People living with HIV in Georgia often face difficulties accessing health care and other services because of widespread misconceptions and stigma. UNFPA is working to increase awareness and understanding, especially among young people, so that people with HIV can live free from discrimination and everyone feels safe seeking out information, testing and treatment.

A new report published by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, warns that persistent inequalities in society hold back development – and, as UNFPA Regional Director Florence Bauer argues, make it harder for countries in Eastern Europe to manage demographic change.

"I always dreamed of having my own family,” said Sashka Smilkova. “But the family didn’t think I could get pregnant because of my disability. They even thought I might die giving birth." Ms. Smilkova, 35, from Kratovo, a small town in eastern North Macedonia, is deaf and has a severe spinal deformity. In 2019, she found out she was pregnant. "When I found out I was pregnant, everyone in the family to...