Creating Opportunities and Possibilities for Girls Globally
October 11th, 2023 | news
Girls have immense potential to create positive change in their communities making it essential that they have the opportunity and resources to do so. On International Day of the Girl Child, we highlight the challenges that girls face and their critical need to overcome them.
The severity of these challenges is striking: nearly 1 in 5 girls lacks a completed lower-secondary school education while nearly 4 in 10 do not finish upper-secondary. Additionally, girls continue to account for 3 of 4 new adolescent HIV cases. This year’s International Day of the Girl Child theme, “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being,” resonates deeply with our mission to ensure that every girl’s rights are protected and well-being is nurtured.
At JSI we are committed to improving girls’ access to and quality of health and educational services. We work to eliminate disparities so that educational and health care services are readily available and accessible to all girls, regardless of their background or location.
Our efforts include extending HPV vaccine access to all girls in pursuit of the goal to eliminate cervical cancer and conveying knowledge so that girls can make informed decisions about their health and ultimately improve their health outcomes. One way we are doing this with our partners is through the HPV Vaccine Acceleration Program Partners Initiative Consortium, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In the Lango sub-region in northern Uganda, we also implemented the DREAMS program to reduce girls’ risk of HIV transmission resulting from economic and power imbalances and sexual and gender-based violence. The JSI-implemented USAID RHITES-North, Lango project supported adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) with a package of HIV prevention interventions including youth-friendly sexual reproductive health services, life skills training, post-violence care, social asset building, and access to socioeconomic support, including financial literacy and business skills. This package improved the lives of AGYW and benefitted their communities.
In addition to our work in health and education, JSI is involved in innovative projects like the Country Health Information Systems and Data Use to strengthen health information systems and support evidence-based decision making, contributing to better health outcomes for girls and women.
On this International Day of the Girl Child, we invite you to join us in celebrating the potential and resilience of girls worldwide. Ensuring that girls have knowledge, access to health care, and educational opportunities is a global imperative. Let’s work together for a world in which every girl can thrive and shape the future.
