On Jan. 29, 2025, in Kolda, Senegal, members of the local girls club pose for a photo  during a visit from Khaby Lame (center rear, in black shirt).
Equity for Girls

5 Ways UNICEF Supports Adolescent Girls' Health and Well-Being

UNICEF supplies and services support adolescent girls and help to ensure a safe environment where they can learn and thrive.

Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please write your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.

Building an equitable world

Equipped with resources and opportunities to reach their full potential, the world’s 600 million adolescent girls can become a generation of female change-makers. But most adolescent girls around the world live in poverty, without access to basic services, and face disproportionate discrimination and inequality.

Delivering supplies and services that promote adolescent girls’ health and safety is one of the ways UNICEF works to ensure equitable rights, resources and opportunities for all children.

1. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine

In Peru, 12-year-old Jossi is vaccinated against the papillomavirus by nurse Maribel Vilela Grandez, who works for the UNICEF-supported health brigade.
In Peru, 12-year-old Jossi is vaccinated against the papillomavirus by nurse Maribel Vilela Grandez, who works for the UNICEF-supported health brigade. The brigade visits communities in Loreto to provide routine childhood vaccinations, maternal health care and other essential health services. © UNICEF/U.S. CDC/Unique

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, causing more than 300,000 deaths yearly, mainly in low- and middle-income countries.

More than 95 percent of cervical cancer cases are caused by the human papillomavirus, and these can be prevented by a safe and effective vaccine. Studies have shown an almost 90 percent reduction in cervical cancer in girls who received the vaccine. In 2024, UNICEF delivered 35.9 million HPV vaccines to 49 countries

"Before, I had heard false rumors about the HPV vaccine and I was reluctant. Now I took it because I want to live a long time and I don't want to get sick and die from HPV infections," said 12-year-old Miheret from Ethiopia, after she received her HPV vaccination.

Miheret, 12, received her HPV vaccination from a UNICEF-supported health facility in Ethiopia.
Miheret, 12, received her HPV vaccination from a UNICEF-supported health facility in Ethiopia. ©  UNICEF/UN0839555/Pouge

2. Hygiene products

Alma, 12,  received UNICEF’s adolescent girl’s wel-lbeing kit in Rafah city, southern Gaza.
Alma, 12,  received UNICEF’s adolescent girl’s well-being kit in Rafah city, southern Gaza. © UNICEF/UNI520230/El Baba

Millions of girls and women are unable to manage their menstrual cycle in a dignified and healthy manner. This has far-reaching consequences as it restricts their mobility and personal choices, affecting school attendance and participation in social life. These challenges are particularly acute in humanitarian crises.

"I was displaced with my family from Gaza City to the city of Rafah in the south of Gaza," said Alma, a 12-year-old girl who received a package of UNICEF’s hygiene products following the escalation of hostilities with Israel. "I was unable to bring all my belongings with me. This package will help me keep my personal hygiene much better."

The kits contain essential items such as a blanket, wet wipes, intimate soap, underwear, a head scarf and three packages of sanitary pads. 

Workalem, 16, is an active member of her school's gender club in Ethiopia.
Workalem, 16, is an active member of her school's gender club in Ethiopia. © UNICEF/UN0839567/Pouget

In Ethiopia, 16-year-old Workalem used to stay home for up to seven days when she was menstruating, missing classes.

Things changed for Workalem when UNICEF opened a menstrual hygiene management (MHM) room at her school where girls can rest, wash and receive menstrual counseling and sanitary pads and soaps.

"The lack of access to menstrual products and school bathrooms with no water were the reasons I missed school," says Workalem. "But after joining the gender club, I gained a better understanding and awareness. The MHM room also provides me with sanitary pads, panties and soaps."

Menstrual health and hygiene interventions, including access to supplies, can help girls stay in school. UNICEF procures and delivers various kinds of hygiene and menstrual hygiene products as part of its commitment to improve access to materials and facilities to ensure that adolescent girls and all menstruating individuals can manage their menstruation safely and with dignity.

Students from Nyabugando Baptist Vocational College receive reusable sanitary pads with the support of UNICEF.
In Uganda, students from Nyabugando Baptist Vocational College receive reusable sanitary pads with the support of UNICEF. © UNICEF/UNI427626/Rutherford

3. Water supply

Lali, 18, is happy with the water pump installed by UNICEF in the village of Mir Jan Muhammad, Mirpurkhas, Sindh, Pakistan.
Lali, 18, is happy with the water pump installed by UNICEF in the village of Mir Jan Muhammad, Mirpurkhas, Sindh, Pakistan. UNICEF and partners have enabled access to safe water for more than 1.7 million people in areas where water networks were damaged or destroyed by the catastrophic floods that hit Pakistan in 2022. © UNICEF/UNI497744/Ahmed

Women and girls aged 15 and older are primarily responsible for water collection in 7 out of 10 households without supply. Girls under 15 are also more likely than boys under 15 to fetch water. In most cases, women and girls make long journeys to collect water, losing time from education, work and leisure, and putting themselves at risk of injury and dangers en route.

“I used to walk one hour to bring water and had to stand in the queue for one or two hours to get water," says Zahra, 10, from Afghanisan. "I would feel tired and could not find time for my school assignments.” 

Zahra, 10, washes hands at a new water tap near her home in Hewad Mena, Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan.
Zahra, 10, washes hands at a new water tap near her home in Hewad Mena, Maidan Wardak Province.   “I used to walk one hour to bring water and I had to stand in the queue for one or two hours to get water,” says Zahra. “I would feel tired after bringing water and could not find time to do my school assignments.”  With funding support from CERF, the UN's Central Emergency Response Fund, UNICEF completed a solar-powered water supply network in a settlement for displaced Afghans in Maidan Wardak Province, providing 24-hour access to clean water for over 500 families and 3,800 people in the settlement. © UNICEF/UN0630126/Sherzai

UNICEF works to ensure that more communities gain access to water services that are safe, sustainable and able to withstand climate change, conflict and natural disasters. This work includes the installation of man-powered water pumps and the construction of solar-powered supply systems.

7-year-old Madina Mohamed Awad collects clean water at a new water station in the small village of Gelhanty in Agig locality, Red Sea state, Sudan in 2023
Seven-year-old Madina Mohamed Awad collects clean water at a water station, part of a solar water system constructed by UNICEF and USAID in the small village of Gelhanty in Agig locality, Red Sea state, Sudan. © UNICEF/UNI500202/Elfatih

4. Gender-inclusive toilets in schools

A student washes her hands in Fatima Al Zahra primary and secondary school restrooms in Khanfir District, Abyan Governorate, Yemen.
A student washes her hands in Fatima Al Zahra primary and secondary school restrooms in Khanfir District, Abyan Governorate, Yemen. © UNICEF/UN0781522/ALfilastini

Globally, millions of girls and women still lack adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management. The lack of separate toilets with doors that can be safely closed or of ways to dispose of used sanitary pads and water to wash hands, means that women and girls face challenges in keeping their menstrual hygiene in a private, safe and dignified manner.

Lack of proper sanitary facilities in schools can have lifelong consequences. Girls who regularly skip school when they are menstruating are more likely to fall behind and drop out of school altogether. Girls who are not enrolled at school are at higher risk of child marriage and other forms of exploitation, and more likely to have children early and live in poverty. 

UNICEF’s construction projects aim to reduce the key barriers to girls’ education through the building gender-sensitive water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

On June 15, 2023, a group of students walk into the newly constructed latrines at Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi School in Mazar-i-Sharīf, Balkh Province, Afghanistan.
A group of students walk into the newly constructed latrines at Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi School in Mazar-i-Sharīf, Balkh Province, Afghanistan. © UNICEF/UNI408036/Karimi

5. Safe environments in UNICEF high-performance tents

Fourteen-year-old Shaimaa at the UNICEF-supported Makana at El Gox gathering point located in Kosti, White Nile state, Sudan.
Fourteen-year-old Shaimaa at the UNICEF-supported Makana at El Gox gathering point located in Kosti, White Nile state, Sudan. The Makana is open daily and utilized by over 300 displaced children and those from host communities. Children enjoy an integrated package of services at the Makana including e-learning, learning and play at the safe learning space, water, sanitation and health services, child protection, psychosocial and counselling services, as well as health and nutrition services through a mobile clinic. © UNICEF/UNI502671/Elfatih

Armed conflict, natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies can drastically weaken a society’s ability to protect women and girls from gender-based violence. More than 370 million girls and women alive today – or 1 in 8 – experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18. In fragile settings, girls face an even greater risk, with the prevalence of rape and sexual assault in childhood slightly more than 1 in 4.

UNICEF works worldwide to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in emergencies. Creating spaces where girls and women can gain access to education, critical information, care and protection is one way UNICEF works to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in emergencies.

After Hurricane Freddy in 2023, secondary students returned to school in a tent supplied by UNICEF after two weeks without classes.
In the wake of Hurricane Freddy in 2023, secondary school students in Toliara, southwestern Madagascar, returned to school in a tent supplied by UNICEF after two weeks without classes. © UNICEF/UN0831634/Andriantsoarana

As the international community seeks to create a more equitable world, we have a unique opportunity to overcome the challenges and give adolescent girls the freedom and power they need to lead and thrive. Your contribution to UNICEF is more important than ever. 

This story is adapted from unicef.org

 

TOP PHOTO: On Jan. 29, 2025, in Kolda, Senegal, members of the local girls club pose for a photo during a visit from UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Khaby Lame (back row center, in black shirt), the most followed person on Tiktok. The Kolda girls club just celebrated their 10-year anniversary. Girls clubs like this one were created by adolescent girls themselves to encourage peer support and collective action to combat violence against children, and girls in particular. © UNICEF/UNI728856/Tremeau

HOW TO HELP

There are many ways to make a difference

War, famine, poverty, natural disasters — threats to the world's children keep coming. But UNICEF won't stop working to keep children healthy and safe.

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories — more places than any other children's organization. UNICEF has the world's largest humanitarian warehouse and, when disaster strikes, can get supplies almost anywhere within 72 hours. Constantly innovating, always advocating for a better world for children, UNICEF works to ensure that every child can grow up healthy, educated, protected and respected.

Would you like to help give all children the opportunity to reach their full potential? There are many ways to get involved.

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