Speech
Investing in Adolescents: Unlocking Economic Growth through Innovative Financing in Latin America and the Caribbean
02 July 2025
Remarks by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development
Your Excellency Sariha Mora, Minister of Finance of Ecuador,
Your Excellency Mayra Jimenez, Minister of Women of the Dominican Republic,
Distinguished guests,
Esteemed colleagues,
Buenos días! Les saludo en paz: el noble propósito de las Naciones Unidas, y el ferviente deseo del UNFPA para todas las mujeres y niñas.
Me siento muy feliz de estar con ustedes.
Allow me to start by thanking everyone involved in convening this important and timely event, including the Governments of Ecuador, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, as well as CAF, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.
It is also wonderful to see the former President of Chile and my dear friend and former UN colleague, Michelle Bachelet, in the room.
Your collective presence today is a prime example of the leadership we need to ramp up investment in our precious young people.
At UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, we know that the key to a prosperous future lies with the adolescent girl.
Picture her – in Montevideo, in Quito, in Santo Domingo, in Kingston, or anywhere across Latin America and the Caribbean. She is at a critical crossroad in her life.
If she becomes pregnant while still a child, if she is forced to drop out of school, she faces a cycle of poverty and a cascade of challenges over the course of her life. This also jeopardizes her community and country’s prospects for prosperity.
However, if she is able to avoid adolescent pregnancy and stay in school, she’s set on a path of lifelong health and well-being. Her prospects and those of her children, if she chooses to have them, are brighter. The future we want is closer.
Let us not let the opportunity she represents slip through our fingers. The cost of inaction is simply too steep.
UNFPA conducted groundbreaking research on the socio-economic impact of adolescent pregnancy in 15 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. It reveals that the price of neglecting a young woman’s potential is immense.
UNFPA estimates a combined annual cost of adolescent pregnancy and early motherhood as high as 15.3 billion USD per year for the countries surveyed.
It’s crystal clear that investing in the health and education of adolescent girls is not just a moral imperative – it is one of the smartest, most cost-effective economic moves policymakers can make. Indeed, it is a “best buy” for sustainable development. Empowering girls to study, work, and break the cycle of poverty improves their lives, and the prospects of their families and communities too.
By leveraging our full human capital, we can set into motion a cascade of positive socioeconomic effects that ripple across generations. In this uncertain economic landscape, this is the foundation for a more equal, resilient and sustainable future.
This conference is a critical opportunity to recalibrate global financing. Let’s be bold in putting adolescent girls at the center of our economic development plans and prioritize them on the global financing agenda.
And let’s do this together, because partnerships are essential.
If all key stakeholders joined forces – including Ministries of Finance, development banks, the private sector, the UN system – we could create innovative financing solutions that would be transformative.
Bold financing solutions are within our grasp.
One example is the Zero Adolescent Pregnancies Movement for Latin America and the Caribbean. With more than 30 members, this multi-sector group has been diligently developing pioneering approaches to financing.
It has become abundantly clear that we cannot put all of our eggs in one basket. We need more diversified financing for sexual and reproductive health, coming from a mix of sources – public and private, domestic and international.
International financial institutions (IFIs), including the multilateral development banks (MDBs), can play a key role in co-creating innovative finance mechanisms in the least developed markets to support public and private investment in adolescent health.
At the same time, national governments are critical in helping create a conducive environment for innovative financing, including through policies and legislation that encourage private investment and reduce risk.
We have the tools. We have the data. We have the analysis. We know what is possible. Now is the time for decisive action – together.
There is a Latin American saying: Cuando una puerta se cierra, otra se abre.
Never be deterred by the closing of one door.
By strengthening our partnerships and investments, we can open new doors for adolescent girls – and in doing so, co-create the pathway to a brighter future for us all.
