“Midwife Bahga, I will never forget how I have suffered and still do," said 13-year old Mehad, “I underwent female genital mutilation (FGM) at your hands.”  Addressing an awareness-raising session at a girls’ school, Midwife Bahga confessed, “I did not do this out of ill will, but out of ignorance.”  FGM is a fundamental violation of human rights that causes severe pain, trauma, sexual dysfunction, birth and other health complications.  Around 89% of women in the Sudan are affected by FGM. Read

The year 2006 brought to fruition one of Africa’s longest anticipated elections:  for the first time in 45 years the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took to the polls.  The elections marked a significant step in the peace process in the DRC, which is rebuilding following the end of a six-year civil that cost 4 million lives in fighting, hunger and disease. Read

UNV and UNV volunteers received a number of awards and endorsements in 2006. Read

Working together with the Youth Association for Population and Development in Egypt, UNV volunteers sailed the Nile to empower the people of Egypt to reach the MDGs through volunteer efforts.  The campaign was a joint initiative between United Nations organizations and civil society, national and local government, private sector, media and communities. Read

People living with or affected by HIV/AIDS are faced with a multitude of challenges:  they must deal not only with medical problems, but also with social discrimination and economic difficulties.  In Zambia, the Microfinance for Poverty Reduction project made financial services accessible to poor people, largely women, living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Read

When Pakistan was shaken by a massive earthquake on 8 October 2005, a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions unfolded:  towns and villages became graveyards as thousands of lives were buried under the rubble.  “It was as if our entire community was swallowed whole by the earth,” said Syeda Bibi, a survivor who lost three children in the tragedy. “They are gone. Everything is destroyed. I am still breathing”. Read