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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health
Assessing Equity Of Access In Programs For Young People, Adam Weiner
Assessing Equity Of Access In Programs For Young People, Adam Weiner
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Young people aged 10–19 make up almost 20 percent of the population in less developed regions. This vast, highly diverse population faces a variety of threats that could disrupt their healthy transition to adulthood, including early marriage and childbearing, school leaving, violence, exploitation, unemployment, and HIV/AIDS. The majority of youth programs fail to reach the most vulnerable; most programs are only accessible to those with greater levels of social and human capital, such as an education or friendship networks. Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 28 describes how the Population Council, recognizing the need for generating …
Taking Programs For Vulnerable Adolescents To Scale: Experiences, Insights, And Evidence, Martha Brady
Taking Programs For Vulnerable Adolescents To Scale: Experiences, Insights, And Evidence, Martha Brady
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
The international development community’s desire to alleviate poverty and improve health outcomes presents an extraordinary opportunity to transform the lives of young people, particularly girls. Cycles of illiteracy, poor job prospects, and social isolation can be broken but will require concerted efforts to reach large numbers of vulnerable adolescent girls with robust asset-building programs. Scaling-up effective pilot programs will be critical to achieving these goals. While there is an expanding body of research around scaling up health interventions, less is known or documented about scaling up cross-sectoral programs for adolescent girls. Bringing to scale programs directed toward poor, often invisible …
Scaling For Change: Strategic Investment In The Poorest Girls In The Poorest Communities, Judith Bruce
Scaling For Change: Strategic Investment In The Poorest Girls In The Poorest Communities, Judith Bruce
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
No abstract provided.
First Generation Of Gender And Hiv Programs: Seeking Clarity And Synergy, Judith Bruce, Nicole Haberland, Amy Joyce, Eva Roca, Tobey Nelson Sapiano
First Generation Of Gender And Hiv Programs: Seeking Clarity And Synergy, Judith Bruce, Nicole Haberland, Amy Joyce, Eva Roca, Tobey Nelson Sapiano
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
In the past decade, there have been expanding resources to address the underlying gender dimensions of HIV. This has been particularly urgent in sub-Saharan Africa as the female-to-male infection ratios in young populations has reached 3 to 1 and sometimes above. The phrase “gender and HIV” has become commonplace yet does not provide any specific guidance as to target audiences, content, or measurable results. It can include everything from microcredit programs for HIV-positive women, to workplace programs seeking to change negative male norms, to efforts to increase respect for diverse sexual and gender identities. This review, conducted by the Population …
National Efforts Toward Fgm-Free Villages In Egypt: The Evidence Of Impact, Ghada Barsoum, Nadia Rifaat, Omaima El-Gibaly, Nihal Elwan, Natalie Forcier
National Efforts Toward Fgm-Free Villages In Egypt: The Evidence Of Impact, Ghada Barsoum, Nadia Rifaat, Omaima El-Gibaly, Nihal Elwan, Natalie Forcier
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This report is a midterm evaluation and documentation of the process and approach of the FGM-Free Village Model implemented in Egypt by the National Council of Childhood and Motherhood with assistance from the Population Council. In a comparison of responses from women and men in intervention groups to those in nonintervention (control) villages, data analysis shows that the program has been successful in changing views and attitudes toward female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is an entrenched generational practice, and eradicating it in a community requires concerted effort over an extended period of time. This evaluation strongly recommends that efforts be …
The Population Council's Approach: Promoting Healthy, Safe, And Productive Transitions To Adulthood, Population Council
The Population Council's Approach: Promoting Healthy, Safe, And Productive Transitions To Adulthood, Population Council
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
This Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood brief provides an overview of the Population Council’s focus on adolescents that began in the early 1990s. The focus has been accompanied by a commitment to move the field of adolescent research and programs from one often narrowly focused on sexuality, reproductive health, and behavior to the broader social and economic issues that underpin adolescent health and well-being. In 1998, with the publication of The Uncharted Passage—a benchmark review of the situation of adolescent girls in developing countries—the current program of work was launched. The Council’s approach has been characterized by …
Summary Of New Lessons: The Power Of Educating Adolescent Girls, Cynthia B. Lloyd
Summary Of New Lessons: The Power Of Educating Adolescent Girls, Cynthia B. Lloyd
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Over the past 15 years, girls’ education in the developing world has been a story of progress, as noted in Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 33. Interest from the development community has grown steadily in response to evidence documenting the benefits of girls’ schooling, and female education is now a major part of global development commitments. Education helps adolescent girls avoid long working hours and early pregnancies, and lowers risk of HIV/AIDS, and secondary education offers greater prospects of remunerative employment. But according to a 2008 United Nations report, 113 countries failed to reach the …
Piloting A Safe Spaces, Asset-Building Program For Adolescent Girls In Urban Ghana, Sarah Engebretsen, Selina F. Esantsi
Piloting A Safe Spaces, Asset-Building Program For Adolescent Girls In Urban Ghana, Sarah Engebretsen, Selina F. Esantsi
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Ghana’s population of 24 million is projected to reach 31.8 million in 2025. This population growth is coupled with rapid urbanization. Urban adolescent females experience a rapid decline in school enrollment, often because they need to provide economic support to families. Girls living apart from families and out of school often lack social networks and have few opportunities to build the critical skills needed for adulthood. The Population Council has a global portfolio of work reaching vulnerable adolescent girls with programs that provide a safe, girl-specific platform where girls can develop core skills, form friendships, receive and give peer support, …
Education During Humanitarian Emergencies: The Situation Of Displaced Children And Youth In Darfur, Sudan, Safaa El-Kogali
Education During Humanitarian Emergencies: The Situation Of Displaced Children And Youth In Darfur, Sudan, Safaa El-Kogali
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
More than 39 million children and youth who live in conflict-affected fragile states do not have access to education. With an increase in the average duration of refugee displacement from 9 years in the early 1990s to 17 years today, whole generations of children have little chance to recoup the potential educational investment lost during their years living in the midst of a humanitarian emergency. The Population Council and the Women’s Refugee Commission launched a research project to identify the link between education and children’s protection and well-being in Darfur, Sudan. The objective was to document the educational environment in …
Investigating School Quality And Learning Outcomes Among Adolescents In Malawi, Christine A. Kelly
Investigating School Quality And Learning Outcomes Among Adolescents In Malawi, Christine A. Kelly
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Education, particularly at the primary level, has long been regarded as an essential input of social and economic development. In addition to its role in increasing the cognitive abilities of students, schooling is recognized as a facilitator of labor force participation, female empowerment, improved health outcomes, and greater civic engagement. As one of the early pioneers in sub-Saharan Africa of free primary education, Malawi’s enrollment figures compare favorably with those of its neighbors in southern Africa. However, as noted in Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 34, primary school completion rates stand at just 35 percent, …
Calling Attention To Young Adolescents: Building The Evidence Base To Inform Policies And Programs, Martha Brady
Calling Attention To Young Adolescents: Building The Evidence Base To Inform Policies And Programs, Martha Brady
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Young adolescence is a critical life-cycle stage marked by a dynamic combination of opportunity and risk. During this time, children undergo tremendous physical, emotional, social, and cognitive changes as well as socialization into prevailing sexual and gender norms. For the majority, young adolescence is characterized by relatively good health and stable family circumstances, but it can also be a period of vulnerability due to a number of rapid transitions that force some young people into adult roles. Most young adolescents experience the onset of puberty (girls earlier than boys), which typically marks an abrupt life change. Some young adolescents will …
Addressing Sexual And Gender-Based Violence (Sgbv) Against Adolescent Girls, Sajeda Amin, Althea D. Anderson
Addressing Sexual And Gender-Based Violence (Sgbv) Against Adolescent Girls, Sajeda Amin, Althea D. Anderson
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
The Population Council’s extensive work on adolescent safe spaces and livelihoods programs has demonstrated the pathways of empowering adolescent girls and the substantial benefits for society. Monitoring and evaluation data from these initiatives have produced empirical evidence about threats to girls’ health and well-being that relate to both longstanding and emergent social forces. In developing countries, where the risk of adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes is high and young girls are at high risk, it is important to address issues related to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and gender norms that relate to these risks. The Council’s work with …
Creating 'Safe Spaces' For Adolescent Girls, Wendy Baldwin
Creating 'Safe Spaces' For Adolescent Girls, Wendy Baldwin
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Adolescence is a time of many transitions and a time to acquire the skills for adult life. Although skills can still be acquired in adulthood, adolescence is a time to lay a foundation of education, financial skills, positive health behaviors, and critical thinking. For many girls in the developing world, the opportunity to move freely in the community becomes limited at the onset of puberty. This may be a well-intentioned protective measure, but the effect can be to limit girls’ opportunity to form strong social networks, gain requisite skills, and learn how to be full members of their community. The …
Costs Of Marriage—Marriage Transactions In The Developing World, Sajeda Amin, Ashish Bajracharya
Costs Of Marriage—Marriage Transactions In The Developing World, Sajeda Amin, Ashish Bajracharya
Poverty, Gender, and Youth
Over the past two decades the Population Council has amassed a wealth of information on the causes and correlates of child marriage and documented its adverse effects on the well-being of women and girls. In many parts of the developing world, understanding child marriage is central to designing programs that promote healthy transitions to adulthood. Council research also underscores the importance of rituals and practices of marriage exchange around the globe and documents the considerable variation in these practices. Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood Brief No. 35 synthesizes some broad themes that have emerged from research on …