Advocating for Adolescent Girls

in Africa & Latin America

Emily Teitsworth, M.A.

Overview of Session Plan

• Introduction to AGALI

• Case studies: advocacy for girls

• Group work: applying effective advocacy strategies to economic empowerment work

• Presentation of group work

• Wrap-up and Q&A

Adolescent Girls: A Marginalized Demographic

• 25% live in extreme poverty 

• >50% are out-of-school youth

• Maternal mortality is top killer (15-19 years)

• 75% of HIV+ African youth are female

• <2¢ of every $1 invested in adolescent girls

Sources: UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, Nike Foundation

Adolescent Girls: Powerful Opportunities

 • Girls' education leads to

later marriage and fewer children

• Increased contraceptive use could reduce adolescent maternal mortality by 35%

• Ex: If all teen pregnancies in Malawi were delayed to at least age 20, GDP would increase by 27% annually.

Sources: Advocates for Youth, Center for Global Development, World Bank

AGALI Public Health Institute (PHI)

Funders: UN Foundation & WestWind Foundation

Focus countries

• Africa: Liberia, Malawi, Ethiopia• Latin America: Guatemala, Honduras

AGALIProgram Goals

Strengthen civil society capacity to advocate for policies, programs, and funding benefiting adolescent girls.

Improve girls’ education, livelihoods, health, and human rights while empowering young women to advocate for themselves.

FellowsCivil society leaders, policymakers, advocates, social change

agents

Strategies 1. Capacity building workshops

2. Seed grants 3. Technical assistance 4. Institutional Strengthening 5. Dissemination & outreach 6. Building the knowledge base

Capacity Building Workshops• Strengthen civil

society capacity to advocate on behalf of adolescent girls

 • Share knowledge &

best practices • Develop advocacy

strategies to advance girls’ education, SRH, human rights, socio-economic wellbeing

Seed Grant FundingPHI awards grants to support AGALI

graduates’ strongest advocacy projects

Technical AssistancePHI provides TA to AGALI participants:

• Proposal development• Advocacy strategy implementation• Networking and outreach• New media and video advocacy• Fundraising and leveraging resources

Institutional Strengthening PHI conducts ongoing Institutional Strengthening

workshops for AGALI Fellows and their organizations on a wide range of topics:

• Girl-centered programming• Media advocacy• Political mapping• Girls’ economic empowerment• Budgetary advocacy• Monitoring & evaluation

Dissemination & OutreachParticipants build local capacity and

commitment by conducting trainings for local organizations and for girls’ groups

Building the Knowledge Base

• Policy Briefs• Video and media advocacy• Advocacy project case studies

Program Achievements

• 89 Latin American and African leaders advocating for laws, policies, and programs

• Built a global civil society network sharing best practices in advocacy for girls

Reached > 40,000 girls with direct service, advocacy training, & empowerment programs

• Major legal and policy wins at national & local levels

• Supported creation of new national advocacy networks in Malawi and Honduras

Grantees’ Advocacy Results Passage of national Children’s Law in Liberia,

guaranteeing girls’ rights Passage of two policies in Guatemala to promote

teen pregnancy prevention and services for girls Expansion of girl-centered programs & budgets at

the local level Implementation of national Sexual Violence

Protocol, with integrated care for adolescent girl survivors

• Collaboration with village chiefs to institute penalties for practitioners of child marriage

Advocacy Network Creation Malawi Adolescent Girls’ Advocacy &

Leadership Network (AGANET) AGALI network to coordinate collaborative

advocacy activities for adolescent girls

Honduras Advocacy Coalition for Youth Sexual & Reproductive Rights AGALI / UN network to advocate for effective

implementation of the Ministerial Declaration ‘Preventing Through Education’

Advocacy & Economic Empowerment

• What is the connection between AGALI and economic empowerment?

• Why is systems change thinking important to girls’ economic empowerment?

AGALI Advocacy Case Studies

• THINK and HOPE in Liberia: Advocacy for the passage of the Children’s Act

• Asociación IDEI in Guatemala: Empowering girls to advocate for their own rights

• AGANET in Malawi: The power of advocacy networks and coalitions

Questions for Discussion

1) What are the principal advocacy strategies used by the organization(s) profiled in the case study?

2) What are some potential limitations of the organization’s approach?

3) What are some of the most important lessons to take away from this particular case study?

4) Which elements of the organization’s advocacy strategy could be applied by institutions working in the field of girls’ economic empowerment?

Case Study Lessons Learned

• Empower adolescent girls to advocate for their own needs.

• Direct service organizations can become effective advocates for girls’ rights, with limited investments.

• Develop allies in the media to broaden your impact.

• Advocacy networks increase your reach and bring more attention to your cause.

• Engage in constructive direct dialogue with decision-makers.

• Advocacy doesn’t end with passing a law or policy; advocacy for implementation of existing policy is equally as important.

Thank you!

Questions?? www.agaliprogram.org