Every day in developing countries, 20,000 girls below age 18 give birth. Nine in 10 of these births occur within marriage or a union. This has consequences on the health, education, employment and rights of an untold millions of girls. What are the challenges of adolescent pregnancy, and what can we do to ensure girls have a healthy and safe transition into adulthood?

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News

Youth advocates for family planning break taboos in the Maldives

12 November 2018
When her friend became unexpectedly pregnant at an early age, Azlifa sought a way to share sexual and reproductive health information with other young people kept in the dark about their bodies. © UNFPA Maldives/Tatiana Almeida
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Statement

Empowering women and girls requires renewed efforts to end violence and harmful practices

21 November 2016

This is 2016 and yet one in three women worldwide still experiences or has experienced some form of physical or sexual violence, usually perpetrated by someone she knows. Moreover, millions of women and girls have been subjected to other forms of violence and harmful practices, such as female genital mutilation, which affect an estimated 200 million women and girls, or child marriage, with one in three girls in developing countries being married off before the age of 18.

Video

Empowering adolescent girls in Viet Nam

July 11, 2016

Girls in Viet Nam speak about entering adolescence and being agents of change. 

News

“They were afraid I would die”: Early motherhood puts girls at risk in the Republic of Moldova

02 August 2018
Maria with her youngest daughter. She lost weight after each pregnancy, alarming her doctors. © UNFPA Moldova/Dan Gutu
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News

In Türkiye, refugee child marriages drive adolescent pregnancies underground

26 July 2018
Pregnant child brides need extra attention, says Huda, a UNFPA midwife in the Hayati Harrani women's and girl's safe space. “But our hands are tied because so few come for care.” © UNFPA Türkiye/Usenabasi Esiet
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News

Breaking taboos around sexual and reproductive health in rural Georgia

21 June 2018
Young people from the Kakheti region of Georgia participate in peer education training on gender equality and reproductive health and rights. © UNFPA Georgia
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Video

Architect Not Child Bride: A Syrian Girl’s Dream

June 19, 2018

Since its opening in 2015, over 1,800 young women and men in Zaatari refugee camp have benefitted from trainings on reproductive health and gender-based violence at the Questscope-UNFPA Youth Centre. This is the story of 16-year-old Yanal, who became an advocate against child marriage after learning about its harms at the UNFPA-supported youth centre in Zaatari. A film by UNFPA Jordan/Elspeth Dehnert.