Adolescent Girls

The Malala Fund works to ensure 12 years of free, safe, quality education for every girl. Focusing on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Tanzania, the fund invests in local advocates through its Education Champion Network. Recent grants include USD 3.26M for Afghanistan supporting 10,000+ girls through alternative learning and USD 4.8M across five countries. Advocacy targets gender apartheid recognition, increased education budgets, and addressing hidden schooling costs.

CAMFED is a pan-African movement founded in 1993 dedicated to eradicating poverty through girls education. Operating in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, CAMFED has supported 7.8 million children including 2.4 million girls at secondary level. The CAMFED Association (CAMA) network of 312,747 women leaders creates a Multiplier Effect where graduates support an average of 3 additional girls using their own resources. Girls supported by CAMFED are 3x less likely to drop out.

Room to Read Girls Education Program supports adolescent girls grades 6-12 through four components: life skills education, individual mentorship, community engagement, and material support. Operating in 10 countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Tanzania, and Vietnam, the program has supported 4.1+ million girls since 2001. 91% of participants advance to next grade; 81% of alumnae are in higher education or employed 5 years after completing. Program includes She Creates Change multimedia initiative.

UNICEF Skills4Girls equips adolescent girls with skills for economic productivity including literacy, numeracy, entrepreneurship, and STEM. In Niger, the program addresses challenges of child marriage and early motherhood by providing vital skills. In Tajikistan, 15 nationwide Innovation Labs target rural adolescent girls. The program is part of UNICEFs broader vision for programming with adolescent girls to prevent them from being left behind, recognizing that investing in girls has transformative impacts.

Let Girls Learn was launched in 2014 to help adolescent girls worldwide attend and complete school. The initiative addresses barriers faced by 62 million out-of-school girls globally through community-led solutions often in collaboration with Peace Corps. Programs include EAGLE in DRC (scholarships for 3,000 girls, HIV/leadership skills), GOAL Plus in Liberia (7,000+ girls with scholarships), and ASPIRE in Malawi (125,000+ girls with reading skills). STEM focus programs operate in Georgia, Tanzania, and Rwanda.