Pathways to Prosperity for Adolescent Girls in Africa

Keep girls on the path to success by building human capital fundamentals through investments in education and health early on. Concerted intervention from early adolescence (age 10) onward can provide a buffer for adolescent girls and equip them with a solid foundation that will enable them to navigate any challenges they may face on their path to adulthood. Policies and programs that reduce direct and indirect costs of education to students and their families have been found to be consistently effective in improving education outcomes, particularly for girls. In contexts in which child marriage is prevalent, education incentives also reduce child marriage and early childbearing. In communities in which access to education remains restricted or the quality of education is poor, interventions that work to alleviate these barriers can bolster the development of girls’ human capital fundamentals. Although evidence on what works to improve health outcomes for adolescent girls in Africa is relatively thin, emerging studies and global evidence point to providing sexual and reproductive health education and youth-friendly services as the most effective approaches.

Provide girls with the essential resources and agency and a supportive environment conducive to their success. Market-aligned vocational training, business support, and life skills training need to be integrated to boost employment and income for girls, especially those who are out of school. Additionally, investment should be made in promising approaches to expand and improve the services and opportunities to which girls have access, including employment opportunities for women. Interventions should be customized to address contextual factors such as relevant legal frameworks, labor market structures, fragility and conflict, and community and household contexts to ensure sustainable improvements in girls’ empowerment outcomes.

Tailor interventions to address the diverse circumstances and needs of girls, putting a priority on the most vulnerable. Various groups of girls, particularly the most vulnerable girls—including those from the poorest households, rural areas with limited resources, and areas affected by violence—should be identified, and their needs should be made a priority. Definitions of vulnerability may extend to many circumstances and characteristics in addition to those just specified, such as ethnicity, religion, or disabilities. Girls balancing dual roles of working while attending school or taking care of children require tailored programs to support their needs for continuing education, accessing childcare, and earning income. Young mothers and married girls face unique obstacles to continuing their education and need support to enhance their human capital fundamentals and accumulate other resource

Adopt a holistic approach in the design of interventions. Factors such as program costs, implementation capacity, and alignment with existing initiatives must be carefully considered. Additionally, leveraging digital tools and platforms can be beneficial for reaching girls who are out of school, marry early, or reside in rural areas, given evidence of expanding digital access across different countries, demographics, and socioeconomic groups. Technological innovations can also lower costs given the challenges of tight fiscal space.

Address data and evidence gaps to inform effective policies and programs. Measures in areas in which measurement is lacking, such as aspects of context, digital capital, and job quality, need to be developed and tested. Evidence must be generated and then programs designed that allow assessment of not only what works, but what works for whom, including for married adolescents and girls with children, who have often been overlooked.

Mobilize key stakeholders and foster collaboration. Support should be rallied from a diverse range of stakeholders, including community, national, and regional leaders; governmental bodies; the private sector; civil society; nongovernmental organizations; and other development partners. Both the social and economic benefits of empowering adolescent girls must be emphasized, with support from a robust analytical framework. Collaboration can be facilitated among stakeholders to effectively implement evidence-based interventions, encompassing both programs and policy and legal reforms.