Every day in developing countries, 20,000 girls below age 18 give birth. Nine in 10 of these births occur within marriage or a union. This has consequences on the health, education, employment and rights of an untold millions of girls. What are the challenges of adolescent pregnancy, and what can we do to ensure girls have a healthy and safe transition into adulthood?

• Resources

This paper provides updated figures on the dividends of investing in reproductive health care, including contraception, and highlights the gaps in service provision and support. It argues that an investment in contraceptive services can be recouped four time over -- and sometimes dramatically more -- by reducing the need for public spending on health, education and other social services.

Countries are making real progress in carrying out a bold global action plan that links poverty alleviation to women's rights and universal access to reproductive health. Ten years into the new era opened by the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, the quality and reach of family planning programmes have improved, safe motherhood and HIV prevention efforts are being scaled up, and governments embrace the ICPD Programme of Action as an essential blueprint for realizing development goals.

This booklet provides a snapshot of UNFPA's programming efforts to advance gender equality and empower women. It reports on activities undertaken in six priority areas, based on contributions from the global, regional and country levels over the course of two years (2007-2008).