Executive Director's Spotlight on UN Women and adolescent health

In the lead up to the Global Forum for Adolescents (GFA), I will spotlight partners whose work aligns with the five domains of adolescent well-being. This month, I am honored to spotlight UN Women and their Global Adolescent Girl Leadership Town Hall series which highlights the 5 domains of the Adolescent Health and Well-being Framework, with a special focus on Domain 1: Good health and nutrition.

UN Women, a global champion for gender equality, is dedicated to upholding women’s human rights and ensuring every woman and girl reaches her full potential. Aligned with UN Secretary General’s Our Common Agenda, UN Women prioritizes policies and programmes that address the needs of young women, girls and gender-diverse youth.

The Global Adolescent Girl Leadership Town Hall, a UN Women Generation Equality initiative, is organized by adolescent girl leaders from around the world, with support from the 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign, as well as youth-led and adolescent partner organizations. This initiative empowers gender-diverse adolescents 19 and under by providing a platform to share their visions and approaches for meaningful engagement within intergovernmental spaces such as CSW, Women Deliver, the upcoming Global Forum for Adolescents and Summit of the Future.

On 6 July, the Town Hall focused on the Global Forum for Adolescents, highlighting the need for increased financial, political and programmatic commitment and accountability for the well-being of adolescent girls. The recommendations, based on the five domains of adolescent well-being, will contribute to the Generation Equality Moment to take place on 17 September and inform the Global Forum for Adolescents programme, including the Agenda for Action for Adolescents.

Special thanks to our UN Women colleagues and members of the planning committees of the Global Forum for Adolescents: Åsa Regnér, Deputy Executive Director for Policy, Programme, Civil Society and Intergovernmental Support (GFA Global Coordinating Committee); Lopa Banerjee, Director of the Civil Society Division (GFA Global Coordinating Committee); and Miguel Trancozo Trevino, Communications Lead Generation Equality (Co-Chair of the GFA Communications and Partnerships workstream.) In addition, I would like to thank Ritah Muyambo, Program Specialist, Youth and Fatih Engagement and Erika Dupuis, Adolescent Girl Engagement Consultant for their incredible work on the Town Hall series. We look forward to continued joint advocacy.

To learn more, follow them on Twitter @UN_Women and at @UNWomen4Youth.