Implementing Multiple Gender Strategies to Improve HIV and ... - ICRW

and among working girls, 77 percent engaged in domestic work. Ten
percent of girls had never been to school, the vast majority of these
being migrants.
• Endline survey: Results are forthcoming.
Replication and
Scale-up Activities
Biruh Tesfa will be expanded to Gondar and eventually will include sites in
smaller towns of Ethiopia.
LESSONS LEARNED AND CHALLENGES
Key Findings and
Lessons
• Working with girls helps keep programs in touch with the needs of the
community.
• Partnership with local government promotes acceptance and
sustainability.
Challenges and
Unforeseen
Outcomes
• Negotiation with employers was a big challenge. In a typical scenario,
an instructor might notice that a girl participant has not shown up for
class. It turns out that girl, who had been employed as a live-in
domestic worker, was evicted for attending school and as a result is
now living on the street. To prevent such a scenario, the program now
tries to coordinate better communication between the girl’s mentor and
her employer.
• The target population is highly mobile.
Recommendations
for Replication
• The program model is not expensive to replicate. It costs about US
$40, per beneficiary, per year to implement at the field level. This
includes setting up staff with one field coordinator paying the mentors.
Further costs include subsidies to health centers and feminine hygiene
products. It is cost-saving to work in partnership with local
administrations.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Program
References and
Resources
Erulkar, A.S., T. Mekbib, and M. Tegegne. Biruh Tesfa: Creating a ‘Bright
Future’ for Migrant Girls in Urban Areas of Ethiopia. New York: Population
Council, 2008.
Erulkar, A.S., and T. Mekbib. “Invisible and Vulnerable: Adolescent
Domestic Workers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.” Vulnerable Child and Youth
Studies 2, no. 3 (2007): 246–256.
Erulkar A.S., T. Mekbib, T., N. Simie, and T. Gulema. “Differential Use of
Adolescent Reproductive Health Programs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.”
Journal of Adolescent Health 8, no. 3 (2006a): 253–60.
Erulkar, A.S., T. Mekbib, N. Simie, and T. Gulema. “Migration and
Vulnerability Among Adolescents in Slum Areas of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.”
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