We cannot fail to empower girls before they become women | Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD)

Recently, WHO, together with partner organizations, launched the “Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health” which, for the first time, recognizes that the world must meet adolescent girls’ unique health challenges. If we fail at this task, we will not meet the 2030 Global Goals signed off at the U.N. in September.

The research shows that investments in reducing child marriage by 10% could cut the number of deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth by more than two-thirds. A first and important step is enacting laws that raise the minimum age of marriage, as countries such as Malawi have recently done.

Currently, health care services in most countries are not meeting the unique needs of adolescent girls, who are rapidly developing both physically and emotionally. Together with UNAIDS, WHO developed the first global standards for quality health care services for adolescents, which aims to help countries provide more adolescent responsive services.

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about “girl power.” But we still need powerful changes across society to give adolescent girls the support they need to grow into healthy women with satisfying lives.

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