In the mountains of Lamgabhi, a young mother walks two hours a day to claim a right that once did not exist. Her journey is the story of a policy — and of what Eswatini's investment in girls makes possible.The road out of Nolwazi Dlamini's home does not appear on most maps. It begins high in the mountains of Lamgabhi, in south-western Eswatini, and drops through thick bush where the grass grows taller than a person and snakes move unseen. On rainy mornings the path turns to mud, too slick for any vehicle, and Nolwazi picks her way down on the narrow footpaths instead. Further along, she crosses the Ngwempisi River on a footbridge before the land finally levels out toward Inyandza High School.The walk takes her about an hour and twenty minutes. On the mornings she is running late, she can do it in an hour.She is 23 years old, and she has been making this journey for years — not because it is easy, but because she decided her story was not finished.A door that used to closeNolwazi became pregnant at 17 and gave birth at 18, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her son, Andile, is now five. Like thousands of girls in Eswatini before her, she left school after giving birth — not by choice, but because her family could no longer afford the fees, and because, at the time, no one had told her she had the right to return.For decades in Eswatini, pregnancy quietly ended a girl's education. Some were sent home formally; others simply disappeared from the register and never came back. Teenage pregnancy still accounts for more than half of all dropouts among girls in senior secondary school, and the country's adolescent birth rate remains one of the highest in the region. When schools closed for nearly 20 months during the pandemic, the pressures on adolescent girls grew sharper still.What changed for Nolwazi was not luck. It was policy — and the support that turned policy into something she could actually reach.In 2020, the Ministry of Education and Training introduced the National School Pregnancy Prevention and Management Policy, giving pregnant pupils and teenage mothers, for the first time, a legal right to remain in and return to school. With support from UNICEF and co-financing from the European Union, implementing partners including the Bantwana Initiative and Young Heroes began identifying out-of-school mothers and walking them back through the gates — with bursaries, remedial classes, health support and someone to ask after their children."I became hopeful"The opportunity reached Nolwazi the way most things reach families in Lamgabhi — through a community meeting.Her mother went and came home with news: an organisation called Bantfwana was supporting pregnant teenagers and young mothers who wanted to go back to school. There would be interviews. Only a few girls would be chosen."When my mother came home and told me about the opportunity, I became hopeful," Nolwazi says. "I prayed that I would be among them, and by God's grace, I was chosen. That opportunity changed the direction of my life."She returned to school in the third term of 2021 and was placed in Form 2. Because she came back so late in the year, she had to repeat the form the following year. She accepted it without complaint. "I understood that it was necessary for my progress," she says.Going back was harder than the walk. "On my first day back at school, I felt deeply anxious and sad," she remembers. "I feared that my peers would laugh at me, humiliate me, and judge me for becoming pregnant at a young age." In the community, some people had already done exactly that. "Some people laughed at me, criticised me, and said they had expected such a thing to happen to me. Their words were hurtful and made an already difficult situation even harder."Her mother responded differently. She had been saddened by the pregnancy but never said so harshly. "Instead, she chose to guide me and offer advice."A family holding a future togetherNolwazi's home tells its own story. She lives with her mother and stepfather and her younger brother in a mud and stick house where the family cooks over an open fire, the woodsmoke curling up through gaps in the roof. Maize cobs are stacked against the wall for the months ahead. Fetching firewood from the nearby forest is one of Nolwazi's daily responsibilities, on top of school and motherhood.It is not a household with much to spare. But it is one that decided this young mother's education was worth protecting.Each morning Nolwazi leaves early with Andile, dropping him at a place along the way before continuing on to school. After classes, he returns to his grandparents, who feed him and care for him until she gets home. His father contributes money for food and other necessities. "Their help has made it possible for me to continue with my education while also fulfilling my responsibilities as a mother," she says of her parents.This is what reintegration looks like in practice — not a single intervention, but a web of support holding steady around one girl: a policy, a partner organisation, a school that opened its doors, and a family that refused to let her drop out of her own future.The dream she is sewing towardAt Inyandza, Nolwazi found more than a desk. She found her teachers asking after Andile, encouraging her, treating her as a learner rather than a cautionary tale. "Their concern and guidance have helped me feel accepted and motivated," she says.She also found a sewing machine.Nolwazi wants to be a fashion designer — to be a tailor, create her own clothing designs, and sell them to earn a living. The school lets her practise on its machines, and while she was in Form 4 she was given the chance to sew garments for Form 3 learners. On the day of our visit, she held up a bright red traditional dress she had made herself, turning it in the mountain light. A skill, practised. A dream, taking shape."Designing clothes is something I truly love, and I believe it is where my talent lies," she says. "I am confident that, with the right support and opportunity, this passion can help me build a better future for myself and my child.""Remember why you returned"Nolwazi passed her Form 4 examinations and is now progressing through Form 5. She has advice for any girl standing where she once stood, afraid of the walk back through the gates."Go back to school if you have the opportunity," she says. "Some learners may laugh at you or mock you, but do not allow their words to define your future. Ignore the negativity and focus on your goals. With time, things become normal again. What matters most is remembering why you returned — to complete your education, pursue your dreams, and create a better life for yourself and your child."In Eswatini, the reintegration of teenage mothers is no longer a question of whether it should happen. It is the law. What remains is the work of implementation — training more teachers, reaching more schools, and ensuring that no girl has to choose between her child and her classroom.For UNICEF and its partners, including the European Union, continued investment in this programme is not a request to begin something new. It is an invitation to sustain something that
is already working, and to extend it — to more communities, more schools, and more young women walking their own long roads back.Nolwazi's road still floods when it rains. She still arrives some mornings wet and muddy and cleans herself up before class. But she arrives. And because a policy was backed by the support to make it real, the road now leads somewhere it never used to: forward.The school reintegration programme is implemented by the Ministry of Education and Training, with support from UNICEF Eswatini and implementing partners the Bantwana Initiative and Young Heroes. The programme is co-financed by the European Union.

Before the sun rises over Kwaluseni, a Mentor Mother is already on her feet. In the peri-urban communities ringing Manzini, peer mentorship is changing how mothers survive pregnancy — and, for the first time, drawing fathers into the story.At 5:30 in the morning, while much of Kwaluseni is still dark, Gcinaphi Nxumalo is already awake. Before she becomes a Mentor Mother for the day, she is simply a mother: she washes and dresses her own child and gets him ready for daycare. Only then does she turn to the households waiting for her.It is a small detail, but it explains everything about how this programme works. Gcinaphi is not an outsider arriving with a clipboard. She lives in the same crowded settlement as the women she supports, walks the same narrow paths between the single-room flats, and knows what it costs to raise a child here, where work means the long walk to the Matsapha factories and the nights can be dangerous for a woman alone.She plans each day the night before. Will it be client visits? House-to-house follow-ups? Supporting a mother through her appointment at the clinic? The answer depends on where the need is greatest, and in these communities the need is rarely in one place.The work that happens at the doorThis is the premise at the heart of the programme run by Siphilile Maternal & Child Health, with support from UNICEF Eswatini: the most effective health educator for a pregnant woman in a peri-urban community is often another woman who has walked the same road. Trained Mentor Mothers, recruited from the very communities they serve, carry support to the doorstep — no appointment required, no transport to find.When Gcinaphi visits a household, she begins with a simple question: how is the mother coping, in body and in mind? She uses the mother's clinic card as her map, checking antenatal appointments, blood pressure, HIV status and nutrition. She reminds mothers to take the supplements that help a baby grow in the womb, and to eat well, especially when they are on medication. She talks about the things a stretched health system has no time to teach: hygiene, self-care, keeping a clean home, the daily routines that quietly protect a mother and her child.As a due date nears, the conversation turns practical. Pack the baby clothes. Plan the journey to hospital. "Since ambulances can sometimes delay," she explains, "we encourage them to save money for a taxi in case labour begins unexpectedly." She teaches mothers the signs of labour, because knowing when to leave for the hospital can be the difference between a safe delivery and a tragedy.And after the baby arrives, she returns. She shows new mothers how to bathe a newborn safely, how to watch for dangerous bleeding, how to care for the umbilical cord until it heals. She checks the baby's skin, eyes and weight. She listens, she guides, she stays."Being a Mentor Mother is about walking alongside women through pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood," Gcinaphi says, "offering care, education and encouragement every step of the way."A weight too many carry aloneThe women she walks beside are carrying a great deal. In the communities around Manzini, poverty runs deep and teenage pregnancy is not the exception but the pattern. Eswatini's adolescent birth rate, at 78 per 1,000 girls, is among the highest in the region. Since 2021, Siphilile has enrolled 323 pregnant mothers aged between 10 and 19, twenty-six of them living with HIV and needing careful support to keep their babies from being infected.For many young mothers, the journey through pregnancy has always been navigated without enough information, without family support, and without a health system that comes to meet them. They miss antenatal visits because no one has explained why they matter. They struggle with breastfeeding and nutrition, not through carelessness, but for the simple lack of anyone to show them how.That is the gap the Mentor Mothers step into. Across seven communities in the Manzini Region, thirty-two of them now reach close to nine in ten of their clients in the home itself. Since 2021 the programme has enrolled 8,672 mothers and reached more than 15,000 children under five with health support that protects their first, most fragile years.The father his father never wasFor all its reach, the programme long shared a blind spot with the wider health system: fathers were largely absent from the story. Missing from clinics, from conversations about pregnancy, from the parenting journey altogether. In 2024, Siphilile set out to change that, adding a Mentor Father component to draw men in.Mcolisi Simelane, a father of five from KaKhoza township in Manzini South, is what that change looks like up close.He first came to Siphilile in 2015, not as a volunteer but as a man with a problem he did not know how to solve. His partner was reluctant to go to the hospital during her pregnancy, and he had no idea how to help her. What he found there was something he had never encountered before: a space where young fathers could sit together and speak openly about the things men are taught to keep to themselves. The fear. The confusion. The weight of a responsibility no one had ever shown them how to carry.The programme taught him something simple and, for him, revolutionary — to bond with his child before birth. To speak to the baby. To be present not only in body but in feeling. It did not only change how he fathered his children. It changed how he saw himself."Bonding with my unborn children has made me become the father my father never was," he says. "It has brought me closer to my children, and today I feel the love and the bond within my family."Today the support still comes to his door. A trained Mentor Father volunteer — a man who went through the programme himself — visits Mcolisi at home, sitting with him over a child health card, the way the Mentor Mothers sit with the women they support. It is peer mentorship extended to men: fathers showing other fathers what no one once showed them.His message reaches past his own gate. "Tell yourself: I'm not just a father, I'm a source — a source of education, love and security within the family."What sustained investment makes possibleMcolisi is not a pilot. He is proof of what is possible when men are invited into the conversation — and there are thousands of fathers across Manzini's communities who have never been told that bonding with an unborn child is even possible, let alone important. Reaching them is the next frontier.The results so far are clear, but the need is not yet met. The settlements Siphilile serves are still home to families for whom a clinic visit, a vaccination, or a bag of nutritious food demands resources and determination that many simply do not have. Thirty-two Mentor Mothers cannot yet reach every door.For UNICEF and its partners, continued investment in this programme is not a request to begin something new. It is an invitation to sustain something that is already working, and to carry it further — to more households, more fathers, more children, and more communities than the programme can currently reach."The Mentor Mothers programme does not build systems at a distance," says Njabuliso Lukhele, Programmes Manager at Siphilile. "It builds relationships at the door."With that support sustained, the promise on the horizon is a simple one: that every pregnant woman in Eswatini can have a mentor beside her, and every father can discover what it means to be a source of love, education and security for his family.No mother walking alone. And no father left behind.The Mentor Mothers and Fathers programme is implemented by Siphilile Maternal & Child Health, with support from UNICEF Eswatini, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture.

World Malaria Day is a powerful global moment to reflect on the progress, renew commitment, and accelerate action to end malaria - one of the most preventable yet deadly diseases. For Eswatini, it is also a moment to reaffirm a clear national ambition: to eliminate malaria by 2028. In 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) in Eswatini, government and its partners are behind the global campaign: "Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must." The theme is both a statement of confidence and a call-to-action to seize the opportunity; protecting lives today while investing in a malaria-free future.Globally, the fight against malaria has delivered encouraging results. Since 2000, 2.3 billion malaria cases and 14 million deaths have been averted worldwide. To date, 47 countries have been certified malaria-free including two in 2024 and three in 2025 while 37 countries reported fewer than 1,000 cases in 2024 alone. Eswatini is among the countries leading the global momentum, with elimination firmly within reach.Yet progress remains uneven. Across the African Region, malaria continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives each year, with the heaviest toll falling on young children. These deaths are preventable, underscoring the urgent need for sustained political commitment, adequate financing and strong health systems.Amid this broader challenge, Eswatini stands out as one of Africa's most promising success stories. Over the past decade, the country has reduced malaria transmission to very low levels, transforming what was once a widespread public health crisis into a focused elimination effort. In many areas, local transmission has been interrupted, and significant proportion of reported cases are now imported. This is a testament to progress, but also a reminder that vigilance remains essential.This success has been made possible through strong national leadership, effective coordination by the National Malaria Programme, and the tireless dedication of health workers at every level. Surveillance systems now ensure that nearly every case is detected, investigated, and responded to with speed. Meanwhile, vector control measures including indoor residual spraying continue to protect communities, and timely diagnosis and effective treatment remain widely accessible.Dr. Susan Tembo, WHO Representative to Eswatini, reinforces the path forward:"As we move forward, five priorities will remain critical: sustaining national leadership and domestic investment; ensuring that decisions are driven by high-quality data and surveillance; strengthening cross-border collaboration; integrating malaria services within primary health care and community-based services; and fostering a whole-of-society approach that engages all sectors and communities. The World Health Organization remains fully committed to supporting the Government and people of Eswatini as you take these final steps towards elimination. Let us continue to act with urgency, unity, and determination, so that future generations in this country can live free from the burden of malaria."This year's World Malaria Day commemoration included a dialogue with parliamentarians, aimed at strengthening political ownership and empowering leaders to champion malaria elimination within their constituencies. Ending malaria in Eswatini will require a collective effort from communities, policymakers, and development alike to ensure sustained financing and accountability.WHO continues to support Eswatini through strategic leadership, policy guidance and technical assistance to the National Malaria Program. It also collaborates with stakeholders like the End Malaria Fund, a special initiative commissioned by His Majesty King Mswati III to mobilize domestic resources and strengthen private-sector engagement in the fight against malaria. As Eswatini moves closer to elimination, sustained investment, strong partnerships, and collective action will be critical to protecting gains made and achieving a malaria-free future. 

For many young people in Eswatini, health challenges begin with poverty, unemployment, stigma, misinformation and limited opportunities that continue to shape decisions around mental health, HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health.These issues took centre stage at the MTN Bushfire Bring Your Fire Live Dialogues 2026, where a panel comprising representatives from UNFPA, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), Helping Hand Foundation and the Luke Commission gathered at House on Fire under the theme: “Beyond Access: Rethinking Health Equity in Eswatini.”The conversation comes at a critical moment for Eswatini. Despite progress in health outcomes, adolescent pregnancy remains a challenge, particularly in rural communities where girls are twice as likely to give birth before the age of 18 compared to those in urban settings (14% versus 6%), according to the 2021–2022 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). Young people, especially adolescent girls and young women, continue to face heightened vulnerability to HIV, while increasing concerns around depression, substance abuse and suicide are placing mental health higher on the national agenda. These interconnected challenges reinforce a reality echoed throughout the dialogue: health outcomes cannot be separated from poverty, inequality and access to opportunities. Representing UNFPA, Gender and Youth Program Analyst, Ms. Zenanile Dlamini argued that health inequities cannot be addressed without confronting the broader socioeconomic realities that influence wellbeing.“We cannot speak about health equity without addressing economic justice. We cannot speak about health outside of education, social protection, gender equality and economic empowerment,” she said.Her remarks echoed a recurring theme throughout the dialogue: health outcomes are inseparable from development outcomes.When discussing barriers to sexual and reproductive health services, Ms. Dlamini highlighted stigma and misinformation as persistent obstacles preventing young people from accessing care.“Young people still express that they feel stigma when they go to access Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) services. There’s still misinformation around SRHR, and many continue to get information from friends or social media,” she said.UNFPA also emphasised opportunities to strengthen digital and youth-centred approaches, including the Tune Me platform, developed with the Eswatini National Youth Council to improve access to SRHR information among young people.Yet for young participants attending the dialogue, awareness alone was not enough.“We understand the mental aspect, now we need actual help. It’s coming down to poverty. It’s coming down to the economic crisis,” one student challenged, calling for practical solutions to address financial hardship and mental wellbeing.Another student, Siniketiwe Simelane raised concerns about burnout among university students:“We are students, we are burnt out. Rest is productive too. I can’t do anything if I’m burnt out.”Such concerns reflect broader trends. Recent evidence suggests 15% of adolescents in Eswatini have attempted suicide, linked to anxiety, depression and social pressures. Between 2022 and 2024, 486 suicides were recorded nationally, signalling a growing mental health crisis.Responding to these concerns, Dr Wanda Shaw from the Luke Commission stressed that mental health cannot be separated from unemployment and hopelessness.“If you don’t have a structured purpose and you have lack of hope, it has been associated with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues,” he said.Meanwhile, AHF Prevention Programme and Advocacy Manager Tulani Mthethwa warned that poverty continues to drive HIV vulnerability among young people through transactional relationships and unequal power dynamics.For UNFPA, the dialogue reinforced an urgent lesson: young people are not only asking for access to services, they are demanding systems that understand their realities, respond to their needs and invest in their futures.