Chipakuza AGYW Club, a centre for behavior transformation

Limited education and employment prospects are some of the major known factors contributing to teenage pregnancies and early childbearing. World Health Organization (January 2020) indicates that at least 39% of girls marry before the age of 18, and 10 million unintended pregnancies occur each year among them in least developed countries. Furthermore, adolescents who may want to avoid pregnancies may fail to do so due to knowledge gaps and misconceptions on where to obtain contraceptive methods and how to use them.

Early childbearing forces these adolescents out of school. In most cases, these adolescents become single parents with no sound source of income to support themselves and their children. As a result, some of them engage in transactional sex in order to survive. Sadly, this puts their lives at risk of contracting or transmitting HIV despite exposing them to another unwanted pregnancy. This increases their vicious circle of poverty.

In Malawi, the situation is not different. Therefore, the Government of Malawi and many stakeholders are implementing Prevention Programmes for Adolescents and Youth, in and out of School with an aim of reducing new HIV infections amongst adolescent girls and young women aged 10-24. With support from the Joint TB/HIV Global Fund Grant, ActionAid Malawi is one of the organizations implementing this programme in Lilongwe Peri-Urban, Mangochi, Mulanje, Thyolo and Chikwawa.

According to the ActionAid Malawi AGYW Programme Coordinator, Gladson Mopiwa, under the AGYW Program, out-of-school girls are trained in vocational skills where they gain  different skills that are relevant in their communities like baking and tailoring. These girls are also trained in economic empowerment through village savings and loans (VSL) where they are enlightened on how they can save and utilize the little money they earn from small-scale businesses which they are encouraged to establish individually or as a group.

The purpose of training the girls in these skills is to empower them economically so that they do not engage in transactional sex, thereby preventing them from contracting or spreading HIV. This is to strengthen the HIV prevention information which they learn from their clubs.

In Chikwawa, there is Makanga Out-of-School Girls Club in Group Village Headman Chipakuza, in Senior Chief Ngabu’s area. The club has about 50 members aged 15 to 24 who comprises of teen mothers, girls from child headed families, double and single orphans girls, and girls whose actions put them at a risk of contracting HIV and AIDS.

Prior to the AGYW interventions in the area, the girls and young women lacked adequate information on HIV and AIDS and family planning that resulted in increased number of them contracting HIV and high rate of unplanned pregnancies. This forced many of them to be single parents with no consistent financial support.

ActionAid Malawi through Creative Centre for Community Mobilization (CRECCOM) started teaching them HIV and family planning information, but also trained them in Malambe juice making to address their needs. A 17-year-old Sarah, who is one of the groups peer educators, says as a group, they supply juice to 24hours shop at Nchalo Trading Centre while some bottles are sold in schools by club members.

“The profits we raise are shared among club members. We, then, buy more shares in our VSL groups. These profits have also assisted us to venture into individual businesses like selling fritters, vegetables, mats, mopes and opening saloons. Again, six of our club members have gone back to school as they can now afford to buy basic needs and pay for their school fees using the money we make,” she explained.

In addition, there is awareness and positive response on gender-based violence (GBV) issues among married members after they started their businesses. “My husband is no longer beating me since I started selling vegetables. I have earned self-respect from him because I earn my own money and contribute to the daily basic needs of our family,” said a 22-year-old Funny, mother of a 4-year-old daughter.

Funny got married in 2013 when she was 16 years old. Sadly, she did not enjoy her matrimonial home as her husband used to beat her on petty issues, even when she requested money for household items. As this was not enough, Funny says her husband started going after other women. But today, peace has stepped in her home.

Group Village Headman Chipakuza did not hide his joy with the project impact, saying girls in his area are changing for the better. “They are now responsible and eager to develop their lives and take care of their children and families. We are grateful to ActionAid and CRECCOM   because the project has transformed our girls,” she said.

Rosemary Mahata is the Chikwawa District Social Welfare Officer. She acknowledges the positive impact the programme is bringing to girls in the district. “The programme is tackling the health and social economic issues of these girls. They now have a wider knowledge of HIV, sexual reproductive health and GBV in addition to being empowered economically,” she explained.

ActionAid Malawi is implementing an AGYW project under the Joint TB/HIV Global Fund Grant through CRECOCOM in Chikwawa in line with the national AGYW strategy. Through a number of interventions, the AGYW program creates safe and supportive environment for vulnerable AGYW in and out of school in the communities to prevent new HIV infections.