POVERTY, GENDER, AND YOUTH PROGRAM

Through the Poverty, Gender, and Youth program, Population Council staff members seek to understand the social dimensions of poverty, the determinants and consequences of gender inequality, the disparities that arise during adolescence, and the critical elements of a successful transition to adulthood in developing countries. Program activities also include developing and evaluating innovative programs—especially those related to empowerment, health, education, and livelihoods—to address the needs of the poor, women and youth in particular. Program staff also continue the Council’s long-standing tradition of providing demographic analysis of the links between population growth and development at the macro and micro levels.

Specific activities that illustrate the Population Council’s Poverty, Gender, and Youth program include:

• Studying the best ways to reach adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa—among the world’s most vulnerable people—with programs designed to delay marriage, reduce social isolation, and improve their economic prospects, as well as inform them about reproductive health issues, including HIV risk.
• Discovering the elements of the school and home environments that lead to early school drop out, particularly for girls, including gender inequities in school, low-quality schooling, economic pressures, and parental fears about girls’ safety.
• Examining the dimensions of urban and rural poverty.
• Researching ways of using community-based programs to reduce childhood mortality and fertility in impoverished settings.

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See Also

• Strengthening Professional Resources

• HIV and AIDS Program

• Reproductive Health Program

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