Better education will mean better health for young women and girls

A better-educated girl is less likely to get HIV and more likely to make her own choices about when she marries and how many children she'll have

March 09, 2016 by Julia Gillard, GPE Secretariat

| 1 comment

1 minute read

Kanzi primary school. Gemena (Equateur province), Democratic Republic of Congo. Credit: GPE / Federico Scoppa

HIV remains the biggest killer of women of reproductive age. More than one-third of new HIV infections globally occur among young women in sub-Saharan Africa, a group accounting for 68 percent of young people between the ages of 15-24 years living with HIV. This translates into more than 2,000 new HIV infections per week among young women in South Africa alone.

These are shocking statistics, but there is hope. There is compelling evidence that better education outcomes lead to improved health outcomes for young women and girls, especially when it comes to HIV.

Read the full post on Huffington Post

Focus areas: Gender equality

Related blogs

Comments

April 09, 2016 by Eva Sumner

What are the consequences of Right to education for females ?
Does Right to education for females occurred when ? and does it still occur ?