Sociology Commons^™

Kenya: Covid-19 Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices—Preliminary Findings, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

To control the spread of coronavirus, the Kenyan Ministry of Health COVID-19 Taskforce has implemented initial prevention and mitigation measures. Of concern are the densely overcrowded, poor urban slums where sanitation and social distancing measures are near impossible. COVID-19 would spread rapidly and be devastating under these conditions. To inform the Taskforce strategy, the Population Council COVID-19 study team utilizes rapid phone-based surveys to collection information on knowledge, attitudes and practices among ~2,000 heads of household sampled from existing prospective cohort studies across five Nairobi urban slums. Iterations of the survey will be conducted every 1-2 weeks. Baseline findings on …

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 …

Keeping Girls In Schools To Reduce Child Marriage In Rural Bangladesh—Program Brief, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

For the last two decades, Bangladesh has made considerable progress in improving access to education at all levels. Despite these gains, the country continues to face challenges from student dropout at the secondary level. Girls drop out of school earlier than boys because of child marriage. Targeted policies and interventions designed to improve educational attainment and decrease child marriage may be an effective and sustainable way to address both issues. The Population Council implemented an intervention research study to test a life-skills and tutoring support model to reduce school dropout among secondary-school girls and enhance livelihood skills for unmarried girls …

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.

Do You Know? A Resilience Challenge Game For Native American Girls, Kelly Hallman, Kassel Franco Garibay, Stephanie Martinez, Lisa Polen

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) is an initiative within Indian Country seeking to strengthen the protection, safety, and resilience of girls in Native communities by reclaiming neighborhood spaces in which to rekindle matrilineal traditions. Housed within the Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning (GIRL) Center, IMAGEN’s evidence-based approach consists of a set of adaptable planning tools honed over 20 years in global settings that enables the establishment of neighborhood safe spaces for girls. IMAGEN's resilience Cards are an asset-building resource designed for program leaders who are planning to work with adolescent indigenous girls.

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.

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 …

Adolescent Girls' Voices On Enhancing Their Own Productivity In Pakistan: Highlights 2019, Iram Kamran, Tahira Parveen, Rehan M. Niazi

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Of the 11 million girls aged 15 to 19 years in Pakistan, nearly half (47 percent) are “not in education, employment, or marriage” (NEEM). This brief presents highlights from a qualitative study conducted in Punjab province of Pakistan to probe the lives, perspectives, and aspirations of NEEM girls regarding education and involvement in economic activity and identify locally acceptable ways in which their lives may be positively transformed through access to education and safe and fair work opportunities.

« More Than Brides Alliance (Mtba) » : Rapport D’Évaluation À Mi-Parcours Au Mali Et Au Niger, Andrea J. Melnikas, Grace Saul, Mouhamadou Gueye, Aissa Diarra, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

L’Alliance « Plus qu’une épouse » (More Than Brides Alliance—MTBA) a été formée, rassemblant les forces d’une équipe diversifiée, compétente pour la mise en œuvre et la recherche de programmes destinés aux adolescents. Le volet recherche de l’Alliance MTBA vise à fournir des preuves et des connaissances sur ce qui fonctionne pour retarder le mariage des enfants en Inde, au Malawi, au Mali, au Niger et au Pakistan en évaluant le programme d’intervention de l’Alliance MTBA et en examinant les facteurs spécifiques du mariage des enfants dans chaque contexte. Dans ce rapport, nous visons à évaluer les succès du programme …

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief describes the Girl Roster^TM, 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 …

Examining Early Marriage In India: Qualitative Findings, Neelanjana Pandey, Komal Saxena, Andrea J. Melnikas

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The More Than Brides Alliance (MTBA) implements the “Marriage: No Child’s Play” program (2016–20) in India, Malawi, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan. The MTBA is a holistic program that addresses early marriage through multiple strategies, including: sexual and reproductive health and rights, livelihoods, education, and prevalent community social norms around marriage. Furthermore, the program operates at multiple levels (girl, family, community, block, and district) to address individual, familial, and structural barriers to reducing child marriage in these communities. This report first looks at the legal environment in which programs operate by examining participants’ awareness of laws, acts, and programs related to …

More Than A Backdrop: Understanding The Role Of Communities In Programming For Adolescent Girls—Action Guide, Sarah Blake, Miriam Temin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The structural and social features of a girl’s community play a critical role in determining what effects programs for adolescent girls can achieve. Girls’ communities include both the physical spaces girls must navigate and adults and peers who shape their beliefs about marriage, work, and education. This action guide focuses on key questions to ask when designing programs: How many girls live in a given community? Is the community urban, peri-urban, or rural? Is it formal or informal? How stable or cohesive is a community? Who is considered a “community member”? What resources exist for girls in the community, and …

Making The Most Of Mentors: Recruitment, Training, And Support Of Mentors For Adolescent Girl Programming—Toolkit, Miriam Temin, Eva Roca

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Mentors are an important part of many effective programs for girls, yet little information is available about the practical aspects of developing and supporting a successful mentor cadre. This toolkit pulls together lessons, tips, and insights that can be adapted and used to find, train, monitor, support, and evaluate mentors. The information is based on materials from programs for adolescent girls implemented by the Population Council. The resources are applicable to program planners, mentor supervisors, and mentors. All resources may be adapted to local contexts.

Valoriser Le Potentiel Des Mentores : Recrutement, Formation Et Soutien Des Mentores Pour Des Programmes Dédiés Aux Adolescentes, Miriam Temin, Eva Roca

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Les mentores sont une partie importante de nombreux programmes efficaces pour les filles, mais on dispose de peu d’informations sur les aspects pratiques du développement et du soutien d’un cadre de mentore efficace. Cette boîte à outils rassemble des leçons, des conseils et des idées qui peuvent être adaptés et utilisés pour trouver, former, surveiller, soutenir et évaluer les mentores. Les informations sont basées sur des documents provenant de programmes pour les adolescentes mis en œuvre par le Population Council. Les ressources sont applicables aux planificateurs de programmes, aux superviseurs de mentores et aux mentores. Toutes les ressources peuvent être …

Accelerating Action To End Child Marriage In Bangladesh—Project Brief, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Bangladesh ranks among the five countries with the highest rate of child marriage in the world. Community norms and values are among the underlying factors that support the practice of child marriage in Bangladesh. The Population Council is partnering with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to delay marriage as part of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Program to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage. This program is being implemented to generate evidence on reduction of child marriage through an adolescent skills-building program. The project works to empower girls with life-skills and livelihood and gender-awareness trainings, as well as engaging communities …

Girl-Centered Participatory Assessment Tools, Kelly Hallman

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The Indigenous Adolescent Girls' Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) is an initiative within Indian Country seeking to strengthen the protection, safety, and resilience of girls in Native communities by reclaiming neighborhood spaces in which to rekindle matrilineal traditions. Housed within the Girl Innovation, Research, and Learning (GIRL) Center, IMAGEN's evidence-based approach consists of a set of adaptable planning tools honed over 20 years in global settings that enables the establishment of neighborhood safe spaces for girls. This toolkit is designed to help programs precisely identify the nature and degree of girls' "shrinking worlds" at puberty, and to aid them in devising strategies …

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

[In Swahili] 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.

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 …

Um Só Currículo: Actividades Para Uma Educação Integrada Em Sexualidade, Género, Hiv E Direitos Humanos, International Sexuality And Hiv Curriculum Working Group, Nicole Haberland, Deborah Rogow

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Education on sexuality and HIV can help adolescents develop the capacity for healthy, respectful relationships and protect themselves from unwanted and unsafe sex, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections. A 2015 Population Council study found that sexuality and HIV education programs that address gender and power in intimate relationships are five times more likely to be effective than programs that do not. However, most curricula still do not address these issues. "It’s All One Curriculum" provides a rationale, content, and sample activities for placing gender and rights at the center of sexuality and HIV curricula—both as stand-alone modules and integrated …

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

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

[In Portuguese] 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.

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 …

Climate, Population, And Vulnerability In Pakistan: Exploring Evidence Of Linkages For Adaptation, G.M. Arif, Muhammad Riaz, Nadeem Faisal, Mohammad Jamal Khan Khattak, Zeba Sathar, Muhammad Khalil, Maqsood Sadiq, Sabahat Hussain, Kiren Khan

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The global discussion of climate change and its impacts and causes has changed completely in the past quarter century. Scientific opinion now accepts that rapid warming is occurring and that greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted as a result of human activities are largely to blame. The consequences of taking no action will be catastrophic. Unfortunately, the burden of impact will fall disproportionately on the poor and most vulnerable people who rely heavily on agriculture in countries where average temperatures are already high. Climate change is particularly harmful because it increasingly threatens food security in these countries. Pakistan is one of the …

More Than Brides Alliance: Midline Evaluation Report, Andrea J. Melnikas, Grace Saul, Santosh Kumar Singh, James Mkandawire, Mouhamadou Gueye, Aissa Diarra, Sajeda Amin

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

The More than Brides Alliance (MTBA) was formed to bringing together the strengths of a diverse team skilled in adolescent program implementation and research. The goal of the research presented in this report is to promote an evidence-based programmatic approach to delaying marriage in India, Malawi, Mali, Niger, and Pakistan by gathering detailed quantitative and qualitative information from the program areas over time to examine the impact of the present intervention and inform future strategies. This report highlights data from the midline survey on a set of outcomes approximately midway through the MTBA intervention and compares them with the same …

Guía De Participación Política Adolescente Para La Movilización E Incidencia Política A Nivel Municipal, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

El programa Abriendo Oportunidades motiva a las jóvenes a tener iniciativas y desarrollar sus capacidades personales, así como a explorar las posibilidades de liderazgo a nivel comunitario y municipal. Para que sean lideresas capaces de incidir a nivel municipal, es necesario trabajar temas y habilidades enfocados en política, administración estatal, legislación nacional y derechos humanos. Esta guía se ofrece para apoyar el trabajo con jóvenes mujeres que buscan tener incidencia, especialmente en temas relativos a la prevención de la violencia y garantía de derechos a mujeres, niñez y juventud, y pueblos indígenas. Cada sesión está diseñada usando metodología participativa y …

Insights And Evidence Gaps In Girl-Centered Programming: A Systematic Review, Nicole Haberland, Katharine Mccarthy, Martha Brady

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Increased attention to the needs of adolescent girls has led to a growing number of programs in low- and middle-income countries. Questions remain, however, about what aspects of program design are most effective. This hinders efforts to effectively allocate resources, scale up programs, and replicate results across settings. This review looks at how the number of program components, involvement of supporting actors who influence the lives of girls, supplemental “booster” activities, intervention exposure level, and community saturation level influenced outcomes for girls. While findings suggest the importance of multicomponent programs and longer program exposure, each area requires further rigorous research …

Delivering Impact For Adolescent Girls: Emerging Findings From Population Council Research, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Despite numerous global commitments to invest in improving the lives of adolescent girls, questions remain as to what package of interventions can deliver the best outcomes. This report synthesizes findings from nine recent Population Council impact evaluations, conducted around the world, which indicate that empowerment and asset-building interventions for adolescent girls can improve education, health, economic, social capital, gender-equitable attitude, and violence outcomes for girls. The report includes implications for programs and investment, and identifies open questions for further research and evaluation.

Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (Imagen): Adapting The Girl Roster™ For Lakota Communities, Kelly Hallman, Stephanie Martinez

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This brief reports on a first-of-a-kind meeting between the Population Council’s GIRLCenter and organizations such as the White Buffalo Calf Woman Society (WBCWS) that work locally with Native American communities to understand the specific needs of adolescent girls in Indian Country. This followed an inaugural meeting of the Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) with its wealth of insight concerning the needs of the Native communities they serve, and the GIRL Center’s myriad programmatic tools and resources that have been tried and tested in global settings for several decades. The IMAGEN Approach is an adaptable process that links these two …

Girlsread! Girls’ Rights: An Empowerment Curriculum, Natalie Jackson Hachonda, Nicole Haberland, Barbara Mensch, Pamela Nyirenda, Diana Bulanda-Shalala

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

This curriculum guide is designed to help female mentors in the GirlsRead! program in Zambia to directly engage girls in critical thinking about gender inequalities and discrimination, and help them build the assets and confidence needed to act on their own behalf and as progressive voices in their communities. GirlsRead! participants are girls in grade 7—the last year of primary school—when they are at high risk of leaving school. The curriculum includes 19 sessions that cover a range of topics from gender equality to sexuality to rights, in meetings that provide a space and opportunity for girls to regularly interact …

Fortaleciendo Las Capacidades De Programación Centradas En Niños, Niñas, Adolescentes Y Jóvenes: Cuaderno De Trabajo—Primer Taller, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Diseñemos juntos nuestro programa es una colección de herramientas elaboradas con el objetivo de complementar el aprendizaje de las y los coordinadores de los Programas de Infancia, Adolescencia y Juventud (PMIAJ/COMVIDA) que se implementan en diferentes municipios de Honduras. Estas herramientas son un complemento al material producido por Population Council como parte de una serie de talleres llamados “Fortaleciendo las capacidades programáticas centradas en niños, niñas, adolescentes y jóvenes,” impartidos en 2017.

Las herramientas de esta colección (ver más abajo) ayudarán a quienes las utilicen a asesorar estrategias de reclutamiento de participantes del programa, identificar subgrupos de participantes en mayores …

Fortaleciendo Las Capacidades De Programación Centradas En Niños, Niñas, Adolescentes Y Jóvenes: Cuaderno De Trabajo—Segundo Taller, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Diseñemos juntos nuestro programa es una colección de herramientas elaboradas con el objetivo de complementar el aprendizaje de las y los coordinadores de los Programas de Infancia, Adolescencia y Juventud (PMIAJ/COMVIDA) que se implementan en diferentes municipios de Honduras. Estas herramientas son un complemento al material producido por Population Council como parte de una serie de talleres llamados “Fortaleciendo las capacidades programáticas centradas en niños, niñas, adolescentes y jóvenes,” impartidos en 2017.

Las herramientas de esta colección (ver más abajo) ayudarán a quienes las utilicen a asesorar estrategias de reclutamiento de participantes del programa, identificar subgrupos de participantes en mayores …

Fortaleciendo Las Capacidades De Programación Centradas En Niños, Niñas, Adolescentes Y Jóvenes: Cuaderno De Trabajo—Tercer Taller, Population Council

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

Diseñemos juntos nuestro programa es una colección de herramientas elaboradas con el objetivo de complementar el aprendizaje de las y los coordinadores de los Programas de Infancia, Adolescencia y Juventud (PMIAJ/COMVIDA) que se implementan en diferentes municipios de Honduras. Estas herramientas son un complemento al material producido por Population Council como parte de una serie de talleres llamados “Fortaleciendo las capacidades programáticas centradas en niños, niñas, adolescentes y jóvenes,” impartidos en 2017.

Las herramientas de esta colección (ver más abajo) ayudarán a quienes las utilicen a asesorar estrategias de reclutamiento de participantes del programa, identificar subgrupos de participantes en mayores …