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Health And Ideations Of Married Female Adolescents, Breakthrough Research Jul 2021

Health And Ideations Of Married Female Adolescents, Breakthrough Research

Reproductive Health

This brief provides rigorous evidence-based insights to implementers and researchers of social and behavior change (SBC) programs that seek to improve knowledge, attitudes, norms, and behaviors of married female adolescents. The brief focuses on married adolescents’ uptake of services and health knowledge in Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara states in northwestern Nigeria using a subset of data from a household survey of married women ages 15–49 years. It is one of a series of briefs that present findings from a Breakthrough RESEARCH study that uniquely captures data on a wide range of psychosocial drivers of behavioral outcomes in the areas of …


Impulsiveness, Depression, Sexual Behavior, And Sexually Transmitted Infections And Hiv-Related Outcomes Among Out-Of-School Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Rural Southern Malawi, Project Soar Jan 2021

Impulsiveness, Depression, Sexual Behavior, And Sexually Transmitted Infections And Hiv-Related Outcomes Among Out-Of-School Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Rural Southern Malawi, Project Soar

HIV and AIDS

Under Project SOAR, the Population Council in collaboration with the University of Malawi College of Medicine monitored key HIV prevention, care, and treatment outcomes among populations who are targeted by the One-C program. Under that study, the Population Council investigated associations between impulsiveness, depression, sexual behavior, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV among out-of-school adolescent girls and young women. Impulsivity is a personality trait that has been associated with risky sexual behavior among young people in different settings in the developed world.


Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Arabic], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer Jan 2021

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Arabic], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document contains the Building Assets Toolkit’s Asset Cards (110), set of Age Cards (age 6 to 20), and Program Planning Worksheet (sample provided). The Age Cards are to be printed out and placed according to the instructions. The Asset Cards are to be printed out and cut in half. Blank Asset Cards are provided to create customized assets. The Building Assets Toolkit is an approach for developing programs for specific segments of girls that will prepare them to better face the challenges of growing up. It will help program managers understand the needs of the girls in their community, …


Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Instruction Guide [Arabic], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer Jan 2021

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Instruction Guide [Arabic], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

English Summary:
The Building Assets Toolkit is an approach for developing programs for specific segments of girls that will prepare them to better face the challenges of growing up. It will help program managers understand the needs of the girls in their community, engage stakeholders at different levels and with different viewpoints, and build concrete and meaningful programming for adolescent girls. The toolkit contains all the materials needed to help make a preliminary assessment of the assets a girl should acquire and the age by which she should acquire them. This document contains the Building Assets Toolkit’s List of …


Characterizing The Unmet Hiv Prevention Needs And Hiv Risk Vulnerabilities Of Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Ethiopia, Carly A. Comins, Sheree Schwartz, Stefan Baral, Andargachew Mulu Dec 2020

Characterizing The Unmet Hiv Prevention Needs And Hiv Risk Vulnerabilities Of Adolescent Girls And Young Women In Ethiopia, Carly A. Comins, Sheree Schwartz, Stefan Baral, Andargachew Mulu

HIV and AIDS

Although the disparity in HIV prevalence among young women and their male counterparts is not new, there is increasing recognition that addressing the unmet HIV prevention needs among AGYW is necessary to achieve epidemic control. In Ethiopia, data characterizing unmet HIV prevention needs and HIV risk vulnerabilities among AGYW, particularly out of school AGYW, have been limited. Armauer Hansen Research Institute and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health through Project SOAR conducted an integrated HIV biobehavioral survey (IBBS) focused on out-of-school adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24 years to assess AGYW HIV risk vulnerability. The purpose of …


Bangladesh: Covid-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices & Needs—Responses From Three Rounds Of Data Collection Among Adolescent Girls In Districts With High Rates Of Child Marriage, Sajeda Amin, Ubaidur Rob, Sigma Ainul, Md. Irfan Hossain, Forhana Rahman Noor, Iqbal Ehsan, Mehnaz Manzur Nov 2020

Bangladesh: Covid-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices & Needs—Responses From Three Rounds Of Data Collection Among Adolescent Girls In Districts With High Rates Of Child Marriage, Sajeda Amin, Ubaidur Rob, Sigma Ainul, Md. Irfan Hossain, Forhana Rahman Noor, Iqbal Ehsan, Mehnaz Manzur

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

From April 20–30, 2020, during a nationwide lockdown, the Population Council Bangladesh conducted the first round of a rapid phone-based survey on COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The survey randomly selected girls who had provided phone numbers during enrollment in a skills-building program that began before the pandemic. The survey’s objective was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent lives and to design programs that would contribute to protecting girls and meet social distancing guidelines imposed by the government. Phone interviews were conducted with 479 girls living in the districts of Chapainawabganj, Kushtia, and Sherpur who were participants in …


Building Assets For Humanitarian Settings, Women's Refugee Commission, Population Council Jun 2020

Building Assets For Humanitarian Settings, Women's Refugee Commission, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document is the Women’s Refugee Commission and the Population Council’s adaptation of the Building Assets Toolkit and its core activity, the Asset Exercise, for use in humanitarian contexts. An asset-building exercise is a thoughtful way to build intentional program content for girls to determine what assets they need in order to survive and thrive. This is particularly important for programs intended to reach the poorest girls in the poorest communities based on sound evidence on the reality of their lives. The Council’s Building Assets Toolkit is rooted in this exercise, helping practitioners, policymakers, and advocates build tailored, meaningful, …


Creative Assets And Program Content Guide: To Build Social And Emotional Learning And Promote Trauma Mitigation And Healing, Adolescent Girl And Creativity Network Jun 2020

Creative Assets And Program Content Guide: To Build Social And Emotional Learning And Promote Trauma Mitigation And Healing, Adolescent Girl And Creativity Network

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In 2016, the Adolescent Girl and Creativity Network was commissioned by the Population Council’s Community of Practice to utilize their wealth of knowledge and field experience to critically examine, adapt, and expand the Council’s Building Assets Toolkit© and complementary Asset Exercise. The question explored was: What are the essential assets pertinent to the most-at-risk girls and how can they be built through creative techniques/activities? This guide is the result of that activity—13 creative assets and 50 activities (program content) to build social and emotional learning, mitigate and manage trauma, and promote healing. The 50 creative program content activities to …


Bangladesh: Covid-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices And Needs—Responses From The First Round Of Data Collection Among Adolescent Girls In Five Districts, Population Council Jun 2020

Bangladesh: Covid-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices And Needs—Responses From The First Round Of Data Collection Among Adolescent Girls In Five Districts, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council Bangladesh conducted the first round of a series of rapid phone-based surveys on COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices and the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on adolescent girls. The first COVID-19 positive patient in Bangladesh was reported on March 8, 2020. The advent of COVID-19 triggered the closure of all educational institutions. A nationwide “holiday” was declared on March 26, 2020, and a ban was implemented on all passenger travel by water, rail, and air. These restrictions have been partially relaxed, but the disease is spreading rapidly with 28,511 positive cases and 408 deaths as of …


Reducing Hiv Risk Among Young Women And Their Partners: Highlights From The Dreams Implementation Science Research Portfolio, Population Council Jun 2020

Reducing Hiv Risk Among Young Women And Their Partners: Highlights From The Dreams Implementation Science Research Portfolio, Population Council

HIV and AIDS

The Population Council, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development through Project SOAR, led a set of implementation science studies to capture multiple perspectives that reflect the innovative aspects of DREAMS. These mixed-method studies conducted across seven countries (Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia) provide critical evidence that fill knowledge gaps on how to reduce HIV risk among AGYW and their male partners. This brief presents key findings grouped around four areas of inquiry: 1) HIV vulnerability and risk; 2) social drivers of HIV risk; 3) effects of …


Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya: Endline Evaluation Report, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Beth Kangwana, Nicole Maddox, Yohannes Dibaba Wado, Benta Abuya, Valsa Shah, John A. Maluccio May 2020

Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya: Endline Evaluation Report, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Beth Kangwana, Nicole Maddox, Yohannes Dibaba Wado, Benta Abuya, Valsa Shah, John A. Maluccio

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Early pregnancy is a challenge for girls in Kenya that often has immediate effects on their educational opportunities, future implications for their social, health, and economic outcomes, and negative impacts on their children. For girls to achieve well-being in early and late adolescence, no single-sector intervention—whether education, health, wealth creation, or prevention of violence—will be adequate. The Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya (AGI-K) delivered multisectoral interventions to over 6,000 girls aged 11–15 in two marginalized areas of Kenya: the Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi and Wajir County in Northeastern Kenya. These interventions were carried out for two years (2015–17) and comprised a …


Covid-19-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Among Adolescent Girls In Bangladesh: Concept Note, Sajeda Amin May 2020

Covid-19-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, And Practices Among Adolescent Girls In Bangladesh: Concept Note, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Population Council COVID-19 study team is implementing rapid phone-based surveys of a representative sample of girls living in the catchment area of two skills-building programs. The two programs (one with UNFPA, the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; and the second with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education/DSHE) are affiliated with the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage. The overall goal of the programs is to prevent child marriage. The rapid assessment will explore how the pandemic and associated lockdown is changing girls' experience of schooling, time use, care responsibilities and household scarcity as mediating …


Bangladesh: Covid-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices And Needs, Population Council May 2020

Bangladesh: Covid-19 Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices And Needs, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

No abstract provided.


Adapting The Asset Exercise For Humanitarian Contexts, Women's Refugee Commission, Population Council Apr 2020

Adapting The Asset Exercise For Humanitarian Contexts, Women's Refugee Commission, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

As a guiding program theory, asset-building centers on the idea that skills, knowledge, relationships, and concrete resources can all constitute assets, or “stores of value,” that girls can, in turn, mobilize to make healthy choices, seek support, navigate institutions, and access entitlements. This approach is inherently multisectoral, rooted in a commitment to prioritize understanding of and respond to the diversity of girls’ needs, capacities, and experiences. The Asset Exercise operationalizes the concept of “asset-building” into concrete terms. The exercise consists of a deck of 100 “asset cards,” and eight “age cards.” Asset cards reflect both intrinsic qualities, concrete knowledge, and …


Abriendo Futuros: A Program For Rural Indigenous Girls In Yucatan, Mexico, Fabiola Romero, Ludivine Cicolella, Silvana Larrea, A. Fallone, Isabel Vieitez Martínez Mar 2020

Abriendo Futuros: A Program For Rural Indigenous Girls In Yucatan, Mexico, Fabiola Romero, Ludivine Cicolella, Silvana Larrea, A. Fallone, Isabel Vieitez Martínez

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Abriendo Futuros (AF) program builds on the Council’s global experience of designing and implementing successful girl-centered programs in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean. AF aims to improve the living conditions of Mayan girls (10–18 years) and contribute to the achievement of gender equity in the Yucatan. The program’s community-focused strategy seeks to empower girls through interpersonal communication and participatory workshops. Girls in selected communities are divided into age groups (10–14 and 15–18) that meet weekly with a mentor in safe spaces. The program’s mentors are young women aged 20–30 from the communities, who …


Evidence To Support Hiv Prevention For Adolescent Girls And Young Women (Agyw) And Their Male Partners: Results From Malawi Dreams Studies With Agyw, Male Partners Of Agyw, Men Living With Hiv, And Program Implementing Partners, Nanlesta Pilgrim, Victor Mwapasa, Effie Chipeta, Wanangwa Chimwaza, Nrupa Jani, Tracy Mcclair, Lyson Tenthani, Sanyukta Mathur Feb 2020

Evidence To Support Hiv Prevention For Adolescent Girls And Young Women (Agyw) And Their Male Partners: Results From Malawi Dreams Studies With Agyw, Male Partners Of Agyw, Men Living With Hiv, And Program Implementing Partners, Nanlesta Pilgrim, Victor Mwapasa, Effie Chipeta, Wanangwa Chimwaza, Nrupa Jani, Tracy Mcclair, Lyson Tenthani, Sanyukta Mathur

HIV and AIDS

Project SOAR, led by the Population Council, in partnership with the Center of Reproductive Health at the University of Malawi College of Medicine, conducted a research portfolio to generate evidence to reduce HIV risk among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and their male partners. The objectives of this implementation research were to generate evidence for describing HIV-related risk factors among AGYW; assess the extent to which the overall DREAMS project contributed toward the goal of reducing HIV risk among AGYW; and understand the characteristics of male partners and how to link them to HIV services, as well as retain …


Understanding Local Variation In How Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Declines, Changes, Or Persists: Analysis Of Household Survey Data For Kenya, Nigeria, And Senegal, Population Reference Bureau Feb 2020

Understanding Local Variation In How Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Declines, Changes, Or Persists: Analysis Of Household Survey Data For Kenya, Nigeria, And Senegal, Population Reference Bureau

Reproductive Health

Efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) intensified in many parts of Africa following a 2012 United Nations General Assembly Resolution, but change has been uneven. Important evidence gaps remain in our understanding of why the practice declines, changes, or persists in specific locations. Policymakers and program planners need such information to better tailor interventions to address local patterns and focus resources on abandonment efforts in areas with the greatest needs. To fill these gaps, researchers with the Evidence to End FGM/C consortium analyzed nationally representative household survey data for Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal. The results of their research identify …


Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Nigeria: Is The Practice Declining? A Descriptive Analysis Of Successive Demographic And Health Surveys And Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (2003–2017), Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Glory Atilola, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Emmanuel Ogundimu, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Paul Komba, Zhuzhi Moore, Dennis Matanda Feb 2020

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting In Nigeria: Is The Practice Declining? A Descriptive Analysis Of Successive Demographic And Health Surveys And Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (2003–2017), Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Glory Atilola, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Emmanuel Ogundimu, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Paul Komba, Zhuzhi Moore, Dennis Matanda

Reproductive Health

This report gives insight into the scale and scope of the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) among women aged 15–49 years and girls younger than 15 years in Nigeria. It also presents evidence on where FGM/C occurs and highlights the dynamics of change as well as the context surrounding the practice. The report explores in detail the practice of FGM/C from all available sources of nationally representative survey data from 2003 to 2017 and the most relevant contextual information on key factors associated over time with FGM/C. The ultimate objective of the report is to generate evidence to inform …


Modelling And Mapping Of State Disparities Associated With Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Prevalence Among Girls Aged 0–14 Years In Nigeria: Evidence From Dhs And Mics 2003–2017, Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Paul Komba, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Glory Atilola, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Zhuzhi Moore, Dennis Matanda Jan 2020

Modelling And Mapping Of State Disparities Associated With Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Prevalence Among Girls Aged 0–14 Years In Nigeria: Evidence From Dhs And Mics 2003–2017, Ngianga-Bakwin Kandala, Paul Komba, Chibuzor Christopher Nnanatu, Glory Atilola, Lubanzadio Mavatikua, Zhuzhi Moore, Dennis Matanda

Reproductive Health

The practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) has been positioned as a gender and global development issue that national and international organizations must address for girls and women to thrive in good health and enjoy their fundamental rights. Consequently, many efforts have been made to promote the abandonment of the practice. Despite evidence of a decline in FGM/C, there are significant variations in its prevalence in many sub-Saharan African countries, where the practice persists due to the combined effects of factors among individuals as well as communities. This working paper presents findings from a study that analyzed existing data using …


Population Council Annual Evaluation Report: Opening Futures (Abriendo Futuros) For Indigenous Girls In Yucatan, Mexico, Silvana Larrea Jan 2020

Population Council Annual Evaluation Report: Opening Futures (Abriendo Futuros) For Indigenous Girls In Yucatan, Mexico, Silvana Larrea

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This Population Council Annual Evaluation Report includes evaluation activities from December 1, 2015 to December 1, 2019, and future evaluation plans (2019–21), as part of the Opening Futures (Abriendo Futuros) project for indigenous girls in Yucatan, Mexico. The first section describes the finalized analysis of the impact evaluation of the pilot phase; the second section reports the progress of evaluation activities; and the third section includes an evaluation of future plans for the period December 1, 2019 to November 30, 2021.


Situation Analysis Of Reproductive Health Of Adolescents And Youth In Pakistan, Iram Kamran, Rehan M. Niazi, Kiren Khan, Faisal Abbas Jan 2019

Situation Analysis Of Reproductive Health Of Adolescents And Youth In Pakistan, Iram Kamran, Rehan M. Niazi, Kiren Khan, Faisal Abbas

Reproductive Health

This report presents a situation analysis of the reproductive health of adolescents and youth in Pakistan. It is intended to contribute to evidence-based policies and programs for realizing reproductive rights and choices for young people through health information and services, education programs, and strategic partnerships. The study included a literature review, secondary analysis of data from the Pakistan Demographic Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and a qualitative study of perspectives of unmarried adolescent boys and girls (aged 15–19), including both school-going and out-of-school individuals, as well as boys and girls with disabilities, in peri-urban areas of Islamabad, Lahore, …


The Girl Roster: A Practical Tool For Strengthening Girl-Centered Programming, Population Council Jan 2019

The Girl Roster: A Practical Tool For Strengthening Girl-Centered Programming, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief describes the Girl RosterTM, a practical tool designed by the Population Council to help practitioners understand their program areas and elicit foundational information to intentionally link girls—especially highly marginalized adolescent girls—to the vital resources, facilities, and services to which they are entitled but often have limited or no access. The tool is a user-friendly, efficient, and cost-effective way to collect program-relevant information about girls in a community, using a mobile phone–based questionnaire (or, where resources do not permit, paper and pencil). The tool enables users to see a fuller view of girls’ lived realities in defined …


Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Portuguese], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer Jan 2019

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Portuguese], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document contains the Building Assets Toolkit’s Asset Cards (110), set of Age Cards (age 6 to 20), and Program Planning Worksheet (sample provided). The Age Cards are to be printed out and placed according to the instructions. The Asset Cards are to be printed out and cut in half. Blank Asset Cards are provided to create customized assets. The Building Assets Toolkit is an approach for developing programs for specific segments of girls that will prepare them to better face the challenges of growing up. It will help program managers understand the needs of the girls in their community, …


Delivering Results In Girls' Education: How To Evaluate What Works, What Doesn't, And What We Don't Know, Stephanie Psaki Jan 2019

Delivering Results In Girls' Education: How To Evaluate What Works, What Doesn't, And What We Don't Know, Stephanie Psaki

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Girls around the world face daunting challenges when it comes to enrolling in primary school, completing secondary school, and gaining the basic knowledge and skills they need to be empowered, healthy, and productive adults. Many governments and organizations have risen to meet that challenge through policies and programs designed to remove common barriers to girls’ education. But as the number of actors in this space grows, and resources to address these challenges remain scarce, it is essential to ensure that investments are targeted toward the most effective policies and programs. This brief lays out the basics of program evaluation. The …


Does Education Improve Health In Low- And Middle Income Countries? Results From A Systematic Review, Stephanie Psaki, Barbara Mensch, Erica Chuang, Andrea J. Melnikas Jan 2019

Does Education Improve Health In Low- And Middle Income Countries? Results From A Systematic Review, Stephanie Psaki, Barbara Mensch, Erica Chuang, Andrea J. Melnikas

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Despite enormous progress in expanding school enrollment globally, improvements in health have not always followed, raising important questions: Does education, in fact, enable women, men and their families to be healthier? And if so, how? To fill this gap in knowledge, the GIRL Center conducted a systematic review of the evidence for the effects of education on health in low- and middle-income countries.


Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Spanish], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer Jan 2019

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Spanish], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

La Caja de herramientas: Fortalecimiento de habilidades del Population Council ayuda a los profesionales, los encargados de formular políticas y los defensores a crear contenido personalizado, significativo y positivo para ayudar a subpoblaciones específicas de niñas. La caja de herramientas guía a los profesionales a través de una serie de pasos que deben tomarse para definir objetivos de sentido común: qué información, habilidad o activo físico (como una tarjeta de identificación) debe tener una niña en un entorno particular para una edad en particular. Este documento consta de las tarjetas de activos que forman parte de la Caja de herramientas: …


Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Swahili], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer Jan 2019

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards [Swahili], Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This document contains the Building Assets Toolkit’s Asset Cards (110), set of Age Cards (age 6 to 20), and Program Planning Worksheet (sample provided). The Age Cards are to be printed out and placed according to the instructions. The Asset Cards are to be printed out and cut in half. Blank Asset Cards are provided to create customized assets. The Building Assets Toolkit is an approach for developing programs for specific segments of girls that will prepare them to better face the challenges of growing up. It will help program managers understand the needs of the girls in their community, …


Strengthening Capacity To Prevent Hiv Among Adolescent Girls And Young Women: Supporting Dreams-Like Programming, Project Soar Jan 2018

Strengthening Capacity To Prevent Hiv Among Adolescent Girls And Young Women: Supporting Dreams-Like Programming, Project Soar

HIV and AIDS

Many adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) lack opportunities and access to resources, and experience the harms of discriminatory gender norms. Despite decades of investment in HIV prevention, many AGYW remain invisible, underserved, and at disproportionate risk of HIV infection. The DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe) Partnership aims to significantly reduce HIV infections among AGYWs. DREAMS originally launched in 2014 focusing on 10 high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2017, five additional countries known as DREAMS-Like countries—Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Haiti, Namibia, and Rwanda—received support for DREAMS activities. This brief describes the technical assistance Project SOAR is providing …


Expanding Access To Family Planning For Married Adolescent Girls In The Urban Slums Of Dhaka, Fauzia Akhter Huda, Nancy Termini Lachance Jan 2018

Expanding Access To Family Planning For Married Adolescent Girls In The Urban Slums Of Dhaka, Fauzia Akhter Huda, Nancy Termini Lachance

Reproductive Health

Early pregnancy is associated with adverse health, social, and economic consequences for girls, and Bangladesh has an adolescent fertility rate that is among the highest in the region. Poor, slum-dwelling girls are especially vulnerable. This policy brief outlines a project that icddr,b, a STEP UP project partner, initiated to test three innovative strategies aiming to support the unmet family planning needs of these girls. This brief concludes with government-level policy and program recommendations based on the evidence of this project for leveraging existing government health programs to better serve the needs of married adolescent girls and reduce their risks of …


Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Health, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett Jan 2018

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Health, Karen Austrian, Erica Soler-Hampejsek, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Paul C. Hewett

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) intervention was conducted over two years to support more than 11,000 vulnerable adolescent girls in Zambia. It was led by the Population Council in partnership with the Young Women’s Christian Association of Zambia (YWCA), the National Savings and Credit Bank of Zambia (Natsave), and the Government of Zambia. To assess the impact of AGEP on mediating and longer-term demographic, reproductive, and health outcomes, Population Council researchers designed and implemented a longitudinal, cluster randomized controlled trial across all program areas. This brief presents the final AGEP findings, highlighting, in the Zambian context, what can be …