs in Ukraine are soaring, with a recent survey revealing that almost 60 per cent of Ukrainians now experience anxiety and intense stress linked to the constant shelling, displacement and loss.   Experts have warned that millions of people are at risk of developing a mental health condition as a result of the war.   Doctors have also linked the chronic stress, displacement and frequent disruption of medical services to rising pregnancy complications, especially among women living in combat zones.   In Kherson, UNFPA estimates the number of preterm births to have reached 11.8 per cent – almost twice the national average – and the region also has the highest stillbirth rate in the country.   Many towns and villages in Kherson remain partially cut off from electricity, heating and medical care, making the currently high rates of Caesarean section deliveries even more perilous.   The latest report also states that the average rate of Caesarean section births across Ukraine stands at over 28 per cent – well above WHO’s recommended 10 to 15 per cent – with some of the highest levels near the front line, up to 46 per cent in Kherson.   UNFPA provides hospitals across Ukraine with essentials like mobile incubators, sterile neonatal equipment and life-saving medicines for premature newborns. Among these medicines are Curosurf and Peyona, which can be instrumental in helping premature babies breathe more easily at such a vulnerable stage of their lives.   UNFPA is also supporting the construction and refurbishment of underground maternity hospitals that allow women to give birth safely, even under bombardment. In the Kherson City Perinatal Centre, the underground ward registered a total of 118 deliveries underground in 2024, with 110 deliveries so far in 2025.   A similar facility is operating in Sumy and two additional centres are underway in Kharkiv, which are supported by the Government of Ireland.   Despite the harsh conditions, maternal health workers emphasize the need for stability and continuity of care. The ability to safely deliver children, they told UNFPA, is not just a medical necessity but a sign that community life can still exist amid the war.   * The 2026 humanitarian appeal released by UNFPA, calls for urgent funding to support women and girls caught up in some of the world’s worst crises. UNFPA’s 2026 Humanitarian Action plan aims to meet the needs of more than 34 million women, girls and young people in 42 countries: http://tinyurl.com/y86y7sz5   http://www.unfpa.org/news/maternity-centres-under-attack-more-women-are-risk-dying-pregnancy-and-childbirth-ukraine http://www.unfpa.org/emergencies http://www.unfpa.org/news http://www.savethechildren.net/news/about-8-million-babies-born-conflicts-and-climate-disasters-2025
	View more stories