Amidst political crises, important development projects like contraception dissemination and reproductive health education are forgotten or sidelined by donors, leaving NGOs with fewer resources and hands tied.

FORBES: For NGOs in Mali, Life Goes On... With New Difficulties

When we empower women with education and access to reproductive health services, we can lift an entire nation.

CNN: Educating girls like Chrissie can save a nation

My plan is to ensure that every young girl in Liberia has a quality education and information about sexual and reproductive health -- but I will need more support to make that happen.

CNN: Girls at risk: Starting a revolution for teenage mothers

There are innovators from across the region who are trying to tackle the taboos, break the silence and deal with the fall out, be it getting sexuality education in schools or providing sexual and reproductive health services for young people, or tackling sexual violence, or trying to find space in society for those cross social norms, unwed mothers or men and women in same-sex relations among them.

CNN: Why Arab world must learn to talk about sex

The call was for better signposting to sexual and reproductive health services, for girls-only spaces, for health education and promotion programs to counter myths and misinformation, for confidence and self-esteem building initiatives, and for vocational training to foster economic independence.

CNN: Girls at risk: Starting a revolution for teenage mothers

Students currently receive little formal sex education beyond advice to abstain, and have limited access to reproductive health counselling and services.

ECONOMIST: A ��state secret�� is revealed

Sex education is considered taboo in many families and only a handful of schools have courses on reproductive health on their curriculum, he says.

BBC: Rwanda vows to tackle school sex abuse