1 commentAfrica Youth Summit 2009: Africa & the Girl Effect
Corporate social responsibility can manifest itself in some strange yet powerful ways. Imagine giving a girl a cow and with almost just that single act putting her on the pathway to an education, an income and a healthy family whom she can provide for. For many, myself included, this seems almost laughable – I can only imagine the reaction of my girlfriend if I brought her a cow! – but it is the simple concept that underpins what is known as ‘The Girl Effect’. That is, you empower a girl, you empower a community.
When the Nike Foundation and Novo developed ‘The Girl Effect’ campaign I doubt they were able to foresee the power of their concept. As life often teaches us, sometimes the simplest things have the largest impact, like a single pebble dropped into a pond sending a ripple affect across the water. Investments in girls as a driver of economic and social growth is something that has long been overlooked, particularly in the developing world, but this campaign places those investments unashamedly front-and-centre.
What we should be ashamed of is that today, more than 600 million girls live in the developing world and approximately one-quarter of those are not in school. 38% of them marry before they are 18 and between a quarter and a half give birth as well. But while these 600 million girls are the most likely sources of change, they are often invisible to us.
Investing in these girls to make them independent outlets of economic opportunity is a powerful thing. Research has shown that women return approximately 90% of income earned to their families, compared to only 30-40% from men. Child health has also shown to be better amongst groups whose mothers have received a higher level of education and for those women that receive just one more year of schooling it can boost their wages by as much as 25%.
To me what is remarkable is that through this campaign the Nike Foundation haven’t simply taken the lazy pathway of corporate social responsibility and provided some of their product free of charge. They have stood up, looked at the world and developed something they are passionate about. And might I add, without any branding or recognition for their efforts. Surely there are lessons for all of us in that…
- Thom Woodroofe
One Response to Africa Youth Summit 2009: Africa & the Girl Effect
Reproductive health has consistently been on the forefront of national health issues in Nigeria. Female education is closely linked to access and understanding of reproductive health services. The average fertility rate has remained quite high, at 5.9 children per woman. The 2003 NDHS indicates that knowledge of at least one modern child spacing method among women of reproductive age is quite high at 89.5%, but the contraceptive prevalence rate is one of the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa. The current use of modern contraceptive methods amongst women nationally is approximately 9%. Almost one in five married women (17%) has an unmet need for child spacing , and only about 22% of all women in the country have ever used a modern contraceptive method . Low literacy level is noted as a unique barrier that impeded the adoption of reproductive health (RH) and child spacing services amongst women.
Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are also noted to be associated with female poor education. Pregnancy complications are among the leading causes of maternal and neonatal deaths and disability in Northern Nigeria. The 1999 MICS reported a maternal mortality ratio of 704 per 100,000 live births. This implies that for about 2.4 million births recorded annually in Nigeria, about 17,000 Nigerian women die in the process of childbirth-related causes/complications. This translates to one woman dying every thirty minutes from childbirth or its related complications, a rate that is about 100 times worse than in developed countries. The major underlying reason for these deaths in addition to the lack of quality care during pregnancy and delivery is the fact that it is most common among low literate families. Low literate women have poor attitude to ANC and mostly delivery at homes in the hands on untrained staff.
Currently, about one third (40.5 million) of Nigeria’s total population of 140 million are youth between the ages of 10 and 24 . The proportion of youth in Nigeria continues to increase, and by 2025, the number of Nigerian youth will exceed 57 million . Physical, physiological, psychological, and social attributes of adolescence make young people particularly vulnerable to HIV and other STIs, as well as unplanned pregnancies. Poor and lack of access to education contributes to this higher risk. The 2003 NDHS revealed that 44% of women aged 20-24 reported having given birth before age 20; 27% before they were 18; and 8.5% before they were 15 years of age. Similarly, 22% of teenagers aged 15-19 years are either already mothers or pregnant with their first child. Approximately 22% of women ages 15-19 have begun childbearing, while contraceptive use is only 4% for this group. Early marriage and childbearing adversely affect youth’s educational attainment, mental and physical health and thus their employment opportunities and economic status.