Leidy and her daughter, Lara (Credit: © UNICEF/2022/Ursula)

Thousands of adolescent girls receive needed health care in Peru

The Adolescent Girls’ Health and Protection project aims to improve the capacity of services in Peru to respond to the health needs of adolescents, especially girls, in a timely manner and prevent all kinds of violence in schools and other services.

Adolescents, especially girls, must have opportunities to empower themselves and develop the self-confidence and autonomy needed to take control of their lives and bodies, and to speak up for their rights. With Zonta International’s support, UNICEF Peru has been working to develop conditions for adolescents to live in protective and healthy environments, with quality education and with an active participation in the development of their community.

During the last reporting period, 13,408 adolescents (8,534 girls) were reached by health care services strengthened through the project. Click here to read more about how our support has made a difference, as well as the program's challenges and results from 2021 in our project update.

“I was lying down, crying, when suddenly I heard my daughter's heartbeat. That shocked me so much and I said, ‘I’m going to have my baby no matter what.’ My life changed then,” Leidy says as she plays with her 8-month-old daughter.

To read about Leidy, a Peruvian who found herself pregnant with no partner at 17 years old, and how the UNICEF program helped her, click here.

26 AUGUST 2022