The Girl Effect on HIV

The truth is that girls in the developing world are at the very center of the HIV epidemic. Unfortunately not much has been done to address this issue-so it continues to get worse. Last month 20,000 researchers gathered in Vienna to discuss some new ways of combatting this issue. Simple things like providing access to a vaginal microbicidal gel showed hugely positive results with young women in South Africa. Overall, participants were 39 percent less likely over all to contract HIV than those who used a placebo. The number jumped to 54 percent for those who used the gel most regularly. Right now, nearly 13 percent of girls of South African girls (ages 15-24) are infected with HIV. Studies have shown that the majority of those infected were intimately involved with older men. In fact, according to UNAIDS executive director Michel Sidibé argues that "Recognizing and addressing the factors that drive young women and men to have sex with older people is paramount." He goes on to say that it's linked to development issues like education and employment - "When basic necessities are not met, vulnerability increases." And as Maria Eitel recently wrote, "When the only asset a girl has is her body, her wellbeing is a risky financial investment. She's pulled out of school, married off, dependent on a sugar daddy, or forced into transactional sex." The Girl effect is combatting these effects by empowering these girls and giving them the financial means to complete their education and develop skills that will lead to a better future.

Why Girls Can Change The World

In recent years women have been a major focus for many NGO's around the world. In fact its been reported that "Women and girls are disproportionately affected by poverty. Parents in many cultures don’t want their daughters to be educated. Research shows that an educated girl will invest 90% of her future income in her family (compared to 30-40 percent for males), yet less than a penny of every international development dollar is spent on her. 70 percent of the children out of school are girls. Many laws are discriminatory. Sexual violence is a big problem that is greatly underestimated. 75 percent of adolescents with AIDS are female, and they’re contracting the disease not from boys but from older men."

Nike and Maria Eitel are making great strides in providing women around the world with opportunities beyond what they could have imaged. I'm excited to see watch as this grassroots movement builds raising the living standards from the ground up.

The Girl Effect making an impact

Recently the Girl Effect, led by Maria Eitel, began focussing on an issue that many of us fail to realize exists in todays modern world. The issue at hand is child marriage, and its devastating impact on girls around the world. The Girl Effect reported that "Child marriage is one of the barriers preventing the 600 million adolescent girls in developing countries from unleashing their full potential. The numbers speak clearly: one girl in seven in developing countries marries before age 15, and nearly half of all girls are expected to marry by age 20
Child marriage is not only a violation of human rights, but it also has serious consequences for national development, ultimately stunting educational and vocational opportunities for a large sector of the population and for the future generations.
Considerable evidence points to the negative impact of child marriage on girls, their children and their communities: It often results in heightened vulnerability of girls to physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse; increased rates of school dropout; early childbirth, which many times leads to poor health outcomes for both mother and child or even death, with pregnancy-related complications representing the leading cause of death among girls 15-19; increased risk of HIV transmission to married girls." The Girl Effect is working hard to design interventions that specifically address child marriages impact a broader number of outcomes – health, education and economic empowerment. At the same time, they are creating programs focusing on providing safe spaces and putting assets in girls’ hands have shown to have a strong impact on delaying child marriage as well. When a girl has assets to tap into, simple things like a social network, specific skills, some knowledge, self-esteem, personal security… to tap into, she has a much greater chance of staying on course and not only delaying marriage but also positively impacting her overall future and the futures of her siblings. She becomes a hugely powerful agent of change.

Millions of girls around the world will never have the chance to go to college! These same girls are luck if they survive their teenage years! Its not that they aren't smart enough. Its not that they don't have dreams. Its just they live in conditions that we in the developed world can barely imagine. Disease and poverty are a way of life-and these girls are struggling to merely survive. Thanks to the Girl Effect-this is beginning to change! My name is Ellie, and this project is designed to bring awareness to this issue-and to teach the world about the amazing things the Girl Effect is doing! I will be showcasing current progress in this movement-so stay tuned and be inspired!