Yes I do Malawi incl COVID-19 prevention SUMMARY 
Millions of adolescent girls all over the world are facing a limited future because of early marriage (EM) and teenage pregnancies. With this project, by changing the attitude of community members and other key persons and informing adolescent girls and boys, adolescents will be empowered to stand up for their sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Through education and economic empowerment, supported by the relevant legislation and policies, the project will give adolescents alternatives beyond EM and teenage pregnancies. The project will be implemented between 2016 and 2020 by Plan International Nederland, together with partners Amref, Rutgers, Choice, KIT and the Netherlands’ Embassy (located in in Harare, Zimbabwe). Next to Malawi, similar projects under the same framework will be carried out in Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Indonesia and Pakistan. Deep-rooted norms and expectations of girls and boys makes families and communities feel the need to control the sexuality of girls by marrying them off. Gender inequality is putting girls in a subordinate position with regard to boys and men in (sexual) relationships. For example, girls cannot refuse to have unprotected sex and this is resulting in a high level of teenage pregnancies. Girls and boys lack a voice, as well as the support to break through these norms and practices. The means and structures available for adolescents to organise themselves and claim their rights are limited and they have little access to adolescent-friendly and good quality SRHR information and services. There are close links between EM and teenage pregnancies and girls’ lack of education. Indeed, girls’ access to education is very restricted, which makes it difficult for them to find jobs later. It also hampers their economic independence. Legislation to outlaw EM is either inadequate or is being poorly implemented. EM and teenage pregnancies mutually reinforce one another. Social and gender norms perpetuating EM are deeply embedded in communities and this situation can only be changed if community leaders and most of the people, including boys and men, support the change. Key persons in the communities, including boys and men, will be turned into allies in the process of changing these norms, thereby helping to address the problem of EM and teenage pregnancies. A general lack of information about SRHR and poor quality and access to the relevant services are perpetuating the above-mentioned problems. Adolescent boys and girls are being informed about SRHR and given a voice to claim these rights. Girls are being given more control over their lives. This is being achieved by changing these norms and people’s behaviour, strengthening networks and structures for social mobilisation and embedding these in communities, and by involving the government and the private sector in improving SRHR and services. All these will help to reduce EM and teenage pregnancies. This programme is a follow up of the Plan regional EM programme (18+) in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, in which adolescents are being trained as agents of change to make their voice heard in claiming their SRH rights. The programme is being implemented by the Yes I Do alliance in which each partner is adding value by implementing part of one or more of the intervention strategies. Final beneficiaries are girls between the age of 12 – 24 years, married and unmarried. During the inception phase (January – June 2016) country-specific plans will be developed, target groups and final beneficiaries identified and activities that are based on the overall intervention strategies will be designed. This will be worked out per country.