Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Economic Opportunities For Refugees: Lessons From Five Host Countries, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Abdullah Al Mahmud Shohag, Eashita Haque, Md. Irfan Hossain, Joseph Falcone, Ubaidur Rob

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The majority of refugees around the world are in protracted refugee situations, living in exile for at least five years with no sign of a durable solution. There are three possible durable solutions: repatriation, local integration, and resettlement. Repatriation remains the main durable solution, but the circumstances should be conducive for return to the country of origin. In the meantime, local integration gives refugees some certainty about what to do with their lives. Local integration is a process with three interrelated dimensions: legal, economic, and social. This report examines the level and extent of local integration of refugees in terms …

Characteristics Of Brokers In Relation To The Migration Of Girls And Young Women In Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This research brief focuses on brokers in Ethiopia—both licensed and unlicensed—who place migrating girls into jobs such as domestic work, waitressing, and commercial sex work. The characteristics of brokers, their contacts, ways of working, and how brokers both support and harm migrant girls is examined. Brokers sometimes provide support to girls that goes beyond job placement, such as providing girls with necessary help in their initial days, including financial assistance, short-term lodging, and food. Alternatively, brokers can be a source of considerable risk for girls. It was reported that brokers often exploit newly arriving girls for sex, expose them to …

Migration And Child Domestic Work: Evidence From Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Domestic work is frequently the initial survival strategy for rural Ethiopian girls migrating to urban areas. Following migration from rural areas, most girls enter the workforce as domestic workers, because it is a readily available form of work requiring little or no education. In 2015–16, the Population Council undertook a study of migrant, out-of-school girls in urban and rural areas in six Ethiopian regions which demonstrated that this is a common phenomenon. Originating from poor rural areas and armed with little in the way of education, domestic workers receive low pay and frequently work in abusive situations, including sexual abuse. …

Child Domestic Work And Transitions To Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Evidence From Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

There are an estimated 17.2 million child domestic workers in the world, and the vast majority are girls. Domestic work keeps children out of school, confined to the home, socially isolated, and burdened with excessive domestic duties. Furthermore, evidence is emerging that domestic work is a feeder profession for sex work. In 2015–16, the Population Council undertook a study of migrant, out-of-school girls in Ethiopia. The domestic work conditions described in this brief create unbearable conditions for girls who enter into commercial sex work as an alternative, hoping for an improvement in their work situation. The study found that a …

The Journey Of Out-Of-School Girls In Ethiopia: Examining Migration, Livelihoods, And Hiv, Annabel Erulkar, Girmay Medhin, Lemi Negeri

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Rates of urbanization in Ethiopia are increasing, and based on available data, HIV prevalence among urban girls who are in-migrants is significantly higher than among girls who are native to the area. Likewise, a significant number of out-of-school girls who migrate end up in low-status, exploitative, or risky professions, such as domestic work and sex work. This study of out-of-school girls in six regions of Ethiopia aimed to explore patterns of migration, transitions into different work roles, and situations that may put out-of-school migrant girls at increased risk of HIV infection or be protective and beneficial. Based on the study’s …

The Impact And Cost Of Child Marriage Prevention In Rural Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Girmay Medhin, Eva Weissman

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The negative impact of child marriage, frequently prevalent in rural locations of poor countries, spans health, development, and demographic consequences. While evidence is limited, a systematic review of child marriage interventions in developing countries found that the most effective approaches in delaying child marriage were those that empower girls by offering incentives such as conditional cash transfers. However, most impact evaluations of community-based programs lack rigorous costing data, a particular weakness of cash transfer schemes where programmatic cost would affect the ability to scale up successful interventions for large populations. To address the limited information on cost and scalability of …

The Impact And Cost Of Child Marriage Prevention In Three African Settings—Brief, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Child marriage affects a significant number of girls in developing countries. The negative consequences of the practice are numerous and powerful, spanning health, welfare, development, and demographic domains. Yet there is limited evidence on what works to delay child marriage in different cultural contexts and even less information on programmatic cost. This brief reports on a study that aims to identify the most effective and minimum basic package approaches to delay marriage among adolescent girls in different African settings. The study was undertaken in rural areas of Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. The study also measures the cost of implementing …

The Impact And Cost Of Child Marriage Prevention In Three African Settings, Annabel Erulkar, Girmay Medhin, Eva Weissman

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Girls in sub-Saharan Africa are disproportionately affected by child marriage; by 2050, half of the girls married during childhood will reside in Africa. The negative consequences of the practice are numerous and powerful, spanning health, welfare, development, and demographic domains. Yet, there is limited evidence on what works to delay child marriage in different cultural contexts and even less information on programmatic cost. This study develops and tests the most effective and minimum basic package approaches to delay marriage among older and younger adolescent girls, and estimates the cost and cost-effectiveness of implementing the different approaches, in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, …

Evaluation Of Health And Education Impacts Of A Girls’ Safe Spaces Program In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Girmay Medhin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Approximately one in eight of the world’s population is a girl or young woman aged 10–24 and attention is increasingly focusing on the central role of adolescent girls in achieving global health and development goals. Areas of focus by the development field include girls’ education, health, child marriage, and the experience of violence. This study analyzes the educational and health impacts of a program for slum-dwelling girls, including child domestic workers and rural-urban migrants. Established in 2006, Biruh Tesfa (Bright Future) aimed to increase social networks and support for the most marginalized girls in the poorest urban areas of Ethiopia. …

Building The Assets To Thrive: Addressing The Hiv-Related Vulnerabilities Of Adolescent Girls In Ethiopia—Policy Brief, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In Eastern and Southern Africa, HIV is the leading cause of death among girls aged 15–19. Despite decades of investment and substantial progress against HIV, adolescent girls remain at disproportionate risk of infection. Few programs have sought to take a “whole girl” approach to addressing the multiple vulnerabilities to HIV infection experienced by the most marginalized adolescent girls in the poorest communities in Africa. “Building the Assets to Thrive: Addressing the HIV-related Vulnerabilities of Adolescent Girls in Ethiopia” is a comprehensive review of three programs implemented and evaluated by the Population Council and the Ethiopian government beginning in 2007: Biruh …

Kalkidan (‘Promise’) Preventing Marital Transmission Of Hiv In Urban Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Hanan Nourhussein

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Most mainstream HIV-prevention programs focus on increasing knowledge related to HIV transmission and risky sexual behaviors. These initiatives often do not take into account gender issues or power dynamics, nor do they address the risk that marital partners face within their relationships. Such programs assume that marriage is a safe haven for women and that their HIV risk is minimal. In response, the Population Council launched the “Kalkidan” project to enhance couple communication, promote HIV prevention within marriage, reduce stigma and violence, and increase demand for HIV information and services, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission—which will collectively contribute to HIV-negative …

Building The Assets To Thrive: Addressing The Hiv-Related Vulnerabilities Of Adolescent Girls In Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Despite decades of investment and dramatic progress against HIV, adolescent girls remain at disproportionate risk of infection. Population Council research shows that the best way to protect girls and young women from HIV and other bad outcomes is to reach them early—before they experience irreversible events like HIV infection or unintended childbearing—and with enough health, social, and cognitive assets to make a measurable difference in their lives. This book is a comprehensive review of three programs launched by the Population Council and the Ethiopian government. Two of the programs work to reduce Ethiopian girls’ HIV risk by providing out-of-school adolescent …

Kalkidan ('Promise'): Addressing Marital Transmission Of Hiv In Ethiopia, Banchiamlack Dessalegn, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This program brief describes a Population Council initiative in three low-income areas of Ethiopia. Kalkidan (Amharic for “Promise”) is a three-year program designed to increase discussion and information-sharing on HIV and related topics between marital partners; to promote HIV prevention and health service utilization within marriage, including prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV; and to build husbands’ support of their wives, as well as investment in their health and that of their children. Kalkidan recruits and trains community-based mentors to lead parallel discussion groups of husbands and wives, who periodically come together for joint sessions. The Population Council is …

De La Recherche À La Conception Programmatique Et À La Mise En Oeuvre : Programmation À L'Intention Des Filles Des Milieux Ruraux D'Éthiopie—Boîte À Outils Du Praticien, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Cette boîte à outils décrit comment créer ou améliorer des programmes pour les filles de l’Éthiopie rurale, en vue d'accroître le nombre de programmes organisés à leur intention et de les rendre pertinents et mieux adaptés à leur contexte. La boîte à outils décrit un processus d’élaboration programmatique fermement ancré dans les faits. Les chapitres procèdent dès lors d’un point de départ axé sur la recherche pour identifier et décrire les filles, pour se concentrer ensuite sur le développement programmatique émanant des données, et aboutir enfin sur la mise en œuvre guidée par le suivi et l’évaluation permanents.

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Berhane Hewan ('Light For Eve'): Increasing Opportunities To Delay Marriage And Promote Schooling, Annabel Erulkar, Eunice N. Muthengi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This policy brief describes the findings of a pilot study on girls’ experience of early marriage, education, and sexual behavior in rural Amhara Region, Ethiopia. The brief also discusses efforts in the region to delay marriage and promote girls’ schooling. The Amhara Bureau of Women, Children and Youth Affairs and the Population Council pilot-tested a program to delay marriage and support schooling in rural Amhara Region. The program, entitled Berhane Hewan (Amharic for “Light for Eve”), included community conversations, support for remaining in school, and conditional cash transfers if girls remained unmarried and in school for the duration of the …

Addis Birhan Wendoch ('New Light Boys'): Working With Boys And Young Men To Create Healthier Futures, Woldemariam Girma, Diane Rubino, Annabel Erulkar, Worku Ambelu, Ayenechew Kerie

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council and the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs designed Addis Birhan Wendoch to impart life skills and promote gender-equitable, nonviolent, and healthy behaviors among boys and young men aged 10 to 24. The program helps out-of school boys and young men in Ethiopia navigate toward a healthier future by providing them with trained, compassionate mentors and safe environments in which they can find the support needed to share ideas and take positive actions. Through frank and open discussions, boys have the opportunity to get the facts on a range of essential topics from financial literacy …

The Cost Of Reaching The Most Disadvantaged Girls: Programmatic Evidence From Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, South Africa, And Uganda, Jessica Sewall-Menon, Judith Bruce, Karen Austrian, Raven Brown, Jennifer Catino, Alejandra Colom, Angel Del Valle, Habtamu Demele, Annabel Erulkar, Kelly Hallman, Eva Roca, Nadia Zibani

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The most disadvantaged adolescent girls are the poorest girls from the poorest communities. They suffer from human rights abuses, lack education and economic opportunity, are affected by HIV/AIDS, and have poor reproductive and maternal health outcomes. To effectively reach these girls so that they can receive critical services such as gathering spaces, life skills, financial literacy, savings accounts, and reproductive health knowledge, they must be targeted as a distinct segment. It is important to invest in building the capacities of local partners and governments to deliver and scale-up low-cost, well-targeted programs. This technical report is intended to assist programmatic officers, …

Retarder Le Mariage Précoce Chez Les Filles Défavorisées En Milieu Rural Dans La Région Amhara, En Éthiopie, Grâce Au Soutien Social, À L'Éducation Et À La Sensibilisation Des Communautés, Eunice N. Muthengi, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

L'Éthiopie affiche des taux extrêmement élevés de mariage d'enfants et une épidémie de VIH qui touche les femmes de façon disproportionnée. Dans la région rurale d'Amhara, 50% des filles sont mariées avant l’âge de 15 ans et plus de 80% sont mariées avant l’âge de 18 ans. Les chercheurs ont réalisé une enquête auprès de plus de 1800 adolescentes dans la région d'Amhara. Sur la base des conclusions, en 2004, le Bureau Régional de la Jeunesse et des Sports d'Amhara et le Population Council ont créé le projet Berhane Hewan («Light for Eve»). L'objectif de Berhane Hewan est la mise …

Biruh Tesfa Procure Aux Employées Domestiques, Aux Orphelines Et Aux Immigrantes Des Zones Urbaines Éthiopiennes Une Assistance Sociale, Une Formation Sur Le Vih Ainsi Qu'un Programme De Développement Des Compétences, Annabel Erulkar, Belaynesh Semunegus, Gebeyehu Mekonnen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

En Éthiopie, l'épidémie de VIH se révèle de plus importante en milieu urbaine et chez la population féminine. On estime que 7,7% de la population urbaine d'Éthiopie est séropositive, par rapport à moins de 1% de la population rurale. À l'échelle nationale, le rapport femme/homme en termes d'infection par le VIH est de 3 à 2. Il est possible que les filles qui migrent depuis les zones rurales vers les milieux urbains soient moins protégées, plus vulnérables à la violence et aux agressions sexuelles, et également moins bien équipées pour se prémunir contre ces situations d’abus (toutes susceptibles d’accroître le …

Addis Birhan Project: Working With Boys And Men To Address Young Girls' Social Vulnerability, Annabel Erulkar, Louis Apicella, Abebaw Ferede

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In Ethiopia, the Ethiopia Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Amhara Regional Bureau of Youth and Sports, and the Population Council implemented programs for vulnerable girls. As these programs increased in popularity, demand for support programs arose from husbands. Qualitative, in-depth interviews were undertaken among adolescents, men, and women in the Amhara Region, exploring the roles of men and women, risk-taking behavior, and patterns of HIV and reproductive health vulnerability. Addis Birhan (“New Light”), a program of the Regional Bureaus of Youth and Sports in Amhara and Tigray and the Population Council for rural men in Ethiopia, targets married men …

Delaying Early Marriage Among Disadvantaged Rural Girls In Amhara, Ethiopia, Through Social Support, Education, And Community Awareness, Eunice N. Muthengi, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Ethiopia has extremely high rates of child marriage and an HIV epidemic that disproportionately affects females. In the rural Amhara region, 50 percent of girls are married by age 15 and 80 percent are married by age 18. Researchers conducted a survey of more than 1,800 adolescents in the Amhara Region. Based on the findings, in 2004 the Amhara Regional Bureau of Youth and Sports and the Population Council created the Berhane Hewan (“Light for Eve”) project. Berhane Hewan’s goal is to establish effective mechanisms to protect girls at risk of early marriage and to support adolescent girls who are …

Biruh Tesfa Provides Domestic Workers, Orphans, And Migrants In Urban Ethiopia With Social Support, Hiv Education, And Skills, Annabel Erulkar, Belaynesh Semunegus, Gebeyehu Mekonnen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In Ethiopia, the HIV epidemic is increasingly urban and female. An estimated 7.7 percent of the urban population in Ethiopia is HIV-positive, compared with less than 1 percent of the rural population. Nationally, the female-to-male ratio of HIV infection is 3 to 2. Girls who migrate from rural to urban areas may be less protected, more vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse, and less equipped to avoid abusive situations—all of which may increase HIV risk. The Biruh Tesfa (“Bright Future”) program addresses the social isolation of out-of-school adolescent girls aged 10–19, including rural-to-urban migrants, domestic workers, and orphans. Using a …

From Research, To Program Design, To Implementation: Programming For Rural Girls In Ethiopia—A Toolkit For Practitioners, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This toolkit describes how to build or improve programs for rural adolescent girls in Ethiopia with a view to increasing the number of programs available and making them relevant and context-appropriate. The toolkit describes a process of program development that is grounded firmly in an evidence base. Chapters begin at a starting point of research to identify and describe girls, followed by program development emanating from data, to implementation guided by ongoing monitoring and evaluation.

Biruh Tesfa ('Bright Future') Program Provides Domestic Workers, Orphans And Migrants In Urban Ethiopia With Social Support, Hiv Education And Skills, Annabel Erulkar, Herma Gebru, Gebeyehu Mekonnen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief provides details about the Biruh Tesfa (“Bright Future”) program in Ethiopia established by the former Ethiopia Ministry of Youth and Sports (currently Ministry of Women, Children and Youth) with technical assistance from the Population Council. Biruh Tesfa aims to address the social isolation of adolescent girls by building their social capital and participation and giving them access to basic literacy, life skills, and HIV and reproductive health information. This evaluation of Biruh Tesfa shows early success and the program, which was initially pilot-tested in the low-income area of Mercato in Addis Ababa, was ultimately expanded to four urban …

Ethiopia Young Adult Survey: A Study In Seven Regions, Annabel Erulkar, Abebaw Ferede, Worku Ambelu, Woldemariam Girma, Helen Amdemikael, Behailu Gebremedhin, Berhanu Legesse, Ayehualem Tameru, Messay Teferi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report details a survey in Ethiopia that provides a baseline for four new initiatives, including programs devoted to adolescent and youth health and development, gender-based violence, women’s/girls’ empowerment, and female genital cutting/mutilation. The Population Council research contributes to up-to-date and nuanced understandings of HIV behavior, gender issues, and reproductive health among young people in seven regions of Ethiopia. The survey findings underscore the differing experiences of boys and girls as well as the varying conditions in urban and rural areas of Ethiopia; tailored strategies are needed to reach rural boys, rural girls, urban boys, and urban girls. In addition, …

Building Programs To Address Child Marriage: The Berhane Hewan Experience In Ethiopia, Eunice N. Muthengi, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The development of a context-appropriate program to delay marriage in rural Ethiopia took place over many years and in stages. The program that ultimately became known as “Berhane Hewan” was developed by building an evidence base of understanding on the populations being served and developing partnerships between the Population Council and like-minded agencies with complementary expertise. The Berhane Hewan pilot demonstrated that significant impacts can be made on the social, educational, and health status of adolescent girls in a short period of time, through well designed and implemented support programs. However, high levels of exposure to all project components, make …

Ethiopia Gender Survey: A Study In Seven Regions, Annabel Erulkar, Abebaw Ferede, Worku Ambelu, Woldemariam Girma, Helen Amdemikael, Behailu Gebremedhin, Berhanu Legesse, Ayehualem Tameru, Messay Teferi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

“Ethiopia Gender Survey: A Study in Seven Regions” is a 2009 population-based survey. Over 8,000 Ethiopian women aged 15 to 49 were interviewed to examine a better understanding of HIV behavior, gender issues and reproductive health in Ethiopia. The information serves as the baseline survey for four initiatives in Ethiopia related to adolescent health and development, gender-based violence, women’s empowerment, and female genital cutting/ mutilation.

Meserete Hiwot ("Base Of Life"): Supporting Married Adolescents With Hiv Prevention And Reproductive Health In Rural Ethiopia, Annabel Erulkar, Aragaw Lamesgin, Eunice N. Muthengi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

To better understand the lives of adolescents in rural Ethiopia, researchers conducted a survey of adolescents in Amhara Region. The study found that many girls experienced early, unwanted arranged marriages, resulting in early unwanted sexual initiation and pregnancy, as well as social isolation in new marital homes. Based on the findings of this study, the Population Council and the Ethiopian Ministry of Youth and Sports created a program to support girls who are married early, with a view to increasing their social networks, improving their ability to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS, and supporting their reproductive health. This program brief reports …

Adolescent Girls In Urban Ethiopia: Vulnerability And Opportunity, Abebaw Ferede, Annabel Erulkar

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In 2008, the Population Council undertook a survey of out-of-school, adolescent girls (aged 10 to 19) in slum areas of urban Ethiopia—a population that is highly vulnerable to HIV infection. The survey serves as a baseline for HIV prevention programs designed and implemented jointly by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Regional Bureaus of Youth and Sports, and the Population Council. This study provided valuable direction for programmers interested in supporting adolescent girls, particularly early adolescent (10 to 14 years old) and out-of-school girls who are highly vulnerable and in need of dedicated attention. Special efforts are needed to support …

The Adolescent Experience In-Depth: Using Data To Identify And Reach The Most Vulnerable Young People—Ethiopia 2005, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

“The Adolescent Experience In-Depth: Using Data to Identify and Reach the Most Vulnerable Young People: Ethiopia 2005” is part of a series of Population Council guides that draw principally on data from the Demographic and Health Surveys to provide decisionmakers at all levels—from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and advocacy groups—with evidence on the situation of adolescent girls and boys and young women aged 10–24 years. The data are presented in graphs, tables, and maps (wherever possible), providing multiple formats to make the information accessible to a range of audiences. Section I is the Foreword. Section II offers brief technical notes specific …