The State of World Population 2015 :: SHELTER FROM THE STORM – A transformative agenda for women and girls in a crisis-prone world
UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, 2015 :: 140 pages
ISBN 978-0-89714-987-7
Pdf: http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/hjwiCccQzeCTrGfbCidafWBVtjqM

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Foreword
More than 100 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance—more than at any time since the end of the Second World War. Among those displaced by conflict or uprooted by disaster are tens of millions of women and adolescent girls. This report is a call to action to meet their needs and ensure their rights.

While remarkable progress has been achieved during the past decade protecting the health and rights of women and adolescent girls in humanitarian settings, the growth in need has outstripped the growth in funding and services. Yet, these services are of critical importance, especially for very young adolescent girls, who are the most vulnerable and least able to confront the many challenges they face, even in stable times…

…Today about three fifths of all maternal deaths take place in humanitarian and fragile contexts. Every day 507 women and adolescent girls die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in emergency situations and in fragile States. And gender-based violence continues to
take a brutal toll, shattering lives and prospects for peace and recovery.

Together we must transform humanitarian action by placing the health and rights of women and young people at the centre of our priorities. At the same time, we must invest heavily in institutions and actions that build girls’ and women’s human capital and agency and in the resilience of communities and nations over the long run so that when a new crisis strikes, disruption and dislocation may be minimized and recovery may be accelerated.

For its part, UNFPA remains committed to the full realization of the sexual and reproductive
health and rights of all women and girls, wherever they live, and under all conditions, crisis or otherwise, at all times. The surfeit of conflicts and disasters all around us today means that UNFPA is delivering a larger share of its services in crisis settings.

When women and girls can obtain sexual and reproductive health services, along with a variety of humanitarian programmes that deliberately tackle inequalities, the benefits of interventions grow exponentially and carry over from the acute phase of a crisis well into the future as countries and communities rebuild and people reclaim their lives.

Together we must strive for a world where women and girls are no longer disadvantaged in multiple ways but are equally empowered to realize their full potential, and contribute to the development and stability of their communities and nations—before, during or after a crisis.

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Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and
Executive Director
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund