Hello and welcome to "Hear Her" the podcast of UNFPA, East and Southern Africa.

With the global population recently reaching 8 billion, we can celebrate many signs of human progress; better health and longer lives brought us to this point.

Yet a sobering reality is how uneven progress has been and how systematically violence against women and girls still robs so many of dignity, well-being and the right to peace.

But we're making headway and there are some positive stories to tell.

In this podcast, you will hear voices from all walks of life with a common vision of building a more just, equitable, and sustainable future we all design and creating a life of dignity, peace and wellbeing for each 10 year old child.

We will be hearing from technical experts to humanitarians, artists, community leaders, and the youth on a variety of issues. We will cover a range of topics from growing online violence to the scourge of HIV AIDS, disability, and other critical sexual reproductive health and rights issues.

Their voices matter and it is the heart of all we do at UNFPA as we adapt to a changing world.