As the world celebrates International Day of the Girl on 11 October, CARE calls for girls’ voices to be amplified, and for them to shape prevention and response interventions in the fight against COVID-19
OTTAWA, 11 OCTOBER 2020 – Adolescent girls are facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including interruptions in essential services and an increased risk of experiencing negative health, education and psycho-social outcomes at a critical time in their lives. However, in communities from Colombia, to Niger, Malawi, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Somalia, girls are also coming up with innovative solutions to share life-saving information, continue learning, and shape the nature of prevention and response programs.
“The COVID-19 pandemic places a generation of young people – especially girls – in a particularly vulnerable situation, as their ability to access essential health, education, and protection services are limited, and the dynamics of the crisis create new risks to their safety and well-being,” said Debbie Landis, CARE Senior Gender in Emergencies Policy Specialist. “As in the case of other crises, adolescent girls are often a ‘hidden’ group, with limited data available on their situation, and insufficient attention paid to their needs in response plans and in the priorities of donors. Despite these issues, we are seeing that when the voices of girls are amplified, and when girls are given opportunities for meaningful participation, they can shape the future in powerful ways.”
Examples from CARE’s work around the world has shown that girls are vital to shaping the nature of the COVID-19 response— from engaging in assessment, planning and accountability processes, to informing the design of prevention and response programs, to engaging in outreach and advocacy efforts with their peers and broader communities.
Adolescent girls are also often best-placed to help share information in new and innovative ways. In Niger, for example, girls supported by CARE are helping to spread essential information on available services for survivors of gender-based violence. In other countries such as Mali and India, girls are leading in information sharing and peer support through WhatsApp groups, phone calls and text messaging.
“I have come to realize that the restriction of mobility is the biggest issue that girls in my community face,” said Puja Gupta, a youth activist from Nepal. “This restriction results in girls getting confined into their houses, not getting the opportunity for education, facing gender-based discrimination and most likely getting married early. We believe that if we do not speak up for ourselves, no one else will. So, we have started to do something about it.”
Some further examples of the role played by adolescent girls in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic include:
- In Burundi, CARE organized a social innovation challenge for youth-led and civil society organizations to rapidly identify solutions to respond to the health and rights of vulnerable communities during COVID-19, especially in camps for refugees and internally displaced persons.
- In Bangladesh and Nepal, young girls in Tipping Point – a CARE-supported project – have engaged in data collection efforts in hard-to-reach communities to build knowledge on the needs and experiences of adolescent girls during the pandemic.
- In Colombia, adolescent girls are working to promote continued access to essential health services. In partnership with adolescent leaders, CARE is working to implement a community awareness campaign to provide information on adolescent health through murals, plays, social medial, and health fairs.
“Promoting the leadership and participation of girls has been an essential component of CARE’s work across all sectors, and this emphasis has only increased in importance since the start of the pandemic,” said Landis. “As the world faces an unprecedented challenge, these results remind us of the powerful potential of adolescent girls – and of the value of investing in them.”
-30-
CARE has spokespeople available. For media inquiries, please contact:
Lama Alsafimedia@care.ca | 613-228-5641
Notes to editors:
- CARE and its local partners are supporting adolescent girls around the world with the information and resources needed to educate their networks about prevention measures, engage in efforts to create solutions to pressing challenges, conduct community awareness programming, and collect information on the impact of COVID-19 in their communities. This includes partnerships with youth-led organizations, key influencers, networks, and participants in youth programming.
- At a community level, CARE programming continues to address the knowledge, attitudes, and practices that influence key groups—such as parents, influential community members, and religious leaders—to support adolescent health and rights.
- Especially during the pandemic, CARE works to promote the importance of continuing to support adolescents’ ability to make decisions about their health and fertility. This includes leveraging the power and skills of adolescent girls as leaders and change agents capable of conducting programming within their communities and acting as important sources of information for other adolescents.
About CARE Canada:
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE develops solutions alongside women and girls in developing countries to lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty and out of crisis. CARE stands with women and girls around the world in economic empowerment. We bring women, girls, and their communities together to challenge inequality while facing issues like food insecurity, climate change, and emergency relief in times of crisis or disaster. CARE works in 100 countries around the world.
To learn more about CARE Canada, visit www.care.ca