Community-based programming to promote gender equity, often delivered through community-based girl groups (CBGGs, sometimes called “safe spaces”), is increasing. However, evidence is weak on how CBGGs are implemented and their effect on adolescent girls’ health and well-being.
Despite decades of investment in HIV prevention, a large and vulnerable population—that of adolescent girls—remains invisible, underserved, and at disproportionate risk of HIV.
Adolescent girls face serious health risks, especially to their sexual and reproductive health. During this phase, they also acquire health-related behaviors and knowledge that have lifelong impacts on them, their families, and their future children.
Start with a Girl: A New Agenda for Global Health sheds light on the realities of girls' health and wellbeing in developing countries, on the links between the health of girls and the prospects for their families, and on the specific actions that will improve health prospects for millions.
It is widely agreed that HIV/AIDS should be prominent in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) of African countries in light of the challenge the pandemic poses to poverty reduction efforts.