Improving Adolescent Reproductive Health and Nutrition through Structural Solutions in West Hararghe Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia Abdiboru Project Final

The final evaluation is divided into three parts, qualitative, quantitative and triangulation final reports.
Triangulation: this project objective was to empower girls through improved reproductive health, nutrition, and education in rural West Hararghe, Ethiopia. It examines the effectiveness of two different set of interventions- a combination of structural and induvial interventions Vs structural, individual, and community level interventions against a control group. Ethiopia is one of the countries in the world characterized by high level of early marriage. In most cases, when girls marry, they move to their husband’s household and are socially isolated, work long hours, and have very little say in decisions that affect them. Keeping girls in schools is essential to their future wellbeing, and Ethiopia has made significant progress on its commitments. But in rural areas, it has been difficult to achieve high levels of secondary schooling for girls. Nutrition is deeply interconnected with reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. Household gender dynamics often mean that girls are more food-insecure than their male counterparts. Female adolescents, those living in a household with food insecurity and high dependency ratio are more likely to suffer from household food allocation. Schooling, early marriage and nutritional status and overall girls’ empowerment are interrelated maters. They have a complex relationship one affecting the other significantly.

Addressing the issues in package is believed to bring the maximum benefit in improving the social, health and development of adolescent girls and thus empowering them in multiple dimensions. Yet programs that focus sectorally, targeting health indicators of women and girls while ignoring the broader context that radically constricts their choices, have not generated significant or sustained impact over the long term. The structural context in which girls live is the main driver of their reproductive, maternal, and nutritional health and educational opportunities.