Gender inequality is widespread in India and impacts the health & education outcomes of its 120 million adolescent girls. Through our flagship program, Girls Health Champions, we are training 4,600 Indian girls as peer health educators in 260 schools in India. We are supporting these Champions as they provide 31,000 of their peers with the critical health education & support they need to thrive in adolescence, covering topics like menstruation, mental health, reproduction,andgender.
India has the world's largest adolescent population with over 240 million youth. Social pressures & gender inequality make adolescent girls particularly vulnerable to health and educational consequences. Due to societal and cultural taboos and stigmas, the health education required to overcome these challenges is often poorly taught or completely missing during in-school education. As a result, millions of youth suffer an unacceptable burden of health and educational consequences into adulthood.
Our award-winning program, Girls Health Champions, uses an innovative, evidence-based peer education model to cultivate a network of female youth health educators ("Champions") in rural and low-income schools across India. We capitalize on the voice and leadership potential of our youth, empowering adolescent girls as central actors in their own health and well-being. Our Champions lead the educational process in their schools and share crucial health information in their families & communities.
This project will train a network of 4,600 Indian adolescent girls as emerging health leaders. These Champions will then provide essential health education to 31,000 girls in 260 rural schools in Jharkhand, India in health topics that matter most to adolescents, including menstruation, mental health, puberty, reproductive health, safety, and nutrition & anemia. Our Champions are the next generation of health leaders who'll drive awareness, positive health outcomes, and inter-generational change!
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