Submitted by Jessica DiRocco
In Malawi, Chimwemwe Banda was abandoned by her parents when she was a young girl; she and her sister were left to take care of themselves. Without money to pay for basic needs or tuition, Chimwemwe was forced to drop out of school. In hopes of improving her situation, like many girls in Malawi, she entered into an early marriage— Chimwemwe was only 15 years old on her wedding day. Soon after she married, Chimwemwe realized that life was not going to get better just because she had a husband.
Chimwemwe Banda is one of the many girls who has benefited from a Go Girls! community intervention. Photo Credit: Hilary M. Schwandt/AFP
Early marriage, along with behaviors such as transactional and intergenerational sex, contributes to girls’ vulnerability to HIV. Chimwemwe is just one of the 600 million girls living in poverty who are at increased risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. Similarly, girls who are orphans, early school leavers, socially marginalized, and/or migrants have a heightened vulnerability to the virus. Worldwide, women and girls bear the brunt of the HIV/AIDS epidemic; according to the World Health Organization, AIDS is the leading cause of death among women aged 15-44 worldwide.
Socio-economic factors like poverty, along with gender norms such as expectations around early marriage, can lead to increased vulnerabilities that discourage girls from asserting control over the timing and circumstances of sex, including negotiating protection against HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Most interventions to date have focused on individual-level behavioral change without sufficient consideration of the structural factors that fuel the epidemic. USAID is working to address this imbalance through the Go Girls! Initiative.
In fact, it was Go Girls! that stepped in to help Chimwemwe. With their assistance Chimwemwe dissolved her marriage. Her village developed a community mobilization team that recognized the detrimental effects of early marriage on girls, and advocated delaying marriage as a strategy for maintaining girls’ health and encouraging their educational pursuits.
Since the end of her marriage, Chimwemwe returned to school. She now leads a happier life and enjoys going to school everyday. “I feel good about being back in school,” she said. “If I had the opportunity to advise other girls, I would tell them not to marry early but to continue schooling because school is good. I am working hard at school every day so that I may have a brighter future.”
The 16 Days Campaign to End Violence Against Women: From 25 November to 10 December, USAID will post a blog each day that aims to prove a single point: The human race cannot progress when half of the world population lives without the same rights and respect afforded to its male counterpart. If you are moved by what you read and want to share, we’ve made it easy for you. Click here to find out how.
World AIDS Day 2010
On World AIDS Day, we commit to build upon our successes and continue to make smart investments that will ultimately save and improve millions of lives. Join us this week as we highlight some of our successes and share stories of those helped by our programs.
If you’d like to learn more about the Go Girls! program, including how to access free copies of the Go Girls! program materials, contact ghcommunicationsteam@usaid.gov
It’s a nice initiative, although I don’t understand why such programs need be restricted solely to women. This vague attempt to institute feminist values into Africa is pointless, insulting and condescending.
This kind of programmes need to be for all people in Africa. ..Merry Christmas
Hi Elli and Andrew-
Thanks to you both for your comment. My name is Jessica and I am with the Office of HIV/AIDS at USAID.
Although the name of the initiative may appear to imply that the project is primarily for girls, the Go Girls! Initiative (Go Girls!) engages all community members to create safer environments for girls. Go Girls! is guided by the idea that communities’ support for girls, social support from parents and other community members, and girls’ normative constructs all influence their vulnerability to HIV (the Initiative’s implementer, JHU, based the program’s design on the social ecological framework).
The story about Chimwimwe exemplifies this inclusive approach. The story refers to a “community mobilization team” that came to Chimwimwe’s aid. As is typical of community mobilization efforts, men and women were involved in that team, though this wasn’t stated explicitly in the story. The community mobilization effort placed the onus on adults to protect and nurture the adolescents in their midst.
In addition to the community mobilization component, Go Girls! included an adult-child communication program for men and women, a school personnel training for male and female staff, school-based life skills for boys and girls, and a radio program for all. The one component that was for girls only was the community-based life skills program designed for vulnerable girls. In future adaptations of Go Girls!, it would be useful to consider including a complementary component for boys – or to coordinate efforts with a complementary program for adolescent boys.
Go Girls! inclusive approach is reflective of the emphasis on women, girls and gender equity that is central to the U.S. government’s Global Health Initiative (GHI). Under GHI, providing equitable access to health services, increasing the meaningful participation of women and girls and engaging men and boys are all seen as critical to addressing gender-related inequities and disparities.
The fact remains, however, that in sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls are, on average, three times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS than is true of their male counterparts. We agree that meeting the challenge of protecting vulnerable girls from exposure to HIV requires a comprehensive, inclusive approach even as we recognize that no single program will be able to address all facets of this health issue alone. Rather, multiple, interrelated – even interdependent – programs are necessary.
I hope this information helps. Thanks again for your comments.