ReliefWeb

Tal Rafaeli, Education Development Trust

1. Overview

This rapid review focuses on identifying evidence and lessons learned on the links between life skills interventions in emergency settings and the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and early marriage and return to education post crisis amongst adolescent girls. It seeks to enable learning from past emergencies to inform the design of effective support to adolescent girls throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Due to the focus on adolescent girls and emergency settings, an area with limited rigorous evaluations (Nobel et al., 2019), this report is based on a rapid literature review of academic studies, grey literature and emerging evidence, to enable the capturing of any significant learnings from relevant programmes.

Despite the wide criteria, the review found limited evidence on the nexus between life skills interventions, adolescent girls, emergency contexts, reduced early marriage and pregnancies and return to education post crisis. Although evidence exists on each of these areas separately, there is limited evidence and lessons learned that fully aligned with the review’s research question.

The partial evidence can be attributed to several factors. Some of which include, the limited systematic focus of humanitarian response programmes on adolescent girls, and the lack of gender disaggregated data and recording of girl specific outcomes in the evaluations of interventions in emergency settings (Women’s Refugee Commission, 2014). This evidence gap poses a significant barrier to identifying and developing best practice to support adolescent girls during emergencies (Noble et al., 2019).

Despite this gap, lessons can be learned from previous programmes and literature about the link between life skills interventions during emergencies and the return to education of adolescent girls post crisis, and the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and early marriage.

Evidence and lessons learned from specific programmes identified in the review suggest that life skills interventions for adolescent girls in emergencies impact on areas that have the potential to lead to reduction in unwanted pregnancies and early marriage and support return to education, and limited evidence that they can have direct impact on these outcomes. Ten relevant interventions with impact or lessons learned where identified. Most of these interventions were implemented with adolescent girls from displaced communities and in refugee camps in Sub Saharan Africa.

Though most interventions were not rigorously evaluated, all programmes reported positive impact on the mindset and knowledge of participating girls in areas such as self-esteem; progressive gender norms; social, emotional, and psychological wellbeing; and knowledge of sexual and reproductive health (Inter-Agency Standing Committee, 2017; Nobel et al., 2019; Paik and Quick, 2014; Siddiqqi, 2012;). While this does not demonstrate direct correlation between these interventions and reduced early marriage, unwanted pregnancies and return to education, the successful shift in mindset, knowledge and skills might hold the potential to contribute to achieving these desired outcomes. In some cases the lack of evidence on direct impact is a result of these outcomes not being evaluated.

A small number of programmes reported a direct link between the interventions and the outcomes in the research question. Three mentioned impact on girls continuing and returning to education (Plan International, 2019; UNDF, 2016), three mention impact on reducing early marriage (IRC, 2018b; UNDF, 2016), and one mentions direct impact on reducing unwanted pregnancy (Bandiera et al, 2019).

It is important to caveat that the majority of the programmes’ evidence is based on self-reporting and observations and therefore can be subject to various biases and skewed by a potentially selfselected group of those participating in the evaluation activities.

There is evidence that girls in emergencies identify life skills support as a priority need. Several situation analyses highlight that amongst their described needs, consulted girls expressed interest in developing their life skills. Their motivations relate to various issues such as the desire to strengthen their ability to continue their education, obtain a livelihood and negotiate safe sex (Lowicki and Paik, 2013; Plan International, 2018; UNFPA, 2017).
A number of ‘lessons learned’ documents, tool-kits and guidance for supporting adolescent girls during emergencies, highlight life skills as an integral element of effective interventions (IRC, 2018a; Plan International, 2018; Plan International, 2019; Robinson, 2008; Tanabe et al,. 2011).

In most cases life skills are not mentioned in direct reference to achieving the outcomes outlined in the review research questions, but rather in relation to providing general relevant support to adolescent girls in times of crisis. They are also rarely based on evidence of impact of particular interventions.