In August 2017, the brutal wave of violence directed at the Rohingya community in Myanmar reached the home of Noor (a pseudonym). Her husband was at the mosque, while she stayed at home to pray. Suddenly, she heard villagers screaming and the sound of gunshots. She immediately took her son and ran from the house. […]
Azeda is in her early 20s. She fled Myanmar in September 2017 to escape the wave of violence against the Rohingya community. But soon after she and her three children arrived at the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, her husband left her. She was just a few weeks pregnant. Knowing how difficult it would be […]
In October 2017, 22-year-old Toyoba fled to Bangladesh to escape the wave of violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar. She escaped with her husband, three children and other family members. Her brother was killed by the army and many relatives are still missing. “It was intolerable torture continuing in Myanmar …We had to flee in […]
Montaz is one of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled Myanmar to Bangladesh in recent months. Soon after she, her husband and three children arrived at the refugee camps in Bangladesh, she realized she was pregnant. On the advice of a neighbor in the camp, her husband bought medicine from a local […]
Sexual and reproductive health is often overlooked in humanitarian settings. It’s an invisible problem compared with the need for food, water, shelter and vaccines. But in crisis settings, women face significant hardships trying to prevent pregnancy. They have lost their livelihoods, their normal family and social structures, and their health care. They’re at greater risk […]
Reproductive health care for Rohingya refugees Since August 2017, around 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh and more continue to seek refuge every day. They are living in registered or makeshift refugee camps. The camps, like Kutupalong, which is the largest, are overcrowded. The smell of waste, sweat, and small fires for cooking hangs […]
Fleeing the violence against the Rohingya community in Myanmar, Hamida came to Bangladesh with her three children and husband in September 2017. They fled what she calls “the unbearable and inhuman condition of living life in Myanmar,” but she has found that life in the refugee camp is worse. Before the violence in Myanmar, she […]
Many of the Rohingya women and girls in Bangladesh’s refugee camps were subjected to rape and sexual assault before they fled Myanmar. Fatima (a pseudonym) was one of them. Just 17 years old, newly married and still living in Myanmar, she and her husband went to visit her mother’s home. While they were sleeping, the […]
Pregnancy at an early age can have long-lasting negative health, economic and social impacts. In Kenya, where the national teen pregnancy rate is 18 percent, the “Choice 4 Change” project is working to help young women aged 15-24 prevent unplanned pregnancies and avert unsafe abortions by increasing contraceptive uptake. The project was launched in 2015 […]
Postabortion contraception is an essential part of comprehensive abortion care. When women are offered contraceptive counseling and methods by a health provider at the time of their abortion in a health facility, they are likely to choose a method, according to a new Ipas study But the study finds that adolescents, who are at particular risk […]