Attachments
Introduction and Background
Adolescent girls (ages 10 to 19) are one of the groups at the highest risk of experiencing genderbased violence (GBV) in humanitarian emergencies, including conflicts, disasters, and public health emergencies.1 They face barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH), limited access to public spaces and peer networks, and are often the first to lose access to education in a crisis. Instances of early, forced, and child marriage of girls and female genital mutilation (FGM) can also increase during emergencies.
Despite their multiple needs in humanitarian situations, adolescent girls’ needs are not systematically considered in the design and delivery of humanitarian responses. Adolescent girls rarely have an opportunity to participate in decisions that will affect their access to aid and its suitability and appropriateness to meet their unique needs.
At the November 2023 High-level Roundtable hosted by the Emergency Relief Coordinator and the Call to Action on Protection from GBV in Emergencies (Call to Action), UNICEF and UNFPA made a joint commitment to carry out an inter-agency multi-sectoral analysis in a humanitarian context to determine if and how adolescent girls’ needs are being met. The findings from the review provide important information to humanitarian actors and decision-makers, including within UN agencies, international and national NGOs, and funders, on how to ensure that adolescent girls’ needs are identified and met in crises.