Transcript Slide 1

Motherhood in Childhood
Facing the Challenge of Adolescent Pregnancy
Theme for the State of World Population Report 2013
30 October 2013
India
Up Ahead
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UNFPA, Rights and Adolescent Pregnancy
Global Statistics
The Challenges Worldwide
The Underlying Causes
Pressures from Many Directions & Levels
Ecological Model
India: Factsheet
Foundations for Progress
Eight Ways to Get There
The Benefits
Research Needs
Voices
“From a human rights perspective,
a girl who becomes pregnantregardless of the circumstances or
reasons - is one whose rights are
undermined.”
—Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
Executive Director,
United Nations Population Fund
Under-Secretary-General of the
United Nations.
UNFPA, Rights and Adolescent Pregnancy
UNFPA is guided by the
Programme of Action of
the International
Conference on Population
and Development (ICPD),
respecting protecting and
fulfilling adolescents
human rights including
their right to sexual and
reproductive health and
reproductive health.
Countries with 20% or more of women ages 2024 reporting a birth before age 18
Per cent of adolescent girls in marriages and
adolescent birth rates
Developing Regions
Girls , ages 15-19
Currently Married (%)
Adolescent Birth Rate
Arab States
12
50
Asia and Pacific
15
80
East Asia and Pacific
5
50
South Asia
25
88
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
9
31
Latin America and Caribbean
12
84
Sub-Saharan Africa
24
120
East and Southern Africa
19
112
West and Central Africa
28
129
16
85
Developing Countries
Lifetime cost of adolescent
pregnancy of the current
cohort of girls 15 to 19 years
old, as share of annual GDP
Pregnancy Desires and Contraceptive Use
The proportion of married adolescents who are or wish to become pregnant varies widely by region
Sub-Saharan
Africa
South Central &
Southeast Asia
Latin America
& Caribbean
Want to avoid pregnancy, using no method
Want to avoid pregnancy, using a traditional method
Want to avoid pregnancy, using a modern method
Want pregnancy or are intentionally pregnant
The Challenges Worldwide
 20,000 girls giving birth every day
 Missed educational and other opportunities
 70,000 adolescent deaths annually from complications from pregnancy,
childbirth
 3.2 million unsafe abortions among adolescents each year
 Perpetuation of poverty and exclusion
 Basic human rights denied
 Girls’ potential unfulfilled
The Underlying Causes
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Child Marriage
Gender inequality
Obstacles to human rights
Poverty
Sexual violence and coercion
National policies restricting access to
contraception, age- appropriate
sexuality education
 Lack of access to education and
reproductive health services
 Underinvestment in adolescent girls’
human capital
Pressures from Many Directions & Levels
An ‘ecological’ approach to
adolescent pregnancy is one that
takes account the full range of
complex drivers (individual, family,
school/peers, community,
national) of adolescent pregnancy
and the interplay of these forces
For more details on the ‘ecological’ approach please refer to Page 33, State of World Population Report 2013
Ecological Model
India: Factsheet
Indicators
Value
Percentage of women aged 20-24 married before age 18 (NFHS-3)
47.4
Percentage of women aged 20-24 married before age 15 (NFHS-3)
18.2
Percentage of women aged 20-24 who had already given birth by 18 years 21.7
of age (NFHS-3)
Percentage of women aged 20-24 who had already given birth by 15 years 3.4
of age (NFHS-3)
India: Percentage of
women age 20-24 married
before age 18
Source: DLHS- 3
Median age at first marriage and first birth among
women aged 25-29 by educational attainment
25
21.7
20.8
20
19.6
18.8
18.4
19.6
18.5
17.1
16.4
15.5
15
10
5
0
No education
<5 years complete
5-7 years complete
Median age at first marriage
8-9 years complete
10-11 years complete
Median age at first birth
Source: NFHS -3
Refer to notes below
India: Factsheet (Cont.)
Indicators
Value
Percentage of married adolescent girls 15-19 years who are currently
using a modern method of contraception (NFHS-3)
6.9
Percentage of married adolescent girls 15-19 years who have an unmet
need for family planning (NFHS-3)
27.1
Percentage of ever married women aged 15-19 who have ever
experienced spousal physical violence (NFHS-3)
25.3
Percntage of ever married women aged 15-19 who have ever
experienced spousal sexual violence (NFHS-3)
13.1
Refer to notes below
Foundations for Progress
 Empower Girls: Building girls’ agency, enabling them to
make decisions
 Rectify gender inequality: Put girls and boys on equal
footing
 Respect human rights for all: Upholding rights can eliminate
conditions that contribute to adolescent pregnancy
 Reduce poverty: In developing and developed countries,
poverty drives adolescent pregnancy
The Way Ahead...
“What is needed is a new way of thinking about the
challenge of adolescent pregnancy. Instead of
viewing the girl as the problem and changing her
behaviour as the solution, governments,
communities, families and schools should see
poverty, gender inequality, discrimination, lack of
access to services, and negative views about girls
and women as the real challenges, and the pursuit
of social justice, equitable development and the
empowerment of girls as the true pathway to fewer
adolescent pregnancies.”
—Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
Executive Director, United Nations Population
Fund Under-Secretary-General of the United
Nations.
Refer to notes below
Eight Ways to Get There
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Girls 10 to 14: Preventive interventions for young adolescents
Child marriage: Stop marriage under 18, prevent sexual violence and
coercion
Multilevel approaches: Build girls’ assets across the board; keep girls on
healthy, safe life trajectories
Human rights: Protect rights to health, education, security and freedom
from poverty
Education: Get girls in school and enable them to stay enrolled longer
Engage men and boys: Help them be part of the solution
Sexuality education and access to services: Expand age-appropriate
information, provide health services used by adolescents
Equitable development: Build a post-MDG framework based on human
rights, equality, sustainability
... And The Benefits
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Better Maternal and Child Health: Later pregnancies reduce health
risks to girls and to their children
More Girls Completing their Education: This reduces the likelihood of
child marriage and delays child bearing leading eventually to
healthier birth outcomes. Also builds skills, raises girls’ status
Equal Rights and Opportunity: Preventing pregnancy helps ensure
girls enjoy all basic human rights
Increased Economic Productivity and Employment: Investments that
empower girls improve income-earning prospects
Adolescent Girls’ Potential Fully Realized: Prospects are brighter for
a girl who is healthy, educated and able to enjoy rights
Research Needs
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Data on needs and experiences of young adolescents 10-14 years
Data about pregnancies or births outside of marriage
Data and insights about the men and boys who father the children of
adolescent girls
More in-depth data and contextual information on patterns, trends,
and the circumstances of pregnancy among girls under 18
Need for periodic survey on extent and types of violence experienced
by adolescents
Voices
from across the world
“I knew about condoms, but could not ask my
husband to use one. I was only 16 when I got
married and felt he would get angry, as I was
less educated than him.”
Pinki, 19, India
“I am always imagining what my life would
be like if I had met someone before I was
pregnant, someone who taught me to be
assertive, someone who talked to me about
relationships, the advantages and
disadvantages of engaging in sex so young.
Maybe I would not be in this situation”
Swinton, 20, pregnant at 15, Zimbabwe
“I was given to my husband when I was little
and I don’t even remember when I was given
because I was so little. It’s my husband who
brought me up”
Kanas, 18, Ethiopia
“Pregnancy is not like going to a party and
then it is over. Before you even think about
having sexual relationships, you should always
think about the consequences.”
Valeria, 15, Nicaragua
“I was going out with my boyfriend for a year
and he used to give me money and clothes. I
got pregnant when I was 13… He promised he
would take care of me. After that, he left. ”
Ilda, 15, Mozambique
“As I look back... I remember many goals I
wanted for myself but could not achieve”
Jessica, 39, pregnant at 18, USA
“I was 16 and never missed a day of school.
Then one day I was told that I had to leave it
all, as my parents bartered me for a girl my
elder brother was to marry. I pleaded with my
mother, but my father had made up his mind ”
Komal, 18, India
“When we devote attention
and resources to the education,
health and well being of
adolescent girls, they will
become an even greater force
for positive change in society
that will have an impact for
generations to come.”
- United Nations SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon
Refer to notes below
Delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted,
every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled
http://india.unfpa.org/