Population

Economic growth and trade liberalization can transform the institution of marriage by increasing employment opportunities for women. Marriage, especially early marriage of adolescent girls, may become less economically essential as young women become financially independent. The case studies presented in this paper show, culture mediates the impact of economic change on marriage differently in different contexts, thus prohibiting any generalizations about trade liberalization and marriage. As countries implement liberal trade policies, or otherwise alter these regimes, it is crucial that scholars, activists and policymakers are aware of the potential divergent socioeconomic effects that could result, both those intended and unintended.

This brief assesses progress toward Millennium Development Goal 3, promote gender equality and empower women, by analyzing changes in the 12 indicators proposed by the U.N. Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality and offers recommendations that can redouble global efforts to fulfill this worthy goal.

ICRW conducted an analysis of programs in developing countries as well as a field-based assessment of selected programs in three countries: India, Kenya, and Colombia that integrate adolescent reproductive health and livelihoods concerns, with a view to offering recommendations for more effective strategies and approaches. This brief aims to assess the challenges and potential effectiveness of integrated programs, highlight innovative approaches, and define gaps that exist in designing interventions.

ICRW undertook an 18-month analysis of programs that link adolescent reproductive health and livelihoods to assess the challenges and effectiveness of such programs, highlight innovative approaches and define gaps that exist in designing interventions. The resulting analysis provides a clear understanding of whether linked interventions have potential for effectively improving the lives of youth.

Inequities of power in gender and sexuality are powerful factors influencing health and development. ICRW and CARE jointly designed and implemented the innovative Inner Spaces, Outer Faces Initiative (ISOFI) to find more effective ways of addressing these inequities in CARE's reproductive health programs, starting with a pilot phase in India and Vietnam.  This toolkit results from the program's first phase and is a compilation of training, reflection and monitoring activities. These activities helped to identify, explore, and challenge the social constructions of gender and sexuality in the lives of project staff, the lives of project beneficiaries, program interventions, and CARE as an institution. The toolkit can be used by staff of development and health organizations to increase the understanding of gender and sexuality issues by both staff and community members, and how these issues relate to reproductive health.

Decision makers want to know which strategies are most cost-effective for improving adolescent reproductive health and what resources are required to implement or scale up successful programs. Yet little is known about these programs' costs, and few researchers are building cost-analysis into their program designs. This report summarizes the results of a multi-partner study of youth reproductive health interventions in rural and urban areas of India from 1996 to 2006. The research program demonstrated that it is possible to create effective programs to improve adolescents' health in a relatively short time. This report draws on lessons learned on how to strengthen community and government efforts to improve youth reproductive and sexual health.

An accompanying briefing kit provides short summaries of specific projects and outcomes.

Download the briefing kit by section:

Reproductive Health: Evidence from Three Adolescent Reproductive Health Programs in India
Understanding Costs to Improve Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health: Results from a Study in Rural Maharashtra, India
Understanding Costs to Improve Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health: Results from a Study in Rural Tamil Nadu
Understanding Costs to Improve Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health: Evidence on Replicating a Tested Model in Delhi, India
Influence of Men and Boys on Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health: Lessons from Intervention Studies in India
Influence of Men and Boys on Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health: Husbands' Involvement in Maternal Care in Rural Maharashtra, India
Community Mobilization and Youth Reproductive and Sexual Health: Findings from Intervention Studies in India
Addressing Gender-Based Constraints in Youth Reproductive Health: Findings from Intervention Studies in India
Addressing Gender-Based Constraints in Youth Reproductive Health: Experiences and Behaviors about Infertility among Young Couples in Rural Maharashtra, India
Delaying Age at Marriage in Rural Maharashtra, India
Reducing Anemia and Changing Dietary Behaviors among Adolescent Girls in Maharashtra, India
Building Life Skills to Improve Adolescent Girls' Reproductive and Sexual health, Tigri, Delhi
Replicating an Adolescent Girls' Reproductive and Sexual Health Program in Naglamachi, Delhi
Reproductive and Sexual Health Education, Care and Counseling for Married Adolescents in Rural Maharashtra, India
Reducing Reproductive Tract Infections among Married Youth in Rural Tamil Nadu, India
Role of Mothers-in-Law in Young Women's Reproductive Health: Evidence from Intervention Research in Rural Maharashtra, India
Social Mobilization or Government Services: What Influences Married Adolescents' Reproductive Health in Rural Maharashtra, India?

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Prevention of mother-to-child transmission must be part of the standard package of care for HIV-positive women. ICRW and the Population Council offer recommendations to policymakers and program managers on how to include community participation, education and mobilization in efforts to prevent mother-to-child transmissions.

These factsheets discuss the harmful practice of child marriage and how it adversely affects the health, education and livelihoods of millions of adolescent girls. Also included are promising community-based approaches to reducing child marriage.

Download by section:
Child Marriage and Domestic Violence
Child Marriage and Education
Child Marriage and Health
Child Marriage and Poverty
Child Marriage, Laws and Civil Society Action
Child Marriage By the Numbers
Child Marriage Around the World
Success on the Ground: Reducing Child Marriage

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The Development Initiative Supporting Healthy Adolescents (DISHA) was one of the first large-scale integrated programs in India to address the broader context of young people's sexual and reproductive health needs. In addition to providing youth with sexual and reproductive health information and services, the program sought to tackle the social and economic constraints that often limit their choices and actions. This report includes findings from the DISHA program and implications for future large-scale programs for adolescent reproductive health in India.

This paper argues that maternal health is central to the multiple aspects of many women’s lives, and is critically important for development goals more broadly. As such, maternal health is connected with women’s lives and options as individuals, the well-being of their children and families, and the economic productivity of their countries. The evidence reviewed indicates that a woman’s ability to survive pregnancy and childbirth is closely related to how effectively societies invest in and realize the potential of women–one half of their populations–not only as mothers, but as critical contributors to sustaining families and transforming nations. When investments in women lag, the economic cost of maternal death and illness is enormous.