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Child Marriage in West and Central Africa
Child marriage in West and Central Africa is one of the biggest challenges in the region and has enormous adverse effects on education, health, including sexual and reproductive health, and on the overall development of adolescents and youth. This brochure provides recent
data and analysis of child marriage in the region.
This brochure has been developed following the successful High Level Meeting on Child Marriage in West and Central Africa held in Senegal in October 2017.
This was the first-ever High Level Event on Child Marriage in the region. It is also been developed to support the African Union (AU) work on ending child marriage on the continent. It has been produced within the framework of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme
to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage as a resource for stakeholders working on, or researching, the issue of child marriage in West and Central Africa.
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Comprehensive Sexuality Education : Evidence & Promising practices in West & Central Africa
This brochure documents the key elements for the implementation of Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE). Using concrete examples from four countries in West Africa (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo), the brochure documents promising practices, challenges and lessons learned, and makes key recommendations to be shared with all countries in the region.
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State of the World Populations 2018
The global transition from high to low fertility. Not so long ago, most people had large families: five children, on average. Where once there was one global fertility rate, today there are many, with differences wider than at any point in human history.
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Comprehensive Sexuality Education:Key considerations for implementation and scaling up in West and Central Africa
This regional report, Comprehensive sexuality education: Key considerations for implementation and scaling up in West and Central Africa, documents promising practices and lessons learned, from four West African countries (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo), and proposes key recommendations to be shared with all countries in the region. The UNFPA West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) reiterates its full support to governments and other partners for developing and scaling up CSE programmes in all countries throughout the region. This support will enable young people throughout the region to develop their health and well-being with dignity.
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WCA SPOTLIGHT INITIATIVE READINESS PAPER
This readiness paper is a living document and we welcome any observations and contributions.
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ECOWAS Member States Resolution on Fistula Elimination
Eliminating Fistula in West and Central Africa
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Programming the Demographic Dividend: from Theory to Experience
Proramming the Demographic Dividend: from Theory to Experience
Regional Strategy for Social and Behaviour Change Communication : Executive Summary
The regional project for Sahel Women’s Empowerment Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) aims accelerating the demographic transition in order to create the conditions for capturing the demographic dividend and reducing gender inequalities in the Sahel region.
To achieve these goals, one of the strategies adopted is to conceive and implement a Communication for Social and Behavioral Change (SBCC) aimed at increasing the demand for reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health services and nutrition (SRMNIN) through the transformation of norms, attitudes and social practices that impede their use.
It is within this framework that a regional and national Communication Strategy for Social and Behavioral Change has been developed to empower women and girls, in the six SWEDD countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania and Niger). Its development has benefited from the participation of all SWEDD stakeholders, making it a consensual document that reflects the major concerns of the six countries.
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Why addressing child marriage and adolescent pregnancy is essential
Over the last ten years, it has become evident that the demographic dividend framework offers a strategic basis for focusing and prioritizing investments in people in general and youth in particular, in order to achieve sustainable development. The demographic dividend framework is in line with Africa’s Agenda 2063 and its’ ‘First Ten-Year Implementation Plan’ which together lay a strong foundation for the vision of African leaders in all facets of the continent’s development.
Likewise, it also underpins the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Young people comprise a significant percentage of the population. While many countries have already made progress in investing in young people, they must do much more if they want to harness the demographic dividend in this region. Young people in West and Central Africa face considerable challenges. This region has some of the world’s highest levels of child marriage, adolescent pregnancy and maternal mortality rates (especially among adolescents). Young people often do not have access or opportunities for the right education that provides them the knowledge and skills to protect their health, or to prepare them adequately for the labour market.
This position paper presents several strong arguments about why it is imperative to address child marriage and adolescent pregnancy, if we want to succeed in harnessing the demographic dividend in West and Central Africa. It also provides recommendations on the key actions different stakeholder groups can take to make this a reality. UNFPA is committed to supporting Governments and other stakeholders to harness the demographic dividend including through actions to end child marriage and reduce adolescent pregnancies in the region.