Background: Few studies have examined whether the effect of education on pregnancy and childbearing is due to the academic skills acquired or the social environment that schooling provides.
Early adolescence is a critical window for intervention when it is possible to lay a foundation for a safe transition to adulthood, before negative outcomes occur.
Adolescent girls face a range of challenges that may compromise their chances of completing school or their sexual and reproductive health.
Global investments in girls’ education have been motivated, in part, by an expectation that more-educated women will have smaller and healthier families.
While multiple studies have documented shifting educational gradients in HIV prevalence, less attention has been given to the effect of school participation and academic skills on infection during adolescence.
In response to a global policy effort to increase school enrollment, in 1994 Malawi became one of the first low-income countries to eliminate primary school fees.
The theory of change behind the Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program (AGEP) posited that adolescent girls are empowered by building social, health, and economic assets that they can then draw on to reduce vulnerabilities and expand opportunities.
Acceptability and experience of sexual and gender-based violence is alarmingly high among adolescent girls in Zambia. Even more striking is the very young age from which notions of violence are ingrained and experience with violence begins.
Education is a vital component of the preparation for adulthood, and is closely linked to transitions into marriage and parenting. Childbearing among adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa remains high, while primary school completion is far from universal.