During an obstetric emergency, minutes can make the difference between life and death. In Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Togo, drivers race along rural roads day and night to bring pregnant women to health clinics and hospitals. At the end of the journey, skilled midwives stand ready to deliver crucial care. A global partnership between the United Nations Population Fund and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited is helping to make these potentially life-saving connections possible. The initiative, “”, trains both drivers to drive safely and midwives to deliver babies, to ensure that pregnant women are transported safely and receive quality obstetric care within two hours. This follows the people behind those critical moments: the fast-acting drivers and expertly trained midwives, and the women they have helped deliver safely.
UNFPA
UN Volunteer Daryna is on the ground in Ukraine, delivering vital UNFPA menstrual hygiene supplies to women and girls living near the frontline. Her work helps bring dignity and essential care to communities affected by the ongoing conflict.
Across the world, women are reshaping traditional ideas about work and challenging barriers that have long limited their opportunities. This photo story from highlights the experiences of women in countries including Benin, Paraguay, Japan, Uganda, Togo and Germany who are building careers in fields often dominated by men or navigating changing economic realities. From mechanics and electricians to entrepreneurs, engineers and health workers, their stories reflect broader shifts in workforce participation, gender equality and ageing populations. The story explores how education, rights and opportunity are helping women redefine what work—and leadership—can look like.
Women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo who have endured sexual violence share their stories of survival, recovery and empowerment.
For girls in eastern Uganda, sport has become a lifeline. Athletics coach Zuena Cheptoek is more than a trainer: she is a trusted adult to whom girls confide fears about female genital mutilation, pressure to leave school and unsafe relationships. Working with Sebei communities, she uses sport to challenge traditions that trap girls in cycles of poverty, violence and early marriage. Through races, mentorship and safe spaces, girls gain education, confidence and knowledge of their rights. As they run and learn, attitudes begin to shift—offering girls the chance to choose safety, dignity and a future of their own.
No mother should have to give birth in unsafe conditions, yet in conflict zones and disasters many women still face childbirth without basic care or supplies, while UNFPA and Viola Davis highlight how a can help save mothers and newborns.
In Benin, a new generation is learning about workplace rights and boundaries through sex education, helping to change workplace culture.
In voodoo ceremonies, in mosques and in churches, religious leaders across Benin are talking about sex. From consent to preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS, UNFPA is helping them provide sexual health education.
Lebanon: a month after hostilities began, newborns spend first weeks displaced and a growing health crisis unfolds, while against time, attacks, displacement and shortages trying to deliver emergency support.
“Join me on my journey as a midwife in the world’s largest refugee camp, where I face high-risk births, scarce resources, and daily emotional challenges.” Kindness Ngoh
In the , mobile ultrasound services do more than save lives, they offer reassurance and moments of joy to expectant mothers. Discover what this support means for women
The space for women, young people, and marginalized groups to speak openly about their rights is shrinking worldwide, with issues like gender‑based violence, reproductive choice, sexual abuse, and discrimination increasingly treated as taboo. International Women’s Day urges action to dismantle structural barriers to justice, from discriminatory laws to harmful social norms. In Georgia, six women working with ‑supported organizations share their vision for equality and the steps they are taking to advance justice for women and girls.
In Benin, UNFPA-supported youth center murals, created with artist Larenson Djihouessi, showcase creativity while promoting safe spaces and essential support.
Amid Sudan’s escalating war, Anna and her children flee South Kordofan after surviving attacks that killed others on their route. Now displaced in Abu Al Naja camp, they join tens of thousands uprooted as Sudan faces the world’s largest displacement crisis. A United Nations Population Fund‑supported mobile health team provides medical care, mental‑health support, safe deliveries and services for survivors of gender‑based violence, despite shortages. For families like Anna’s, with homes destroyed and no safe return, the camp offers essential care and dignity.
Akimatou, a 22-year old entrepreneur, is . After becoming a mother at 16 and leaving school, Akimatou turned her second chance into a mission - using bold comics and open conversations to help girls in Benin take control of their bodies and futures. Now a thriving entrepreneur and mentor, she’s transforming her own story of hardship into hope for an entire generation. Her work is part of a UNFPA-supported comprehensive sexuality education initiative that has driven big gains in reducing school-related pregnancies and expanding girls’ opportunities