Moving beyond talk: A new knowledge brief for practitioners on the ‘how’ of integrating economic empowerment and sexual and reproductive health programs for adolescent girls
For the past two years, Kore Global has provided ongoing gender technical advisory services to Population Services International’s Adolescents 360 (A360) program, a girl-centered contraceptive program in sub-Saharan Africa. To address the multiple, intersecting challenges girls face, A360 added an economic empowerment component to its existing program model which had previously focused solely on sexual and reproductive health (SRH). This process highlighted an important gap in the sector - the lack of programmatic guidance on how to meaningfully integrate economic empowerment and SRH interventions in adolescent girls’ programs.
In an effort to fill this knowledge gap, A360 and Kore Global have developed a knowledge brief to equip practitioners with the practical tools, guidance and resources to effectively and meaningfully design integrated programs. Grounded in case studies, the brief outlines a series of promising practices to move the needle on delivering integrated programs for girls. Top tips for practitioners are highlighted below.
1. Design curricula that focus on a foundational set of soft skills known for contributing to both economic empowerment and SRH outcomes
A foundational set of soft skills is a critical starting point for the design of holistic programs. Building adolescent girls’ core soft skills - which can include negotiation and problem-solving skills, as well as competency to manage stress and emotions - can enable girls to better navigate challenging situations in both their personal and professional lives. An excellent example of this approach is BRAC’s Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) program in Uganda, which provided a bundled package of both hard and soft skills training, including management skills, leadership, negotiation and conflict resolution. An evaluation of the program found that the development of soft skills was important in achieving key program outcomes. Program participants were more engaged in income-generating activities and less likely to have a child when they were not ready, compared to the control group.
2. Utilize group-based program models to provide the wraparound support necessary to achieve both economic empowerment and SRH outcomes
All of the programs analyzed during the review operate using a group-based approach, ranging from girls’ clubs to savings and loans groups. Practitioners have used group-based approaches for decades, creating a safe space for delivering content on multiple topics, including economic empowerment and SRH, resulting in a truly integrated program model. Some practitioners strategically leverage this by promoting topics that are particularly attractive to adolescent girls, such as savings and earning money, as an entry point for discussing more challenging (and sometimes less interesting) topics such as access to contraceptives. For instance, the Action for Slum Dwellers’ Reproductive Health Allahabad program in India made access to the popular livelihoods training component of the program conditional on regular attendance at SRH sessions. In addition, groups have been proven to build social capital by fostering supportive networks that contribute to success across various life domains.
3. Center girls’ voices, experience and leadership
A large body of evidence demonstrates that successful adolescent girl programs are built on an understanding of girls’ needs. Given the complexity of economic empowerment and SRH programming, it is vital to understand where girls are starting from and what they need to set them up for success. Girls should ideally be involved in all stages of the program cycle, from design, through to implementation and monitoring and evaluation. The A360 program utilized a human-centered design (HCD) process to integrate economic empowerment interventions within its existing SRH program, meaningfully engaging adolescent girls and other key stakeholders, including mothers and husbands, in testing the program and adapting the final program design according to the evidence base.
4. Take a lifecycle approach
A lifecycle approach takes account of the evolving capacities and interests of girls at different stages of adolescence. In both economic empowerment and SRH programming, certain interventions have been proven to be more or less effective and appropriate depending on the target age group. For instance, basic financial literacy skills are important for early adolescents, whereas vocational training and other employment-focused initiatives are better suited to older girls. Similarly, program designers should carefully consider what kinds of SRH information are appropriate and useful for different age groups, in terms of their capacity to make informed decisions about their reproductive health. One program that takes a lifecycle approach is the 12+ in Rwanda, which was developed for early adolescent girls aged 10-14, who are typically more open to both risk-taking and influence from peers and other social networks. The program has developed a highly targeted, age-appropriate curriculum that is particularly relevant for the realities of early adolescent girls in Rwanda.
5. Identify and actively engage key influencers
The context in which girls live, their key relationships and the social norms influencing their lives, play a significant role in contributing to achieving economic empowerment and SRH outcomes. Engaging with influential stakeholders, including parents, intimate partners, and community leaders, is essential to gaining support for girls’ economic and SRH goals and aspirations. One intervention that effectively engaged key influencers is CARE’s IMAGINE program, which mobilized the entire community to support the program’s primary objective of delaying first birth by working closely with adolescent girls’ collectives, young men’s social clubs as well as community management committees. IMAGINE’s endline evaluation found significantly higher rates of contraceptive use, greater health service utilization, and participation in income-generating activities among the adolescent girl participants compared to the control group.
These tips serve as a starting point for effective integrated programming for girls. For a deeper understanding, take a look at the full knowledge brief, offering a wealth of additional resources and tips!
Written by Meghan Cutherell (A360), Dharini Bhuvanendra (Kore Global) and Katherine Nichol (Kore Global)
