GIRLS ARE AT A CROSSROAD
Girls living in poverty are uniquely capable of creating a better future. But when a girl reaches adolescence, she comes to a crossroads.
Things can go one of two ways for her and for everyone around her.
1.) She gets a chance - She gets educated, stays healthy and HIV negative. She gets to marry when she chooses and raise a healthy family.
or
2.) None of these things happen - She is illiterate, married off, isolated, pregnant, and vulnerable to HIV.
The difference between the two? Either she has the opportunity to raise the standard of living for herself and her family or she and her family are stuck in a cycle of poverty.
WHY SHOULD WE PAY ATTENTION TO GIRLS?
Little research has been done to understand how investments in girls impact economic growth and the health of well-being of communities. This lack of data reveals how pervasively girls have been overlooked. For millions of girls across the developing world, there are no systems to record their birth, their citizenship, or even their identity. However, the existing research suggests their impact can reach much further than expected.
The Ripple Effect: When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2. fewer children. An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10 to 20 percent. An extra year of secondary school; 15 to 25 percent. Research in developing countries have show a consistent relationship between better infant and child health and higher levels of schooling among mothers. When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent of men.
Population Trends: Today, more than 600 millions girls live in the developing world. More than one quarter of the population in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa are girls and young women ages 10 to 24. The total global population of girls age 10 to 24 - already the largest in history - is expected to peak in the next decade.
Educational Gaps: Approximately one-quarter of girls in developing countries are not in school. Out of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth, 70 percent are girls.
Child Marriage & Early Childbirth: One girl in seven in developing countries marries before age 15. 38 percent marry before age 18. One-quarter to one-half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 18; 14 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth in developing countries each year. In Nicaragua, 45 percent of girls with no schooling are married before age 18 versus only 16 percent of their educated counterparts. In Mozambique, the figures are 60 percent verses 10; in Senegal, 41 percent versus 6. A survey in India found that girls who marry before age 18 were twice as likely to report being beaten, slapped, or threatened by their husbands as were girls who were married later.
Health: Medical complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15 to 19 worldwide. Girls ages 10 to 14 are five times more likely to die from childbirth, and girls 15 to 19 are up to twice as likely, worldwide. 75 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds living with HIV in Africa are female, up from 62 percent in 2001.
(Learn more at girleffect.org)
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2011 GIRL EFFECT BLOGGING CAMPAIGN
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