Adolescent girls in Cameroon need concrete and immediate support to unlock their potential.
Yaounde, 11 October 2024. on the 11th of October, the world celebrates the International Day of the Girl Child. This year’s theme, “Girls’ Vision for the future” is a reminder of the urgency to act to improve the situation of girls around the world.
In Cameroon, adolescent girls represent 12% of the country’s 26 million population. However, they often are among the most deprived groups with respect to access to basic services and their rights to participation and protection. More than 3 in 5 girls do not achieve lower secondary school, and nearly 8 in 10 do not complete upper secondary school.
· 11% were married by the age of 15 and 30%by the age of 18[1].
· Nearly 1 in 4 married girls aged 15–19 have experienced intimate partner violence.
· The adolescent birth rate for girls aged 15–19 is alarmingly high at 122 per 1,000.
· Girls aged 15–24 represented 30% of new HIV infections in 2023.
· 42% of girls aged 15–19 are anemic.
All these issues are interconnected but they are also preventable. Targeted multisectoral interventions for the most marginalized girls can make a substantial difference in their wellbeing and development.
“Adolescent girls are drivers of change, said Nadine Perrault, UNICEF Representative. Investing in their well-being helps break the intergenerational cycles of poverty and yields significant societal and economic benefits.”
For UNICEF in Cameroon, providing opportunities for adolescent girls to express themselves is key to ensuring their empowerment and wellbeing.
This is the reason why UNICEF has set up the Adolescent Girls Advisory Board (AGAB), a platform where adolescent girls can contribute to UNICEF’s programmes, engage in community projects, and help ensure our interventions respond to girls’ needs and expectations. To date, four AGAB groups have been established in Yaounde, Bertoua, Buea and Maroua.
In crises-affected areas UNICEF Cameroon is implementing a package of interventions to foster positive changes for girls by investing in their skills and providing them with learning opportunities in safe and protective environment and platforms — such as adolescent girl clubs — that enable them to discuss between peers on the obstacles that stand in their way of learning. Over 8,000 girls participated in these clubs in 2023.
UNICEF’s interventions also include the prevention of HIV mother-to-child transmission and the free distribution of antiretroviral drugs and the prevention of iron-deficiency anemia, through the distribution of iron supplementation. UNICEF also supports management of menstrual hygiene with kits to empower girls to stay in school and live with dignity.
“On this day dedicated to girls, UNICEF is calling on all partners to mobilize to unlock the potential of adolescent girls in Cameroon and to make their voices heard,” said Nadine Perrault.
Notes to Editors:
TESTIMONIES OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND VIDEOS FROM THE FIELD:
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and well-being of every child, in everything we do. We work in 190 countries and territories around the world with our partners to turn this commitment into practical action, with a special focus on reaching the most vulnerable and marginalized children, for the benefit of all children, everywhere. And we never give up.
Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram , LinkedIn, Medium and YouTube
For more information, please contact:
Anne Fouchard, Chief of Communication, E-mail afouchard@unicef.org; Tel.+237657750532/:
Salomon Marie Joseph Beguel, Communication Officer, E-mail smjbeguel@unicef.org / Tel : +237 699 77 05 69
