Motherhood in Childhood

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decreased the chances of their marrying and having children. In a later study in Kenya, Duflo et al. (2011) found that simply providing children with school uniforms was sufficient to increase enrolment, reduce the drop-out rate by 18 per cent and lower the pregnancy rate by 17 per cent. “The children already enrolled in sixth grade classes were given a free uniform. Implementers also announced that students still enrolled in school the following year would be eligible for a second uniform, and distributed uniforms again the following year.” (Duflo et al., 2011) The reduction in the number of pregnancies, however, occurred “entirely through a reduction in the number of pregnancies within marriage” as “there was no change in the out-of-wedlock pregnancy rate.” This finding suggests that education’s protective power lay in its ability to reduce child marriage rates, which in turn helped reduce adolescent pregnancy. Duflo et al. concluded that “giving girls…the opportunity to go to school if they want to do so is an extremely powerful (and inexpensive) way to reduce teen fertility.” Girls reap many immediate and long-term benefits from education, which, during adolescence, is a necessary first step for girls to overcome a history of disadvantage in civic life and paid employment (Lloyd, 2009). Enhancing the quality and relevance of learning opportunities for adolescents can prepare and empower girls for a range of adult roles beyond the traditional roles of homemaker, mother, and spouse, with benefits not just for the girls, but also for their families and communities. Being in school along with boys during adolescence fosters greater gender equality in the daily lives of adolescents. Education for adolescent girls helps them avoid early pregnancies, and lowers their risk of HIV/AIDS. While primary education is a basic need for all, secondary education offers greater prospects of remunerative employment, with girls receiving substantially higher returns in the workplace than boys when both complete secondary school. Gupta et al. (2008) found that “education continues to be the single most important predictor of age at marriage over time.” School enrolment has a protective value in that school girls are “seen as children and not of marriageable age” (Marcus and Page, 2013). According to one study in Kenya (Duflo et al., 2011), “once one leaves school, sex and marriage are expected.” Decades of research have shown that education and schooling are key factors for not only reducing the risk of early sexual initiation, pregnancy, and early childbearing, but also for increasing the likelihood that adolescents will use condoms and other forms of contraception if they do have sexual intercourse (Blum, 2004). Other actions, such as conditional cash transfers, aimed at keeping girls in school have also protected girls from pregnancy. Conditional cash transfers are regular monthly or bi-monthly payments, which are contingent on families availing themselves of basic services, such as school, primary health care, sexual and reproductive health services, or free awareness-raising or education sessions. Malawi, for example, piloted a conditional cash transfer programme to encourage girls in the Zomba district to stay in school or to encourage recent dropouts to resume their education. Zomba has a high dropout rate, low educational attainment, and the country’s highest HIV prevalence rates among women ages 15 to 49. Through the Zomba programme, households received a $10 monthly transfer, equivalent to about 15 per cent of the 60 CHAPTER 4: TAKING ACTION
average household income. About 70 per cent of the transfer went to the parents, and 30 per cent went to the girl herself. In addition, the programme paid a girl’s secondary school fee directly to the school, as soon as her enrolment was confirmed. Households received transfers only if girls attended school for at least 75 per cent of the days school was in session in the previous month (Baird et al., 2009). Some girls were randomly assigned to receive unconditional cash transfers: no conditions, only cash. Unconditional transfers had a more powerful effect than conditional transfers on reducing the incidence of marriage and adolescent childbearing (Baird et al., 2011). More than three in five girls who had dropped out returned to school because of the conditional cash transfers. In addition, 93 per cent of the girls who had not previously dropped out and participated in the programme were still in school at the end of the school year, compared with 89 per cent of the girls who had not previously dropped out and did not participate in the programme. PROGRESS BEING MADE JAMAICA A government foundation enables pregnant girls to continue their education and return to school after they give birth. EGYPT Girl-friendly spaces combining literacy training, life-skills training and recreation programmes changed girls' perceptions about early marriage. UKRAINE Increasing adolescents' access to contraception reduced abortions by two-thirds. INDIA A life-skills programme for young married women resulted in increased use of contraception. KENYA Free school uniforms increased enrolments, reduced drop-out rates, and lowered pregnancy rate by 17 per cent. THE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 2013 61
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Motherhood in Childhood Facing the
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state of world population 2013 Moth
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to health. Conversely, a girl who i
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“I was 14… My mom and her siste
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access to sexual and reproductive h
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Research shows that addressing unin
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Additional efforts must be made to
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1 A global challenge Every year in
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ights, or where access to health ca
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According to DHS and MICS surveys,
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“Efforts—and resources—to pre
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Page 25 and 26: A UNFPA review of four countries fo
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Page 37 and 38: ADOLESCENTS, AGES 10 TO 19, LIVING
Page 39 and 40: community environments, she may fee
Page 41 and 42: effect could have added $3.4 billio
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Page 45 and 46: 3 Pressures from many directions Ad
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Bibliography Abdella A. et al. 2013
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Monitoring ICPD Goals - Selected In
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Monitoring ICPD Goals - Selected In
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Delivering a world where every preg
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