Girl Up Highlights the Importance of Counting Girls as World Population Grows to 7 Billion
Editorial:
From the press release:
With the seventh billion child expected to be born this month, Girl Up is drawing attention to the need to count, advocate for and invest in girls worldwide. Investing in a girl today means in the future she will have the tools to reinvest back into her family and community, which helps build a better world for all of us.
Today's youth generation is the largest in history with more than 1.2 billion adolescents ages 10 to 19, half of whom are girls. As such a sizeable segment of the population, adolescent girls represent the world's greatest source of untapped potential. Research shows that less than two cents of every development dollar goes toward adolescent girls, and according to the Population Council, in some cases 80-90% of youth program participants are boys.
“With a growing population of adolescent girls among the world's 7 billion people, it is more important than ever that we ensure all girls are provided with the tools, information and resources they need to bring about change,” said Gina Reiss-Wilchins, Director of Girl Up. “Counting girls in order to properly steer national and development resources can help prevent child marriage, afford girls access to education, provide them with health services and prepare them to be the next generation of future leaders.”
Adolescent girls have tremendous potential, and we know the keys to unlocking that potential are access to quality education, health information and services, social and economic skills training, and violence prevention and protection services. Yet, because research rarely measures adolescent girls as a segment, they become invisible and our ability to meet their needs is jeopardized.
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Source:
Benzinga
URL:
http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/11/10/p2019255/girl-up-highlights-the-importance-of-counting-girls-as-world-population
Date:
November 9, 2011
Affiliate:
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NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.
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