Empowering Adolescent Girls Through Non-Formal Education

UNFPA works around the world with and for young people, putting at the centre their talents, hopes, perspectives and unique needs for achieving sustainable development. UNFPA is committed to investing in the capabilities, agency and empowerment of adolescent girls towards ending child marriage and reducing adolescent pregnancy by supporting governments to reach the most marginalized adolescent girls, especially those at risk of child marriage and married girls. 

UNFPA is delivering on this commitment through adolescent girls-centred programming within the framework of the Fund’s Strategic Plan 2022-25, its Adolescents and Youth Strategy My Body, My Life, My World and the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage.

The evidence has shown that investments in health and education can be transformative in the life of young people and generate high economic and social returns. This technical brief provides a comparative analysis of evidence-based interventions aimed at empowering adolescent girls. The comparative analysis portrays the similarities, differences, and complementarities of comprehensive sexuality education, life skills education, and protective asset-building approaches. It recognizes the power of emotions for learning and movement-building while offering recommendations for addressing a holistic approach to programming through non-formal education.