Vientianne Times-5 Dec 2017
Laos has the highest rate for early marriages and adolescent births in the region, and one in five adolescent girls in the country drop out of school.
Experts say this shows that adolescent girls are not receiving the necessary attention and investment to develop to their full potential, and have limited access to quality health, education and employment opportunities.
To help them have access to better living standards, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have joined forces to work on an advocacy initiative to promote discussion and increase investments for adolescents in Laos.
The two organizations signed a joint letter of collaboration, formalizing a partnership around the “Noi 2030 Framework” on November 30. The document was signed by the WFP Country Director, Ms Sarah Gordon-Gibson, and the UNFPA Representative in Laos, Ms Frederika Meijer.
“Noi” is a fictitious adolescent girl, created by UNFPA as an entry point for dialogue on issues adolescent girls face in Laos. Like others, Noi dreams of getting a quality education, easy access to reproductive health services, and employment and to take part in decision-making.
Noi represents all the 700,230 girls in the country, aged 10-19 years, and the initiative is supported by the government and key development partners. The framework focuses on putting attention on empowering adolescents in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
“More than 70 percent of WFP’s resources in Laos are invested in ensuring children reach their full potential and have a better future,” Ms Gordon-Gibson said.
“If we equip and empower girls today, they will be able to lead tomorrow with great impact on their families and communities, leading to sustainable and inclusive development in the country.”
UNFPA and WFP will work together to advocate and program for improved access to nutrition, food security, and education as well as reproductive health information and services for adolescent girls and boys.
“In order for Laos to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we must work together across different sectors to put ‘Noi’ at the center of the development agenda,” Ms Meijer said.
“We need to address the issue of child marriage and early pregnancy. If these matters are not addressed, it will be difficult to achieve our common development goals.
“By working together, all development partners’ unique expertise can be combined to best identify and address the needs of adolescent girls. Collaboration between WFP and UNFPA will be the first of many established to make sure that ‘Noi’ will be able to reach her full potential by 2030,” Ms Meijer added.
The signing of the joint letter marked the first successful inter-UN agency partnership for Noi, and aims to strengthen the partnership between the two UN agencies across various sectors, to highlight – and contribute to meeting – the multifaceted needs of adolescent girls in Laos.
