News on Adolescent pregnancy

16 April 2018
News
Young actors perform a scene from "Ruža," an interactive play about the harms of child marriage. Photo by Almir Panjeta for UNICEF/UNFPA BiH
Drama helps battle child marriage in Bosnia and Herzegovina
SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina – On the surface, child marriage seems to affect few girls in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But dig a little deeper, and a pattern emerges among the most marginalized, impoverished girls. A... Read more
27 March 2018
News
Zainab Binta Jalloh was married off at age 15. Today, she is outspoken about her experience and the need for change. Image courtesy of Zainab.
Escaping child marriage in Sierra Leone
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone/Johannesburg, South Africa – "According to our tradition, a girl should get married when she reaches puberty," said Zainab Binta Jalloh, a 23-year-old from Sierra Leone’s Koinadugu District. She... Read more
23 March 2018
News
“We really need more information on sex and reproductive health,” said Kathleen Acosta, 18, a senior and student leader at UP high school in Iloilo. © UNFPA Philippines
In the Philippines, information key to halting teenage pregnancy
ILOILO, Philippines – “I was shocked when I found out I was pregnant,” said Gina*, now 19. At the time, she was a third-year high school student in Iloilo, a central province of the Philippines, and already six months... Read more
16 March 2018
News
Violence against women and girls is pervasive throughout the world. A rape kit in South Sudan. © UNFPA/Tim McKulka
Violence knows no borders: Leaders, activists take on horrors of gender-based violence
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Leaders and youth advocates gathered in New York on Tuesday to discuss how to work together to end violence against women and girls, the most prevalent human rights violation in the world. The... Read more
28 February 2018
News
Sheltering teen moms: Emergency home offers crisis care in Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand – Mon* began dating her boyfriend when she was 14 years old. They met online.  A few months in, "he wanted to have sex," she recalled. "He did not use any protection. I was scared at first, but he said... Read more
19 February 2018
News
Angie and Jazmin were both teen mothers in Lima, Peru. They both say they did not have access to comprehensive sexuality education. © Paco Chuquiure
Teen moms in Peru pinpoint need for sexuality education, health services
LIMA, Peru – "I became pregnant at 14 years old,” Angie told UNFPA. Now 19, she lives with her son in a low-income area on the margins of Peru’s capital, Lima, in the densely populated Villa El Salvador District. Angie... Read more
14 February 2018
News
Girls in the Raparinga Biz meet in a safe space, where they can freely discuss issues including gender equality, violence and their own struggles. © UNFPA Mozambique
Mozambique programme empowers girls to fight gender inequality, child marriage
MAPUTO, Mozambique – “We are equal to boys and can also contribute to society,” said 17-year-old Lidia Suale Saide. Lidia knows what it means to stand up for these beliefs. One year ago, she refused her mother’s attempt... Read more
12 February 2018
News
Fern* is living in an emergency home, a shelter offering crisis care and maternal care for teen mothers. © UNFPA/Ruth Carr
Mothers too young: Inequality fuels adolescent pregnancies in Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand – “I had plans for my life, but since I got pregnant I had to plan for my life in a different way,” said Fern*, 18. “If I knew this was going to happen, I would have just focused on my studies. I would... Read more
8 February 2018
News
Merhawit Mezgebe says members of her girls' club are helping to stamp out child marriage. © UNFPA Ethiopia/Abraham Gelaw
Ethiopian women and girls see “remarkable results” in ending child marriage
KOLLA TEMBEIN, Ethiopia – Not long ago, the sight of a 10-year-old bride was a common occurrence in Ethiopia’s Kolla Tembein District, said Daniel Hagos, the district’s chief administrator.  But the community’s women... Read more
1 February 2018
News
Fanny, in Malawi, was married at 17. “This was due to pressure from my parents, who were overwhelmed by the deep poverty we were experiencing, but I was not ready,” she said. © UNFPA Malawi
Top 5 things you didn’t know about child marriage
UNITED NATIONS, New York – Around the world, Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a romantic time for couples. Yet millions of children are coupled up before they are ready, often against their wills. Child marriage exposes... Read more

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