Adolescent Girls Program in Upper Egypt I.	Project Summary

Adolescence is a critical formative and transitionary period especially in girls’ lives: decisions made, and experiences undergone during adolescence can lay the foundation for later life outcomes and trajectories. Adolescent girls in rural Upper Egypt are particularly vulnerable to child, early and forced marriage (CEFM), have poor access to social and health services, and low knowledge levels on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) matters.  Another harmful practice which persists in Egypt is female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C). While declining within younger generations, rates of FGM/C in Egypt are still high: according to the 2014 SYPE, 73% of girls aged 13-17 years were cut, compared to 88% of women aged 30-35 years.

Few comprehensive programs in Egypt to empower adolescent girls and combat child marriage have been rigorously evaluated or strategically implemented and generated robust evidence. Accordingly, it is essential to understand how to improve adolescent girls’ wellbeing and to determine the relative influence of contextual social and economic factors in improving their sexual and reproductive health and overall wellbeing. In collaboration with the UNFPA, this research project focuses on understanding the effects of a comprehensive package of interventions that address adolescent girls’ social, economic and health assets on the girls’ wellbeing and future outcomes and opportunities. The goal of this project is that adolescent girls in Egypt fully enjoy their childhood free from the risk of CEFM, have access to social and health services, have knowledge around SRH, and can develop to their full potential.

Based on research findings and in collaboration with local non-governmental organizations in the targeted areas, we plan to provide evidence on what strategies are best placed to inform policies and programs towards combating CEFM and other harmful practices and creating an enabling environment and policy framework for adolescent girls’ well-being. II.	Completed activities 

The following activities were completed during the reporting period (Jan-Dec 2022): 

•	Desk review of existing work on menstrual health of adolescent girls in Egypt: The Population Council team prepared a preliminary desk review to explore historical trends, figures and previous research studies related to the experiences of and challenges related to menstrual health facing adolescent girls in Egypt.  Also, the literature review encompassed the best practices carried out on the menstrual health hygiene front in low- and middle-income countries to guide the qualitative research study on the impact of the menstrual health on the mobility of adolescents in Egypt. 

•	Development of Adolescent Girls’ Program Evaluation Methodology and Questionnaire: The final number of survey participants and the research design were determined, based on study sites selected by UNFPA and size of the communities and number of girls targeted. The methodology was presented in February to UNFPA, WFP and UNWomen for feedback and to align with the objectives of the Girls Assets Framework. Accordingly, an English questionnaire as well as an evaluation protocol were developed. 

•	Advisory group meeting with experts to discuss the qualitative guides: The Population Council held a one-day advisory group meeting early June 2022 with nine consultants and experts in the field of adolescents sexual and reproductive wellbeing from mainly UNFPA, Assiut University, Plan International, Tadwein, Save the Children, Egyptian Society for Adolescent Medicine, and This is Mother Being to gain outside feedback on the menstrual health study’s guidelines and tools. The focus of the advisory group meeting was on the study of menstrual health practices in the two governorates of Assiut and Sohag. The initial focus of the study has duly changed to focus on matters aligned with the UNFPA Adolescent Girls program. 

•	Data Collection in Sohag and Assiut: The Population Council trained eight data collectors (four in each governorate) virtually over two days on the objectives of the study and the qualitative methods used which included focus group discussion (FGDs), in-depth interviews (IDIs) and key informant interviews (KIIs). The training explored the usage of all the instruments developed for the study. The language and terms were revised to suit the local context and the tools were piloted to test their applicability. The data collection was then conducted over two months (July and August), across four villages. The total number of participants were approximately 200, divided over Sohag and Assiut. 

•	Data Analysis of Menstrual Health Study: With the usage of Dedoose as the primary software for qualitative data analysis, three data analysts from Assiut University were trained on qualitative data analysis and the usage of the software. They were also guided through a period of two weeks on how to generate the overarching themes and findings within the collected data. Two separate reports were generated (one on Assiut and one on Sohag) documenting all the findings with supporting quotes and stories. 

•	Advisory group meeting showcasing the preliminary findings of the menstrual health study: The Population Council held a one-day advisory group meeting in October to showcase the findings of the menstrual health study. The meeting was attended by seven experts in the field mainly from UNFPA, Assiut University, Plan International, Tadwein, and This is Mother Being. The experts suggested that nuances in girls experiences of menstruation be further unpacked to better guide the formulation of policy recommendations that would address the needs of adolescent girls in Egypt.  A presentation summarizing key study results was sent by email. 

•	Concept Note and Literature Review on the Role of Men in the Child Marriage Decision Making: A literature review was conducted to explore the decision-making process regarding CEFM within Egypt. However, due to the dearth in the literature, the global context was included as well to enrich the review and guide us through the selection of study topic. The role of men in the CEFM decision-making was selected as not many research studies at the global level as well as in Egypt explore this angle. Accordingly, a concept note was drafted in September laying out the objectives, methodology and the data analysis plan. The draft was shared with NL Embassy and UNFPA. A copy was sent by email. 

•	Meeting with Dr. Maya Morsy, President of the National Council for Women (NCW): The Population Council team met with Dr Maya Morsy in October with the purpose of discussing with her the Council’s role in the evaluation of the Adolescent Girls Program.  Dr Maya indicated that the project document prepared by UNFPA did not mention an impact evaluation nor the involvement of PC in the Adolescent Girls project. However, Dr Maya mentioned that she is keen on having the Population Council serve as NCW’s research arm where the Council would work closely with NCW on identifying research topics to be studied under this project, report on international best practices and document success stories, challenges and lessons learned. Dr Maya highlighted after discussions with Ms. Fredericka Meyer that a baseline evaluation could be potentially carried out by the NCW themselves and requested that UNFPA shares with NCW a data collection instrument that could be potentially used for this baseline.  PC shared with UNFPA final Arabic and English baseline questionnaires to forward to NCW.  Copy of questionnaires was sent by email. 

•	Drafting a new scope of work for collaboration between NCW and Population Council: based on the above meeting with Dr. Maya and a subsequent meeting with NL Embassy and UNFPA, Population Council drafted a scope for the proposed collaboration with NCW.  The SOW was shared with NCW in November and a meeting with Dr. Maya was requested. However, to date Population Council has not been able to secure a meeting with Dr. Maya to discuss the SOW. Letter to Dr. Maya requesting a meeting was sent by email along with the proposed SOW.  

•	Drafting a Research Brief and Journal Article on the Menstrual Health Study: A research brief and a journal article are currently being drafted to encompass the findings of the study. The research brief is intended to address policy makers and practitioners in the field by laying out findings in a simple format as well as suggest several policy, programmatic and research recommendations that could help address current challenges. 

III.	Challenges in 2022: 

•	Some of the challenges the Population Council team faced were the delays caused primarily by logistics between partners and obtaining approvals for UNFPA’s project implementation. 
•	Not including the program evaluation component in the UNFPA project document that was presented to NCW has stopped the evaluation activities. 
•	Selection of topics for the qualitative studies was changed several times due to changing partner priorities. 

IV.	Activities for year 2023: 
•	Discussions are underway with NL Embassy to redirect funds that were allocated for program evaluation towards other activities relevant to adolescent girls programming in Egypt. Suggestions for new activities have been shared with NL Embassy. 
•	Advisory Group Meeting on the Role of Men in the CEFM Decision Making will be held in February 2023. The meeting was attended by 12 experts from the field including UNFPA, UNICEF, Ministry of Health, National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), Assiut University, Care Egypt and Plan International. Their feedback was given on the objectives, the methodology and the study tools to ensure they address the current challenges in the field and guarantee their relevance to the local context.
•	The qualitative study on the role of men in the decision-making process pertaining to CEFM in Egypt will be completed by August 2023. This study will examine the perspectives and roles of fathers and young men in the decision-making process pertaining to CEFM practices in Sohag and Sharkia. The findings of the study will be used to inform the adolescent girls project implementation to ensure increased efficacy of communication on CEFM-related information. 
•	Upon the completion of the CEFM study another qualitative study will be conducted. Selection of the topic for the study will be done in consultation with partners and stakeholders. 
•	For each of the above qualitative studies, papers will be submitted to international peer reviewed journals for publication. 
•	Roundtable discussions will be carried for each of the three qualitative studies mentioned above.  The purpose of the roundtables will be threefold: (1) to share and discuss the research findings (2) to engage policymakers and civil society organizations in a discussion on possible means for improving adolescent girls’ wellbeing and opportunities and ending harmful practices; (3) to gather feasible policy, programmatic, research and investment recommendations; (4) to create a community of interest from key stakeholders.