Goal, purpose, and guiding principles

The goal of the programme is to protect adolescent girls’ rights, in particular delaying age at marriage and childbearing, and empowering the most marginalized girls and elevating their status in communities.

The purpose of the programme is to make targeted investments at scale in 12 countries over 5 years (2013-17) to support thousands of vulnerable girls at risk through interventions that provide opportunities for social participation and leadership, gaining life skills and literacy, and accessing health services including family planning and HIV services. The programme simultaneously strives to create a more favorable environment for adolescent girls at the community and national levels. UNFPA is led by the relevant international conventions, treaties and resolutions related to the human rights of adolescent girls, in particular the ICPD Programme of Action, the CRC and CEDAW. The guiding principles of the work are as following :

Rights-based approach to programming and advocacy - Programmes targeting marginalized adolescent girls require a clear sense of the interplay between gender, culture and human rights. The effective application of a human rights-based approach within the programming process is sensitive to both cultural factors and gender dynamics, will advance equality for and social inclusion of marginalized adolescent girls, and contribute to the alleviation of poverty and the realization of their human rights.

Equity focus with the goal of reaching the marginalized adolescent girls - The initiative will focus on

equity and reaching the marginalized as critical step to achieve the MDGs.

Country-owned and country-driven development - The initiative will promote national and sub-national ownership and capacity building in line with the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid

Effectiveness. A particular emphasis will be laid on community engagement in all stages of the

programme from its inception to implementation and evaluation.

Holistic and intersectoral approach - The initiative will put an emphasis on comprehensive, multisectoral, community-led, and girl-centered approach that can be scaled up for national impact.

Interagency collaboration through existing mechanisms - The initiative will strive to work under the

principles of ‘Delivering as One’ and pool where possible its expertise and resources for more

effective programme delivery.

Adolescent girl participation at all stages of the programme - The initiative will ensure that adolescent girls are the key stakeholders in the programmes, and that programmes reflect their inputs, and respond to their needs.

http://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/UNFPA%20AAG%20programme%20document_25july2014.pdf