Girls Education & Empowerment

One of the world's largest conditional cash transfer programs for girls' education, covering 2+ million girls annually across 460 rural districts since 1994. Girls receive monthly stipends and tuition waivers conditional on 75% attendance, remaining unmarried until 18, and passing exams. Rigorous evaluations show 8% increased enrollment per additional year of program exposure, delayed marriage, and positive spillover effects on younger siblings' education. The model has influenced girls' education policy across South Asia and Africa.

An EU-funded non-formal education program in Kenya's Dadaab refugee complex providing catch-up education for out-of-school girls. Accelerated Education Centres help over-age girls build literacy and numeracy while addressing cultural barriers like early marriage through community engagement.

An annual USD 100,000 award recognizing outstanding initiatives advancing girls' and women's education globally. Past laureates include CAMFED, Room to Read, Girl Child Network Kenya, and programs from 25+ countries demonstrating scalable models for gender equity in education.

A data-driven approach to enrolling and retaining out-of-school girls using predictive analytics and community volunteers. Educate Girls identifies 'hotspot' villages (5% of villages containing 40% of out-of-school girls) and deploys local women volunteers called 'Team Balika' to counsel families door-to-door. The program has enrolled 2+ million girls and improved learning for 2.4 million children across 30,000 villages. Combines parental counseling, School Management Committee strengthening, girls' leadership councils (Bal Sabhas), and remedial learning curriculum.

The world's largest private secular education system, reaching over 1 million children through 'one-room schools' since 1985. BRAC schools serve children who cannot access or dropped out of formal education, with 70% of students being girls. Schools condense 5-year curriculum into 4 years with trained local teachers (mostly women). The Kishori (adolescent girls) school variant targets 11-14 year olds who never attended school, with health education integrated into curriculum. This model inspired non-formal education programs across Asia and Africa.

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.