Teen Peer Education in Mali

The creation of GAIA’s Teen Peer Education Program was in direct response to significant challenges faced by young women in Mali. In low-income areas, first pregnancies often coincide with acquisition of the HIV virus, making the early teen years a crucial time to provide critical health information. Maternal mortality rates are among the highest on the continent (587 per 100,000 live births), and global statistics show that younger women aged 15-19 have a 28% higher risk of maternal mortality than women aged 20-24 years. In GAIA’s Teen Peer Education program, 42 of GAIA’s 555 female teen participants do not attend school. In comparison, only 2 of 141 male teen participants do not attend school. The Teen Peer Education Program includes frank discussions about sexually transmitted diseases, and also informs girls that teen pregnancy is a risk to her health and to her ability to pursue her education.

 In the words of Rokia Sangare, a clinic administrator who leads adult literacy classes for women,

“We live in a very underserved neighborhood where people are poor and illiteracy rates are over 90%. We have women and girls who have never gone to school. We even have young girls who are now mothers and are not able to continue their studies. We want to keep working with GAIA to address these issues”

In 2018, GAIA plans to train female peer leaders to recruit new female teen participants who do not attend school. GAIA’s team will continue to work with the community to identify additional key services for young and adolescent women. Your support will enable GAIA to engage more out-of-school, adolescent teenagers in the Teen Education Program than were engaged last year.

Will you join the GAIA team, and community leaders like Rokia Sangare, to provide more opportunities to women and girls in Mali?