{"id":60828,"date":"2023-11-27T18:42:24","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T23:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/?p=60828"},"modified":"2024-07-22T11:13:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T15:13:47","slug":"making-space-for-girls-to-be-part-of-the-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/2023\/11\/making-space-for-girls-to-be-part-of-the-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Space for Girls to be Part of the Solution\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Meghan Cutherell, A360 Senior Program Manager, Sexual and Reproductive Health<\/em>, <em>PSI<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Girls\u2019 agency is a prerequisite for effective action against climate change. Implementers and policymakers, therefore, need a simple framework now to center girls \u2013 their voices and experiences \u2013 as we collectively adapt to a changing climate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The climate crisis is a problem which requires collective action even among those not directly programming in the climate mitigation space; drawing from learnings from our flagship adolescent contraceptive program <a href=\"http:\/\/a360learninghub.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A360<\/a>, we propose focusing both on shifting social norms <em>e <\/em>building up girls\u2019 internal capabilities to support girls to take ownership of their health and lives\u2014beyond any single, siloed health area.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:12px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Engage, and where possible transform, girls\u2019 ecosystems to challenge the underlying norms that restrict their agency and heighten their risk. <\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>We understand which external actors influence girls\u2019 choices and engage them directly to shift mindsets about the importance of girls\u2019 voice and agency. For example, A360\u2019s interventions in Ethiopia and northern Nigeria engage married adolescent girls\u2019 husbands and community leaders in conversations which reinforce the value of girls\u2019 choice in decision-making regarding contraceptive use.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Take a \u2018whole person\u2019 approach by finding intersections where it can be possible to meet specific areas of need and contribute to building girls\u2019 self-efficacy and resilience.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Does she have the internal skills and confidence to make choices that are in line with her preferences? We identify 1-2 central soft skills that enhance girls\u2019 foundational capabilities and build those wherever you can. For example, A360 ensures that contraceptive counseling and service delivery are paired with content around goal setting and core soft skills \u2013 such as decision-making and negotiation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These elements are not new or groundbreaking. Intentional and meaningful approaches do not need to be complicated \u2013 in fact over-complication can lead to inaction. Instead, if we can commit to intentional focus on these two factors, our collective action can leave space for girls to be part of the solution.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photo caption: A360 Southern Nigeria participant engages in the program&#8217;s Love, Life, and Health session, a program co-developed alongside young people. <\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Implementers and policymakers need to center girls \u2013 their voices and experiences \u2013 as we collectively adapt to a changing climate.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":48153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"archive":[2538],"psi-blog-topic":[],"corporate_partners":[],"class_list":["post-60828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","archive-archived"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archive?post=60828"},{"taxonomy":"psi-blog-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psi-blog-topic?post=60828"},{"taxonomy":"corporate_partners","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psi.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/corporate_partners?post=60828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}