Adolescents' access to quality reproductive health care, including family planning, is essential to their health, well-being, and future success. Yet too little is being done in humanitarian settings to meet this basic need. The Women's Refugee Commission and Save the Children, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Population Fund has documented the gaps in the humanitarian sector and outlined recommendations for donors, governments, and humanitarian and development organizations in a new report, “Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Programs in Humanitarian Settings: An In-depth Look at Family Planning Services.”
The need for action on reproductive health care for adolescents could not be more urgent or obvious. The statistics are striking. Two million girls under the age of 15 give birth every year. Adolescent girls have a higher risk of maternal mortality than any other age group. And half of sexual assaults are committed against girls younger than 15.
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