UN urges using SDGs to help adolescent girls

The United Nations chief is urging the world to invest in today’s adolescent girls by making use of the newly adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so that tomorrow they can stand strong as ‎citizens, political leaders, entrepreneurs, heads of their households and more.   In a message for the October 11 International Day of the Girl Child, observed on Sunday, UN Secretary-General, Ban ki-Moon noted that the SDGs offer an opportunity for a global commitment to breaking intergenerational transmission of poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination – and realizing our vision of a life of dignity for all.  “Our task now is to get to work on meeting the SDG targets and making good on our promises to give girls all the opportunities they deserve as they mature to adulthood by 2030,” Ban said.  That means enabling them to avoid child marriage and unwanted pregnancy, protect against HIV transmission, stay safe from female genital mutilation, and acquire the education and skills they need to realize their potential. 

The UN chief recalled the clarion call by Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai who along with young people around the world, told the General Assemcly last month, 'Promise us that you will keep your commitments and invest in our future. '  Ban also recalled that 3 years ago on the International Day of the Girl Child, he condemned the attack against Malala and called for more opportunities for girls everywhere. “Today, I applaud her courage and that of her peers, who only want the chance to contribute to our world,” Ban said.

In her remarks UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said the cadre of 15-year-old girls living today were born at the advent of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) into a world of hope. Not all of those hopes were fulfilled. Many have already dropped out of school to look after family members or take informal work to help support the family.

“More than 250 million of our 15-year-olds are already married, too many are facing the likelihood of HIV infection, especially given the high unmet needs for family planning…and every 10 minutes somewhere in the world, an adolescent girl dies by violent means,” she said, adding that: “These, and the generations that follow them, are the young women for whom we are working so hard.”  (Source: UN)