Gaining Insight Into the Magnitude of and Factors Influencing Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy and Their Consequences in Mozambique
Gaining insight into the magnitude of and factors influencing child marriage and teenage pregnancy and their consequences in Mozambique Baseline Report December 2016 by Paulo Pires Assistant Professor Faculty of Health Sciences Lurio University Nampula Mozambique & Pam Baatsen Senior Researcher KIT Royal Tropical Institute Amsterdam The Netherlands Preface YES I DO. is a strategic alliance of five Dutch organizations which main aim is to enhance the decision making space of young women about if, when and whom to marry as well as if, when and with whom to have children. Funded by the sexual and reproductive health and rights policy framework of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the alliance is a partnership between Plan Nederland, Rutgers, Amref Flying Doctors, Choice for Youth and Sexuality, and the Royal Tropical Institute. Led by Plan NL, the alliance members have committed to a five year programme to be implemented between 2016 and 2020 in seven countries: Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Pakistan and Zambia. The Yes I Do Alliance partners and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands acknowledge that child marriage, teenage pregnancy and female genital mutilation/cutting are interrelated issues that involve high health risks and human rights violations of young women and impede socioeconomic development. Therefore, the Yes I Do programme applies a mix of intervention strategies adapted to the specific context of the target countries. The theory of change consists of five main pathways: 1) behavioural change of community and ‘’gatekeepers’’, 2) meaningful engagement of young people in claiming for their sexual and reproductive health and rights, 3) informed actions of young people on their sexual health, 4) alternatives to the practice of child marriage, female genital mutilation/cutting and teenage pregnancy through education and economic empowerment, and 5) responsibility and political will of policy makers and duty bearers to develop and implement laws towards the eradication of these practices.
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