Investing in Adolescent Girls
One of the most influential figures in the world today is an adolescent girl. Worldwide, there are 600 million girls growing up in developing countries, which reflect the largest generation of youth in history. The choices this generation of young women makes will shape their lives and a whole new generation of boys and girls.
Investing in an educated, healthy, skilled, and empowered girl today means she will have the tools to reinvest back into her family, her community, and our world.
We know that we can’t improve the lives of girls alone. We link people, capital, and ideas with the UN to help improve the lives of adolescent girls globally. From access to education and health care, to freedom from violence and HIV/AIDS, to delaying child marriage and early pregnancy, we work with the UN and NGO communities to tackle the complex issues and challenges that girls face today.
We believe that adolescent girls are critical to meeting the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The well-being of adolescent girls is the key to eliminating poverty, achieving social justice, stabilizing the population, and preventing foreseeable humanitarian crises.
Since our founding 10 years ago, we have invested $43 million in support of girl programs and helped build a community of girl advocates and champions through our work on such key initiatives as the Coalition for Adolescent Girls and the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Adolescent Girls.
Our adolescent girl initatives:
- Raise awareness and advocate for policy change
- Build communities of girl advocates and girl champions
- Mobilize resources for successful interventions impacting adolescent girls
The lives of girls around the world don’t have to be left to chance. Invest in an adolescent girl by donating to The Girl Fund.
STORIES OF IMPACT
A shining example of a woman's work
Area of Involvement: Women & Population
(Part four of Elizabeth Gore's blog series on Ethiopia) It was a pleasure to visit Sesuagno Mola, who lives in a small village one hour outside of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Hosted by the Berhane Hewan project aimed at ending child marriage, we visited women who were married young and are now part of a non-formal, UNFPA-sponsored education project for married girls.
Could you survive on 13 liters of water a day?
Area of Involvement: Women & Population;Sustainable Development
(Part seven of Elizabeth Gore's blog series on Ethiopia) Driving to the Mai-Aini UNHCR refugee camp, two things struck me: the beautiful but barren mountains, and the dozens of broken-down tanks left behind from war. A young interpreter from Axum shared with me his theory that water is the reason for war.
RESOURCES
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UN Foundation Newsletter (Fall 2009)
Issue Area: Children’s Health
Issue Area: Climate & Energy
Issue Area: Sustainable Development
Issue Area: Technology
Issue Area: US-UN Relations
Issue Area: Women & Population
A semi-annual newsletter highlighting the UN Foundation's programs and people.
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Start with a Girl: A New Agenda for Global Health
Issue Area: Women & Population
Center for Global Development
The report highlights serious health risks that are especially prevalent among women and girls, calls for increased action and investment in girls’ education and health agendas, and explains how the combined help of governments, non-governmental organizations, individuals and the private sector, can improve health prospects for millions of women around the world.
