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Towards Effective Youth Participation, Magued Osman, Hanan Girgis

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Egyptian youth amazed the world in 2011 during the 18 days of the January 25 revolution, and again in 2013 during the June 30 revolution, however this has not had a significant impact on their political and social participation. This brief aims to shed light on young people’s participation in the aftermath of these revolutions, which embodied their hopes for greater empowerment and participation. The brief uses data from the second round of the Survey of Young People in Egypt conducted by the Population Council in 2013/2014 in collaboration with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, and a …

Effects Of The Prachar Project's Reproductive Health Training Programme For Adolescents: Findings From A Longitudinal Study, Neelanjana Pandey, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Rajib Acharya, Santosh Kumar Singh, Mahesh Srinivas

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The objective of this study was to better understand the longer-term effects of a three-day training program offered by Phase III of Pathfinder’s PRACHAR (Promoting Change in Reproductive Behaviour) program among adolescents in rural areas of selected districts of Bihar, India. This program focused on addressing adolescents’ need for information, contraceptive supplies, parental and community support, and a youth-friendly health system. Findings confirm that the training program was acceptable and useful to the young people exposed to it, and that it had a number of notable longer-term effects, observed even four years following its implementation; and they demonstrate the promise …

Invertir Cuando Vale La Pena: Revisión De Las Evidencias Para Trazar Un Rumbo De Investigación Y Acción Para Adolescentes Muy Jóvenes, Katharine Mccarthy, Martha Brady, Kelly Hallman

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Desde 2006, ha habido un rápido crecimiento e interés en la población de adolescentes muy jóvenes y un conjunto de programas en expansión destinado a abordar sus necesidades sociales y de salud y desarrollo. El presente informe se basa en el ímpetu generado por los esfuerzos recientes en investigación y programas, y por la mayor cantidad de datos disponibles en la última década. El informe tiene como objetivo ser útil para quienes planean, administran, implementan, monitorean, evalúan, o financian investigación o programas relacionados con adolescentes jóvenes. Describe varias áreas clave que se beneficiarían con más experimentación y nuevas investigaciones. Un …

Investing When It Counts: Reviewing The Evidence And Charting A Course Of Research And Action For Very Young Adolescents, Katharine Mccarthy, Martha Brady, Kelly Hallman

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Since 2006, there has been a burgeoning interest in the very young adolescent population and an ever-expanding array of programs aimed at addressing their social, health, and development needs. This report builds on the momentum generated from recent research and program efforts, and from the greater data available in the past decade. The report is intended to be helpful to anyone who plans, manages, implements, monitors, evaluates, or funds research or programs that involve young adolescent girls and boys. The report outlines several key areas that would benefit from more experimentation and new research. Central to this is the creation …

Investir Quand Cela Compte: Passer En Revue Les Preuves Et Établir Un Plan De Recherche Et D’Action Pour Les Très Jeunes Adolescents, Katharine Mccarthy, Martha Brady, Kelly Hallman

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Depuis 2006, on a pu constater un intérêt grandissant pour la population des très jeunes adolescents, ainsi qu’une expansion continue des programmes visant à répondre à leurs besoins sociaux, de santé, et de développement. Ce rapport s’appuie sur la dynamique engendrée par les recherches et les efforts récents déployés dans le cadre des programmes, et le volume plus important de données générées au cours de la dernière décennie. Le rapport se veut utile à toute personne chargée de planifier, gérer, mettre en œuvre, suivre, évaluer, ou financer des recherches ou des programmes impliquant les jeunes adolescents et adolescentes. Le rapport …

Développer Les Compétences De Protection Des Filles: Ensemble D’Outils Pour La Conception D’Un Programme, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Les adolescentes sont devenues une population cible clé pour les initiatives d'autonomisation, de santé et de développement dans les pays en développement. Cette collection d’outils est destinée aux organisations qui se sont engagées à étendre leurs programmes pour atteindre les sous-catégories de filles et jeunes femmes exclues: les filles les plus pauvres dans les communautés les plus pauvres; les filles âgées de 10 à 14 ans non scolarisées et n’habitant pas avec leur père ou leur mère; ou d’autres sous-catégories de jeunes filles qui sont tout simplement susceptibles d’être laissées pour compte. Cet ensemble contient des outils et des exercices …

Boîte À Outils: Renforcement Des Compétences, Judith Bruce, Sarah Engebretsen, Kimberly Glazer

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Grâce à un processus appelé «conception intentionnelle», les outils d’apprentissage du Population Council aident à centraliser les besoins des filles. Ces outils s'appuient sur des preuves de la nécessité de maintenir les filles en bonne santé, de les intégrer socialement et de les préparer économiquement. La boîte à outils Renforcement des Compétences du Population Council aide les praticiens, les décideurs et les défenseurs à élaborer un contenu adapté, significatif et positif pour aider des sous-populations spécifiques de filles. La boîte à outils guide les praticiens à travers une série d'étapes qui doivent être suivies pour définir des cibles de bon …

Abriendo Oportunidades Para Alcanzar Mi Plan De Vida: Programa De 5 Meses—8 A 13 Años, Cecilia Garcés

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Esta es la guía curricular del programa Abriendo Oportunidades del Population Council de Guatemala. Esta guía es para niñas de 8 a 13 años. Este programa de cinco meses ayuda a las niñas a desarrollar pasos para lograr su plan de vida, en módulos sobre los temas siguientes: llevarse bien con otras niñas; conocerse y valorarse a sí mismo; autoestima; derechos humanos; aprendiendo a ser mujer; la fertilidad y el embarazo; reconociendo el peligro; y la importancia del ahorro.

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This is the curriculum guide for the Abriendo Oportunidades program of the Population Council of Guatemala. This guide is for …

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (Agep): Savings Account, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Through the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP), the Population Council and partners implemented a social, health, and economic asset-building program for over 10,000 vulnerable adolescent girls aged 10–19 years in Zambia. The AGEP intervention was comprised of three major components: 1) safe spaces groups in which girls met once a week over the course of two years for training on sexual and reproductive health, life skills, and financial education; 2) a health voucher that girls could use at contracted private and public facilities for a package of general wellness and sexual and reproductive health services; and 3) a savings account …

Adolescent Girls Empowerment Programme In Zambia: Qualitative Evaluation Report, Zoe Duby, Chipo Natasha Zulu, Karen Austrian

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) reaches over 10,000 vulnerable girls 10–19 years old in five urban and five rural sites spread across four provinces in Zambia. The program works to build adolescent girls’ social, health, and economic assets, providing them with key skills and opportunities to help them transition from adolescence to adulthood in a healthy way. This report presents these valuable insight into the views and experiences of girls who were involved in the AGEP program, as well as the perceptions of program mentors, the girls’ parents, and community leaders. In addition, these findings highlight the areas in …

Towards Effective Youth Participation [Arabic], Magued Osman, Hanan Girgis

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

[In Arabic] Egyptian youth amazed the world in 2011 during the 18 days of the January 25 revolution, and again in 2013 during the June 30 revolution, however this has not had a significant impact on their political and social participation. This brief aims to shed light on young people’s participation in the aftermath of these revolutions, which embodied their hopes for greater empowerment and participation. The brief uses data from the second round of the Survey of Young People in Egypt conducted by the Population Council in 2013/2014 in collaboration with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, …

Addressing Adolescent Girls' Vulnerability To Hiv/Aids: Lessons From The Meri Life Meri Choice Project, Sunil Mehra, Rajesh R. Singh, Vandana Nair, K.G. Santhya, A.J. Francis Zavier

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report details findings from an assessment of the Meri Life Meri Choice (MLMC) project in India, implemented by MAMTA—Health Institute for Mother and Child, with the support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. The MLMC project sought to reduce the vulnerability of rural adolescent girls to HIV by enhancing their knowledge about sexual and reproductive matters and equipping them with skills that enable them to address vulnerability to HIV; increasing their utilization of sexual and reproductive health services from the public sector; and developing a supportive environment that enables adolescent girls to adopt protective actions to reduce vulnerability to …

Building Girls' Protective Assets: A Collection Of Tools For Program Design, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Adolescent girls have become a key target population for empowerment, health, and development initiatives in low- and middle-income countries. This collection of tools is intended for organizations that are committed to extending their programs to reach excluded subpopulations of girls and young women—whether they are the poorest girls in the poorest communities, the 10–14-year-old girls who are out of school and not living with either parent, or another subpopulation of young girls who are likely to miss out. The collection contains tools and exercises to help programmers translate evidence on “what works” into girl-centered programming. The resources in this collection …

'Her Future Is Marriage': Young People's Attitudes Towards Gender Roles And The Gender Gap In Egypt, Maia Sieverding, Rasha Hassan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report examines youth gender-role attitudes in Egypt using quantitative data, from the nationally representative Survey of Young People in Egypt 2009 and 2014, which provides a broad overview of youth gender-role attitudes throughout the country and among different subpopulations of youth. Qualitative data complements this analysis by offering a more in-depth view of how young people think about men and women’s roles in society and why they hold these beliefs. The findings also highlight the extent to which conservative attitudes of gender relations may influence practices even in the face of legal change. Gender-role attitudes are a deeply held …

Methodology: Reaching The Most Vulnerable Adolescent Girls, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The objective of the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Programme (AGEP) is to provide vulnerable adolescent girls with needed social, health, and economic assets that they can draw upon to overcome their vulnerabilities and expand their opportunities. As a component of the AGEP evaluation, a household census was conducted in 2013 in the areas where the program was to be implemented. The census revealed that a significant percentage of adolescent girls aged 10–19 contend with multiple levels of socioeconomic vulnerability that include—but are not limited to—geographic remoteness, social isolation, living without parents, living in low-income households, and not attending school. The analysis …

Delaying Child Marriage Through Community-Based Skills-Development Programs For Girls: Results From A Randomized Controlled Study In Rural Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin, Johana Ahmed, Jyotirmoy Saha, Md. Irfan Hossain, Eashita Haque

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In Bangladesh, where efforts to prevent child marriage have focused on the enforcement of laws and policies, little research exists on what approaches work best to delay marriage and why. To help fill this evidence gap, in 2012 the Population Council and partners embarked on a four-year study to understand whether skills-building approaches to empower girls can delay marriage in three districts in southern Bangladesh where child marriage rates are high. The BALIKA project reported here is the first rigorously evaluated study to provide evidence on approaches to delay child marriage in Bangladesh. BALIKA results show that programs that educate …

The Adolescent Experience In-Depth: Using Data To Identify And Reach The Most Vulnerable Young People—Belize 2011, Population Council, Unicef Belize

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

“The Adolescent Experience In-Depth: Using Data to Identify and Reach the Most Vulnerable Young People: Belize 2011” 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 …

Evidence Of Son Preference And Resulting Demographic And Health Outcomes In Pakistan, Zeba Sathar, Gul Rashida, Sabahat Hussain, Anushe Hassan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Pakistan has a highly patriarchal society. Consequently, the desire for sons is a dominant and widely prevalent cultural value that is reinforced by feudal kinship systems that permeate many parts of the country. While reliance on sons is stronger in rural areas because of agricultural work and the tying of land ownership with male inheritance, even in other areas boys are seen to be important in carrying on the family name and taking care of parents in old age. On the other hand, daughters are seen as an expense and an economic burden in both rural and urban areas. A …

Curriculum On Adolescent-Friendly Health Services And Health Voucher Mechanisms: Facilitator's Training Manual, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) in rural and urban Zambia aims to build social, health, and economic assets of adolescent girls. A safe spaces component is at the core of AGEP. Girls groups, under the guidance of a female mentor from the same community, provide a safe and supportive learning environment. The meetings are critical in building social assets for vulnerable girls—including friendships, self-esteem, trusting relationships with adults, and social support. The training content over the course of the year varies from sexual and reproductive health and life skills to financial education and nutrition training. Girls in AGEP receive …

Understanding Factors Influencing Adverse Sex Ratios At Birth In Bangladesh, Md. Noorunnabi Talukder, Ubaidur Rob, Md. Irfan Hossain, Forhana Rahman Noor

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Nationally, the sex ratio at birth has persisted at its natural level of 105 male per 100 female newborns for the past half century in Bangladesh. However, at the regional level, Bangladesh is characterized by an east-west divide in sex ratios at birth. While the western region shows normal sex ratios at birth, the eastern region displays distorted sex ratios. To understand the factors that contribute to regional variations, a household survey was conducted among married women aged 18–49 years who had at least two living children. Views of health-care providers on gender-biased sex selection and of program implementers on …

Education, Numeracy, And Literacy: Baseline Findings, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) is a program for girls ages 10–19 in rural and urban Zambia that aims to find the best ways to improve their social, health, and economic resources. The program involves over 10,000 girls participating in weekly girls’ group meetings, receiving health vouchers, and opening savings accounts. Over 5,000 girls, unmarried at baseline, are enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial and are being followed over four years—including the two years of the program and two years after. This brief describes the characteristics of these girls at baseline. Of the girls who are currently in school, …

Addressing Gender-Biased Sex Selection In Haryana, India: Promising Approaches, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy, Rajib Acharya, Sharmistha Basu, A.J. Francis Zavier

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Persistently adverse sex ratios remain a challenge in India despite the enforcement of the PCPNDT (Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques) Act in 1994. Nevertheless, over the decade 2001–2011, positive shifts from very adverse to less adverse levels have occurred in a few states. Two districts in Haryana state—Kurukshetra and Sonipat—whose sex ratios displayed some and no improvement, respectively, are compared in an attempt to find promising programme directions to counter gender-biased sex selection. Comparisons are drawn from the attitudes and experiences of surveyed women and interviews with service providers and programme implementers, about sex-selection technology. Also addressed are differences in …

Sexual Behaviors And Biomarkers: Baseline Findings, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) is a program for girls ages 10–19 in rural and urban Zambia that aims to find the best ways to improve their social, health, and economic resources. More than 10,000 girls participated in weekly girls’ group meetings, received health vouchers, and opened savings accounts. More than 5,000 girls, unmarried at baseline, were enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial and followed over four years—two years in the program and two years after the program ended. This brief describes the characteristics of enrolled girls at baseline.

Use Of Health Services: Baseline Findings, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) is a program for girls ages 10-19 in rural and urban Zambia that aims to find the best ways to improve their social, health, and economic resources. The program involves over 10,000 girls participating in weekly girls’ group meetings, receiving health vouchers, and opening savings accounts. Over 5,000 girls, unmarried at baseline, are enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial and are being followed over four years—including the two years of the program and two years after. This brief describes the use of health services by these girls at baseline.

Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya: Program Overview, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Many adolescent girls in Kenya face considerable risks and vulnerabilities that affect their education, health, and general well-being—including early marriage; teenage pregnancy; early, unprotected, and/or unwanted sexual activity; violence; social isolation; and HIV/STIs. For the most part, very young adolescent girls who live in risk-prone environments have not yet experienced these negative outcomes. It is critical, therefore, to intervene early and increase girls’ capacity to overcome these risks before the challenges result in outcomes that may be irreversible. Research has shown that single-sector interventions are not adequate to obtain the range of outcomes needed to help girls enter into adulthood …

Sexual And Gender-Based Violence: Baseline Findings, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) is a program for girls ages 10-19 in rural and urban Zambia that aims to find the best ways to improve their social, health, and economic resources. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a pervasive global health problem. Women and girls are most at risk, and consequences include physical injury, psychological trauma, unwanted pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The AGEP program involves over 10,000 girls participating in weekly girls’ group meetings, receiving health vouchers and opening savings accounts. Over 5,000 girls, unmarried at baseline, are enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial and …

Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya: Baseline Report, Karen Austrian, Eunice N. Muthengi, Taylor Riley, Joyce Mumah, Caroline W. Kabiru, Benta Abuya

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Many adolescent girls in Kenya face considerable risks and vulnerabilities that affect their education status, health, and general well-being. The Adolescent Girls Initiative–Kenya (AGI-K) will deliver multisectoral interventions for over 5,000 girls aged 11–14 in two marginalized areas of Kenya: the Kibera slums in Nairobi, and Wajir County in Northeastern Kenya. Implemented by Plan International in Kibera and Save the Children in Wajir, these interventions will be implemented for two years and will comprise a combination of girl-level, household-level, and community-level interventions. A randomized controlled trial will be used to compare the impact of four different packages of interventions to …

Building Assets Toolkit: Developing Positive Benchmarks For Adolescent Girls—Asset Cards, 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, …

Urban Adolescents Needs Assessment Survey In Bangladesh, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This report presents data on multiple dimensions of adolescents’ lives in urban settlements in Dhaka and Gazipur districts, Bangladesh. The study provides evidence on the lives of young people in a manner that can inform programs and policies directed toward this underserved population. Data is presented on education; reproductive health; family planning; marriage and dowry; physical mobility and social context; gender equality; family life, relationships, and emotional well-being; substance abuse; and livelihoods. There is presently little information about what makes adolescent girls and boys vulnerable in urban settings. The analysis explores and highlights sex, age, education, and marital-status-related differentials among …

Panel Survey Of Young People In Egypt (Sype) 2014: Generating Evidence For Policy, Programs, And Research [Arabic], Rania Roushdy, Maia Sieverding

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Panel Survey of Young People in Egypt (SYPE), first conducted in 2009 among Egyptian youth aged 10–29, focuses on education, employment, health, family formation, migration, reproductive health, social issues, and civic/political participation. This second round, SYPE 2014, was conducted in the wake of two youth-led revolutions (2011 and 2013). SYPE 2014 attempts to understand changes that occurred among Egyptian youth over the period between the two rounds through targeting the same group of respondents of the 2009 survey in 2014 to accurately document changes and progress in the status of these young people. Preliminary findings indicated: a slight decrease …