Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations Foundation, gives American girls the opportunity to channel their energy and compassion to raise awareness and funds for programs of the United Nations that help some of the world’s hardest-to-reach adolescent girls. Through Girl Up’s support, girls have the opportunity to become educated, healthy, safe, counted, and positioned to be the next generation of leaders.
Campaign supporters are encouraged to give a “High Five” to girls in developing countries by donating $5 or more to provide girls with such basic needs as access to school supplies, clean water, life-saving health services, safety from violence, and more.
To give a High Five and learn more, join us at www.GirlUp.org.
To the Obama Administration:
Child marriage is a human rights violation. Tragically, 1 in 7 girls in developing countries is married by age 15 — often to a man twice her age or older. Child brides are often separated from friends and family and are denied an education. They are also at higher risk for violence, HIV, and death during pregnancy or childbirth.
On behalf of adolescent girls around the world, we are asking for your help. Our government has led the way in protecting and empowering girls through U.S. foreign assistance investments in health, development, and educational programs. Child marriage undermines all of these investments and robs girls of their potential.
We can succeed in helping to create a new future for millions of girls by:
• Developing a strategy to help partner countries prevent child marriage;
• Supporting programs and policies that prevent child marriage;
• Monitoring and reporting on efforts to end child marriage.
There are 600 million adolescent girls in our world today. Each of these girls has tremendous potential to positively impact their family, community, and our future. It is critical that the U.S. continues to work in partnership with local communities, leaders, governments, and the United Nations to address the rights and needs of girls. We need your continued and expanded support to help combat child marriage. There will be more than 100 million child brides in the next decade if we don’t act now.
