In Kenya, amid COVID-19-induced lockdowns, the nation is noting a significant rise in teen pregnancies. Over a three-month period of the lockdown, there was a 40% rise in the number of teen pregnancies in Kenya, with 152,000 pregnancies reported. There are a number of reasons why this figure has increased since Kenya went into lockdown, each of which contributes to the rise in teen pregnancy.
One significant cause of the rise in teen pregnancy in Kenya is the lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services during the pandemic. As the country focuses its health care system and medical resources on fighting the coronavirus and caring for the sick, reproductive health services can fall by the wayside. Additionally, historical evidence on epidemics shows that lockdowns and restrictions on movement make it difficult for girls to access the limited medical services that are available.
Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown
Even before the pandemic, Kenya was already struggling with reduced funding for reproductive and sexual health services and sex education in schools. The cultural taboo around talking about sexual health at home leaves Kenyan teenagers reliant on their schools for this knowledge, yet they do not receive the necessary education for pregnancy prevention because the sex education curriculum mainly focuses on HIV prevention and abstinence.
However, Kenyan students do not have access to even this limited sexual health education during lockdowns. Thus, unplanned pregnancy increases drastically as nearly 4,000 school girls have become pregnant during the Kenyan COVID-19 lockdown.
Teen pregnancy in Kenya during the lockdown also disproportionately affects girls who are living in poverty. The lockdown is stressful and even dangerous for those who struggled financially even before work and schools shut down. When they attended school, students living in poverty received free meals and hygiene products. However, students no longer have access to these resources because Kenyan schools are anticipated to remain closed until 2021.
Due to these school closures, the added burden of parents taking care of children who are now confined to their homes worsens the hardships of poverty. Additionally, many parents whose families live in poverty have lost their jobs during the pandemic. Since they no longer earn any income, parents are struggling to afford essential goods. In an effort to assist the family, teen girls may turn to older men for access to food, money and other resources they do not have access to during the pandemic, and in some cases, teens are impregnated by those men.
Lifelong Consequences
Teen girls who become pregnant during the lockdown face a lifetime of difficult consequences. Pregnancy and childbirth-related complications are the number one cause of death globally for 15 to 19-year-old girls, and in Kenya, adolescent girls made up 45% of severe abortion complication cases.
This is especially dangerous given that pregnant mothers already face the threat of coronavirus and a medical system struggling to handle the pandemic. Girls living in poverty or in areas without easy access to medical facilities risk not receiving maternal and newborn health services, putting the health of both mother and baby at risk.
The consequences of teen pregnancy in Kenya continue after childbirth and often affect the trajectory of a young mother’s future. About 98% of pregnant teenagers are not in school and most never return after giving birth. After being forced to drop out of school, teenagers struggle to secure higher-paying jobs, and thus, remain in impoverishment. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty immensely. In addition, taking care of a child requires money, time and resources that are hard to come by for impoverished teenagers. This further contributes to the poverty these girls live in because they often must raise their children without adequate funds, therefore, forcing the family deeper into poverty.
Reform Efforts
Although these statistics may seem dire, organizations in Kenya are working to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy and ensure mothers and babies get proper health care support. The Kenya Association for Maternal and Neonatal Health (KAMANEH) works to promote reproductive health education and provide affordable, accessible health services. These essential services make pregnancy and childbirth much safer for Kenyan women and girls living in poverty.
KAMANEH has partnered with the Medical Link Integrated Health Program, a Kenyan NGO. The partners work to develop reproductive health programs in hospitals and maternity centers in impoverished areas of Nairobi. The organization also runs women’s groups that host training once or twice a year on maternal and reproductive health.
The groups then produce songs and performances about proper health behaviors to educate their communities. KAMANEH works to establish 21 health care facilities throughout impoverished counties in Kenya with high maternal mortality rates. To help improve maternal health care quality, KAMANEH plans to equip these clinics with trained midwives and medical supplies.
COVID-19 lockdowns contribute to the rise in teen pregnancy rates. The structure of the Kenyan health and education systems has worsened the situation substantially. But, with the proper reproductive education and health services, there is still hope for Kenyan teenagers to overcome this issue.
– Allie Beutel
Photo: Flickr
Poverty in Panama Affects Rural Areas and Children
Panama — the narrow bridge of land that connects North and South America. The tropical country is renowned for its natural beauty and diverse plant, animal and birdlife. Yet, all that glitters is not gold. Panama’s economy is highly unequal and there is a wide gap between the wealthy and the impoverished. Poverty in Panama is as much of a prominent feature of the country as its landscape.
Rural Poverty
Ethnicity and geographic location determine one’s poverty level in Panama. Panamanians who live in rural areas do not have adequate access to resources, such as hospitals and schools. This is a result of the lack of infrastructure as well as few professional doctors and teachers or mentors in rural areas.
Panama is the second-worst in income distribution in Latin America, which leads to sector-specific poverty. Unpaved roads in the country make travel especially difficult for farmers. Accordingly, farmers do not end up selling their crops in big cities where they can earn a larger income. Thus begins a chain of poverty in Panama that materializes as poor hygiene and sanitation, child labor, malnutrition, and eventually, another generation living a poor quality of life.
Child Poverty
About 27.7% of Panamanian children live in poverty and 12% experience malnutrition. Failure to register children at birth causes many to go without citizenship. Thus, the government is uncertain of the nation’s exact child population and cannot justly allocate money to the “nonexistent.”
Around 15% of children are victims of early marriages. The legal age to marry in Panama is 16 for boys and 14 for girls. However, most of these children are not registered with the government, so parents marry children off at ages as young as 10, mostly to escape the circumstances of poverty.
The minimum age for working in Panama is 15. Even with this being the case, 5-year-old children often work carrying bricks on construction sites. Several underage workers, or child laborers, even appear in big cities like Panama City and Tocumen. To earn a few dollars more, families force their children to work. However, this comes at the cost of children losing education and facing exploitation.
The Rays of Light
Panama is taking steps to fight poverty. From 2015 to 2017, poverty in Panama declined from 15.4% to 14.1%. In the same time span, extreme poverty decreased from 6.7% to 6.6%. Additionally, multiple NGOs are working to address poverty and other prominent issues in Panama.
The Calicanto Foundation, established in 1994 in Panama, aims to empower Panamanians living in poverty. The organization runs a “personal and professional/vocational training program for women who live in marginalized communities with high levels of poverty.” At the end of the program, participants receive a certificate for employment in the hospitality sector. These skills empower women to achieve economic sufficiency to support their families and break cycles of poverty.
The country, with aid of NGOs and the government, has the potential to bridge the income inequality gap and establish an equitable society for all, regardless of class, region or ethnicity. Panama can be as bright and colorful as its beaches for not only the urbanites but also the rural citizens.
– Riddhi Bhattacharya
Photo: Flickr
Kick for Trade: Teaching Life Skills Through Football in Developing Countries
Kick for Trade
The Kick for Trade curriculum was unveiled in August 2020 at UEFA headquarters to honor International Youth Day. The program had initial pilot projects in Gambia and Guinea in 2019, and after its success, Kick for Trade planned additional projects to take place in Angola, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Unfortunately, COVID-19 derailed Kick for Trade’s plans in these countries. However, countries can expect the program to take off as soon as it is safe to do so.
Once implemented, the program will feature trained life-skills coaches who will teach 11 sessions each on youth employability and entrepreneurship. The goal of the program is to teach skills like leadership and teamwork to children through football in developing countries. Specifically, the life skills of problem-solving, creative thinking, communication, interpersonal skills, empathy and resilience. The lessons require minimal equipment, making the program accessible for any child who would like to learn life skills in order to become more employable.
Kick for Trade’s Projects in Developing Countries
Kick for Trade is expected to teach 1,500 children employment skills throughout the selected countries. UEFA has helped 1 million children worldwide through its various programs since its creation five years ago. These programs span 100 countries, reaching all five continents. The specific Kick for Trade programs in developing countries will highlight different targets depending on the country.
These programs will roll out once it becomes safe enough to do so amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, these programs will continue to positively benefit children looking for employment in developing countries.
– Rae Brozovich
Photo: Flickr
10 Facts About COVID-19 in Impoverished Nations
10 Facts About COVID-19 in Impoverished Nations
COVID-19 is yet another barrier to ending global poverty and will be a struggle for impoverished nations to recover from. With the help of the international community, low-income nations may recover from COVID-19 and its secondary effects sooner.
—Hannah Drzewiecki
Photo: Flickr
An Introduction to Women’s Rights in Somalia
Genital Mutilation in Somalia
Common problems that perpetuate gender inequality in Somalia include female genital mutilation, child marriage, maternal mortality rates and a lack of access to fundamental tools for success, such as education, health care, credit and more. Women in Somalia, especially adolescent girls, are susceptible to undergoing genital mutilation. Often, these girls undergo this procedure before turning 13 years old, according to a 2013 report by the World Health Organization.
Somalia has the highest rate of genital mutilation, with 98% of girls undergoing the procedure. With the upsurge in coronavirus cases, girls in Somalia are forced to stay home. This leads to higher rates of genital mutilation. According to the United Nations Population Fund, the coronavirus could contribute to 2 million more instances of genital mutilation over the next decade that could have been stopped. Although genital mutilation remains legal in Somalia, the practice has no health benefits and harms women in girls in a plethora of ways as it poses health risks and robs women of the full capacity of their reproductive organs.
Maternal Mortality in Somalia
Another issue plaguing Somalia that perpetuates gender inequality is the maternal mortality rate, which is the highest of any country in the world. For children in Somalia, four in 100 infants die within the first month of their lives. Women in Somalia suffer high rates of maternal mortality due to poor health care infrastructure within the country and a lack of access to adequate services. In the United Nation’s 2030 Agenda, the central principle is “leaving no one behind.” This commitment from the United Nations involves prioritizing the rights, access and abilities of Somalian women.
Lack of Education and Leadership
In Somalia, there is a lack of women involved in political and social leadership roles. One of the reasons behind this is a lack of education. In Somalia, primary schools have one of the lowest rates of enrollment, with only 30% of children in school. Of the children in school, less than half of them are females. For girls living in rural areas, these numbers are lower. Compared to men, women in Somalia have much lower literacy levels. In Somalia, only 26% of women can read compared to 36% of men.
The Future of Women’s Rights in Somalia
Somalia remains a state of male power but there is hope that the country will become more focused on gender equality. The Somali Provisional Constitution, created in 2012, is undergoing revision. In 2021, the country is participating in a one-person-one-vote election. With the revision of the Somali constitution, there is an opportunity for empowering women and girls across the country by implementing gender equality provisions. It is hopeful that 2021 may promise more widespread opportunities for women and girls in Somalia.
– Caitlin Calfo
Photo: Flickr
The Rising Case of Hunger in Swaziland
Food Insecurity in Swaziland
Many Swazis are chronically food insecure. One out of three people face severe hunger, and with the COVID-19 pandemic, hunger is only increasing. With severe weather conditions, Swaziland faces poor harvest years, decreasing the amount of food that can be produced. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a tool used to improve food security, reported that 32% of the population will experience “high acute food insecurity” within the coming months due to the pandemic. COVID-19 has compounded the food insecurity situation, causing restrictions that disrupt the already limited food supply for Swazi households.
Rise Against Hunger
Humanitarian assistance programs have been a huge support system for the lack of food supplies in Swaziland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rise Against Hunger is a movement that mobilizes resources to improve poverty and create solutions for hunger in Swaziland. This movement provides life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable, Swaziland being one of the most vulnerable countries. Rise Against Hunger now partners with Salesian Missions, a humanitarian organization that gives hope to millions of youth globally, to provide food and aid to those living in poverty in Swaziland. Together, these organizations provide meals for the hungry. Beginning in 2011, this partnership has been successful, providing food and life-saving aid to malnourished individuals in Swaziland.
USAID Food Relief
As the Swaziland government struggles to deliver aid and food relief, USAID has partnered with World Vision to provide emergency food assistance. USAID is making an effort to reach 45,000 food insecure people in Swaziland by providing monthly food rations. These food rations include cornmeal and beans and vegetable oil. Not only are USAID and World Vision providing food rations to decrease the percentage of hunger in Swaziland, but they are also working to increase the agricultural production of families that need assistance in recovering from previous droughts. With USAID stepping in to provide as much relief as possible, these efforts will produce longer-term resilience.
Hunger in Swaziland has caused many to succumb to hunger at a faster rate since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, making hunger a widespread issue. Organizations and charities are working together to provide the necessary aid essential to eradicate hunger in Swaziland.
– Kendra Anderson
Photo: Flickr
The Inherited Burden: Combating Homelessness in Guyana
The Housing Crisis in Guyana
Guyana has many informal settlements, such as Tiger Bay. The government is having a difficult time handling the housing crisis. In 2016, 52 families lived in Tiger Bay, located in the center of Georgetown, Guyana’s capital. Ramotar administration’s failed solution to the housing deficit was to give plots of land to those who could not afford it, thus forcing them into crippling debt. This is akin to winning a free car and being unable to keep the prize because the taxes are too much. Only 55% of those plots are now occupied. If the issued land plots did not begin construction within a designated timeframe, the land reverted to the government, but the debt that came with renovating the land remained with the citizens.
Many of those land plots are on former plantations with water-logged soil and sparse infrastructure. The government prioritized low-income families and state employees in their housing schemes. One scheme involved turnkey apartments, which are apartments that are already remodeled and ready for rental. A study from the Inter-American Development Bank in 2016 estimated that the country had a deficit of 20,000 homes for low-income families and 52,000 properties in need of repairs. The housing situation has also led to citizens of Tiger Bay adopting unhygienic practices because of a lack of proper plumbing.
President Granger and Homelessness in Guyana
On June 1, 2019, seven months after he lost a vote of no confidence, President Granger vowed to combat homelessness in Guyana. He said he would, “like to leave the office when there is not a single homeless Guyanese… every Guyanese will have a roof over his or her head.” President Granger based his vow against homelessness on the Guyanese constitution. The constitution states that “every citizen has the right to proper housing accommodation.” The president stated his new idea will not connect to his predecessor’s attempts to fix homelessness in Guyana.
In February 2020, former President Granger addressed the country and announced himself as “the man with the plan” to save Guyana. One of the problems Granger plans to fix is housing. To that end, the president announced the National Squatter Regularisation Commission (NSRC). The NSRC will use funds from the National Treasury to eliminate squatting and homelessness in Guyana.
In 2017, the Central Housing & Planning Authority (CH&PA) allocated approximately $43 million to have 72 houses built for squatters. The CH&PA stated that some of the squatting areas would become regulated and develop into proper housing schemes, while others, like Plastic City, will be relocated. Plastic City is among the 173 settlements the government targets. In the first half of 2019, the CH&PA supplied 541 houses, which was 54.1% of the target for 2019.
Guyana’s 8 Goals to Combat Homelessness
In 2015, the country gave itself eight goals to accomplish by 2020:
The Progress of Eliminating Homelessness in Guyana
From 1998 to 2007, the government ran the Low-Income (LIS) to increase ownership of land and housing that have valid equity not tied to the government. It wanted to put equity in the hands of the people. Once the program ended, the Guyanese government received a loan of $27.9 million for a second version of the LIS. This incarnation of the LIS was focused on improving the qualities of impoverished families by granting them access to housing. That program ended in 2015. Subsequently, the CH&PA acquired another $3.1 million for the Hinterland Housing Project, a spin-off of the second LIS.
On February 28, 2020, the CH&PA handed 43 houses to the people of Sand Creek Village. The houses were built as part of the Hinterland Project. Of the $3.1 million granted to the Hinterland Project, approximately $311,358 was assigned to the Sand Creek Village.
In Guyana, the homeless population faces stigma and is looked down upon by fellow countrymen. Citizens see the homeless population as people who have “failed” because of personal choices and not because they are victims of socio-economic failings that they have little to no control over. As a result, many homeless people suffer from poor mental health.
In March 2019, humanitarian organizations focused their efforts on Georgetown. The Raising and Extending Arms to Care and Help (REACH) and Potluck teamed up with local volunteering physicians and donors to assist Georgetown’s homeless population. The vulnerable population received new clothes, assistance in baths and new haircuts. In 2018, the organization reached out to 100 people to raise $100,000 for “society’s forgotten citizens.” Additionally, the Potluck NGO assisted the Guyanese homeless population by providing blood pressure and blood sugar testing and giving out over-the-counter medications.
– Pedro Vega
Photo: Flickr
Rise in Teen Pregnancy During Kenya’s Lockdown
One significant cause of the rise in teen pregnancy in Kenya is the lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services during the pandemic. As the country focuses its health care system and medical resources on fighting the coronavirus and caring for the sick, reproductive health services can fall by the wayside. Additionally, historical evidence on epidemics shows that lockdowns and restrictions on movement make it difficult for girls to access the limited medical services that are available.
Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown
Even before the pandemic, Kenya was already struggling with reduced funding for reproductive and sexual health services and sex education in schools. The cultural taboo around talking about sexual health at home leaves Kenyan teenagers reliant on their schools for this knowledge, yet they do not receive the necessary education for pregnancy prevention because the sex education curriculum mainly focuses on HIV prevention and abstinence.
However, Kenyan students do not have access to even this limited sexual health education during lockdowns. Thus, unplanned pregnancy increases drastically as nearly 4,000 school girls have become pregnant during the Kenyan COVID-19 lockdown.
Teen pregnancy in Kenya during the lockdown also disproportionately affects girls who are living in poverty. The lockdown is stressful and even dangerous for those who struggled financially even before work and schools shut down. When they attended school, students living in poverty received free meals and hygiene products. However, students no longer have access to these resources because Kenyan schools are anticipated to remain closed until 2021.
Due to these school closures, the added burden of parents taking care of children who are now confined to their homes worsens the hardships of poverty. Additionally, many parents whose families live in poverty have lost their jobs during the pandemic. Since they no longer earn any income, parents are struggling to afford essential goods. In an effort to assist the family, teen girls may turn to older men for access to food, money and other resources they do not have access to during the pandemic, and in some cases, teens are impregnated by those men.
Lifelong Consequences
Teen girls who become pregnant during the lockdown face a lifetime of difficult consequences. Pregnancy and childbirth-related complications are the number one cause of death globally for 15 to 19-year-old girls, and in Kenya, adolescent girls made up 45% of severe abortion complication cases.
This is especially dangerous given that pregnant mothers already face the threat of coronavirus and a medical system struggling to handle the pandemic. Girls living in poverty or in areas without easy access to medical facilities risk not receiving maternal and newborn health services, putting the health of both mother and baby at risk.
The consequences of teen pregnancy in Kenya continue after childbirth and often affect the trajectory of a young mother’s future. About 98% of pregnant teenagers are not in school and most never return after giving birth. After being forced to drop out of school, teenagers struggle to secure higher-paying jobs, and thus, remain in impoverishment. This perpetuates the cycle of poverty immensely. In addition, taking care of a child requires money, time and resources that are hard to come by for impoverished teenagers. This further contributes to the poverty these girls live in because they often must raise their children without adequate funds, therefore, forcing the family deeper into poverty.
Reform Efforts
Although these statistics may seem dire, organizations in Kenya are working to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy and ensure mothers and babies get proper health care support. The Kenya Association for Maternal and Neonatal Health (KAMANEH) works to promote reproductive health education and provide affordable, accessible health services. These essential services make pregnancy and childbirth much safer for Kenyan women and girls living in poverty.
KAMANEH has partnered with the Medical Link Integrated Health Program, a Kenyan NGO. The partners work to develop reproductive health programs in hospitals and maternity centers in impoverished areas of Nairobi. The organization also runs women’s groups that host training once or twice a year on maternal and reproductive health.
The groups then produce songs and performances about proper health behaviors to educate their communities. KAMANEH works to establish 21 health care facilities throughout impoverished counties in Kenya with high maternal mortality rates. To help improve maternal health care quality, KAMANEH plans to equip these clinics with trained midwives and medical supplies.
COVID-19 lockdowns contribute to the rise in teen pregnancy rates. The structure of the Kenyan health and education systems has worsened the situation substantially. But, with the proper reproductive education and health services, there is still hope for Kenyan teenagers to overcome this issue.
– Allie Beutel
Photo: Flickr
The New Eco-Label to Support Sustainable Rice Production
The SRP’s new label will support this mission primarily by labeling rice products according to their production methods and encouraging consumers to purchase sustainably produced rice. The SRP plans to introduce this eco-label by the end of 2020 with hopes that it will support the popularity of sustainable farming practices.
Rice as a Crucial Crop
Rice ranks as one of the top three most popular food crops in the world alongside wheat and corn with over 3.5 billion people relying on rice in their daily diets. This dependence on rice is most strongly felt in developing countries where rice comprises the single most important food and its accessibility is often connected to overall food security and even political stability. The top five consumers of rice are China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Furthermore, these countries along with other countries with high rice consumption are still considered developing and make up the most densely populated countries in the world. As the world’s population continues to increase, rice consumption is projected to grow 13% by 2027, requiring more land and resources to meet this demand.
Rice Farming
Around the world, roughly 144 million smallholder farmers produce rice. About 90% of them live near or below the poverty line, earning between $2 to $7 per day on average.
In order to ensure rice quantities remain sustainable and necessary resources are not exhausted in the future, the SRP is advocating for changes in production practices. Experts predict that the productivity of rice will decrease by 15% by 2050 due to environmental changes, putting the future of rice yields in question. Currently, rice production consumes 30-40% of the world’s freshwater resources and also accounts for 10% of anthropogenic methane emissions. Responding to these environmental challenges, consumers and professionals are increasingly demanding more sustainable food options. To meet the demands of rice consumers and avoid exhausting the Earth’s resources, the SRP plans to help guide farmers in their transition towards sustainability.
The SRP Assurance Scheme
With many factors challenging the future of rice productivity, the new SRP Assurance Scheme aims to reduce the environmental impact of rice production which will have the added benefit of stable production yields in the future. To achieve this, the new U.N.-backed program has launched an ecolabel for rice that is sustainably produced according to the SRP’s Standard for Sustainable Rice Cultivation. The label will offer greater transparency on where and how a rice product was produced, allowing consumers to “track and trace the rice back to its origin country” and make educated decisions and choose sustainable produced rice.
Farmers are incentivized to switch to sustainable practices because those with SRP approval may see an estimated income boost of 10-20%. Furthermore, the SRP asserts that switching to more sustainable practices to qualify for the new label will not be difficult for farmers because the required changes are practical, cost-effective and under the farmer’s control. Implementing these changes, however, will require increased access to knowledge and training about farming practices, which the SRP plans to provide through group certification.
The SRP has already worked with farmers in Vietnam, Thailand, India and Indonesia to improve their farming practices to be more sustainable and resource-efficient by showing them methods that use less water, better seeds, and less fertilizer. Pilot projects have been successful in improving production and increasing the income of farmers.
Through the creation of this new eco-label, the SRP hopes to improve the process of rice production in many ways. Not only will greater sustainability lead to greater and more consistent output in the future, but the livelihoods of farmers will also be improved. This change would especially positively impact developing countries where people are most reliant on rice and low-income farmers who rely on consistent rice yields. If rice production is to meet increasing demand, adapting to more sustainable practices will be necessary and the SRP’s initiative is a step in the right direction.
– Angelica Smyrnios
Photo: Flickr
Ending Child Marriage in Kyrgyzstan
History of Child Marriage in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan was formerly a member of the Soviet Union. Under Soviet control, many of the traditions and values of the country were repressed. Following the 1989 collapse of the Soviet Union, the government of Kyrgyzstan attempted to maintain power by appealing to nationalism and reviving the traditions of the country. One of these traditions was the practice of child marriage, which has seen increases in many Central Asian countries following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Factors Associated with Child Marriage
Social issues, including poverty, lack of education, cultural emphasis on honor and practices of bride kidnapping, contribute to the practice of child marriage. In Kyrgyzstan’s poorest households, 16% of girls are married as children compared to 9% of girls from families with higher incomes. Girls with primary or no education are more likely to be married by the age of 18 than girls with a more substantial education – 4% compared to 33%, respectively.
Kyrgyzstan culture emphasizes family honor and child marriage is linked to the desire to ensure that girls do not engage in premarital sex. Child marriage is also linked to the practice of bride kidnapping, where the girl is taken by force to the house of a man who wants to marry her and is slowly convinced by him and his family to agree to the marriage. An estimated 12,000 bride kidnappings occur each year and it is believed that many girls agree to child marriages in an attempt to avoid being kidnapped.
Effects of Child Marriage in Kyrgyzstan
Child marriage causes many hardships for women and girls in Kyrgyzstan. Due to the unequal nature of child marriages, domestic violence is common for child brides. Child brides often face difficulties during pregnancy and childbirth due to their young age and immature physical development. These marriages often put an end to girls’ education as they have to drop out of school to raise children and undertake domestic tasks. This limits their future ability to find jobs and become financially independent, putting them at risk of being unable to leave abusive relationships.
In addition, because child marriages are illegal under Kyrgyzstan’s laws, many of these marriages are not officially registered with the state until both parties are over the age of 18, the legal age for marriage. Since women in unregistered marriages do not have access to resources such as property, alimony and child support, they are limited in their independence and ability to leave a marriage.
The National Federation of Women’s Communities of Kyrgyzstan
A key organization combatting child marriage in Kyrgyzstan is the National Federation of Women’s Communities of Kyrgyzstan (NFFCK). NFFCK is an organization created by teenage girls with the mission of giving girls throughout the country the tools and knowledge necessary to avoid child marriages and other forms of gender discrimination. The organization provides sex education and awareness programs regarding health issues, smoking and drugs, in addition to teaching leadership skills. NFFCK also is an advocacy organization, conducting awareness campaigns on social issues such as child marriage to create policy changes.
A grant provided to NFFCK by the U.N. Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women allowed the organization to create an educational program, Educating Girls Through Education, Art and Media, in three villages. The program had benefited 600 people as of 2016.
Over the course of just two years, NFFCK worked with 41 girls to avoid child marriage through its education and leadership-building programs. NFFCK provided nearly 500 girls with some form of “practical support” and more than 1,600 girls with “consultations on child marriage and bride kidnapping.” Overall, NFFCK has educated 12,000 girls on their rights.
Governmental Efforts to End Child Marriage
The government is also committing to do more to end child marriages. In 2016, President Almazbek Atambayev passed Article 155, which creates a legal basis for the punishment of adults who perform marriage ceremonies involving minors. The 2015-2017 National Action Plan on Gender Equality also included awareness programs for the public and the military on the harmful effects of child marriage. Still, an estimated 14% of girls under the age of 18 were married in 2019, indicating that child marriage in Kyrgyzstan remains a serious issue. With ongoing efforts and commitments from the government and organizations, child marriage in Kyrgyzstan can be successfully combated.
– Sydney Leiter
Photo: Flickr
4 Facts About the Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect
4 Facts About Girl Effect
1. Girl Effect has been in operation for 12 years. The Nike Foundation launched Girl Effect in 2008 at the World Economic Forum. According to its website, “The Girl Effect is about the unique potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves and the world.” Nike designed the organization to inspire the most influential leaders in the world to get girls in vulnerable nations on the global development agenda and help increase the drive of resources to them. Girl Effect also aims to create media resources for girls around the world in order to increase their access to resources surrounding education and healthcare. Through partnerships with prominent organizations and creating branded media content, Girl Effect has provided millions of girls access to life-saving information.
2. It uses media and the internet to reach girls in developing nations. Girl Effect creates branded media for girls around the world that helps to “navigate the pivotal time of adolescence so they can make positive choices about their health, education and economic future.” Girl Effect currently operates seven different digital programs to reach girls around the world; Chhaa Jaa, Ni Nyampinga, Springster, TEGA, Tujibebe, Yegna and Zathu. The Chhaa Jaa program, which means “go forth and shine” in Hindi, is a “digital-first youth brand that inspires, informs and equips girls in India with the right skills and confidence to navigate adolescence.” These resources include helping girls access information about sexual and reproductive health, how to negotiate with parents about their choices for continuing their education, and how to prepare for their first job. Tujibebe is a program that was born from Tanzanian culture and is a mobile-based brand focused on helping provide adolescent girls with information and resources they need to make positive choices about their future. This includes how to finish their education and setting up their own small business.
3. It partners with numerous organizations to share its message. Girl Effect has worked with organizations from a variety of industries, from nonprofits to social media networks, to help effectively spread its message to girls across the world. One of the largest nonprofit organizations that it partners with is UNICEF. Together the organizations support and promote the Ni Nyampinga program in Rwanda. Through this partnership, UNICEF and Girl Effect have been able to make Ni Nyampinga a nation-wide movement with 80% of the population of Rwanda aware of it, which is almost 6.6 million Rwandans. Another prominent partner of the organization is Facebook. Through the use of Facebook’s Free Basics platform, which provides people with full access to services on their mobile phones, Girl Effect is able to promote its Springster program on a worldwide scale. Through this partnership, Facebook and Girl Effect have been able to reach over 12 million users in the past year alone. The program is available in over 50 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, the Philippines and Indonesia. A few additional Girl Effect partners include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gavi and Mastercard Foundation.
4. The Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect made great strides reaching developing countries. Since its introduction in 2008, Girl Effect has been able to reach millions of girls in developing nations to provide education and resources. In India and South Africa, its online chatbots have responded to over 1.2 million messages asking for advice on sex and healthy relationships. It has helped connect over 15,000 girls in India with efficient sexual and reproductive health information and services online. In Malawi, girls who read Girl Effect magazine are 32% more likely than non-readers to go to a medical provider and receive their first dose of HPV medication. In Indonesia, those who have seen Girl Effect’s digital nutrition campaign are 32% more likely to make healthier food choices than those who did not view it.
Girl Effect Closes the Gender Gap
Since its beginning, The Nike Foundation’s Girl Effect has helped to create media for girls around the world to provide resources on how to improve their education, healthcare and well-being. For years, the world has struggled to include girls in the many advances that have been made in healthcare and education. However, organizations like Girl Effect help to close this gap.
– Sara Holm
Photo: Flickr