Innovating with Young Parents in Nepal
The MAYA initiative joins forces with pregnant and parenting adolescents to co-create innovative solutions aimed at unlocking their full potential
For millions of adolescents in the world, the promise of education and the hope for a career and a bright future is abruptly shattered by unexpected pregnancies and early marriage. In 2022, an estimated 13 per cent of women worldwide gave birth before age 18, and each year, about 21 million adolescent girls become pregnant in developing countries.
“Becoming a mother in my adolescence was never my intention. But it happened, and now my wish is to support my husband. Yes, I would like to study, but how could I make that possible? I have no dreams anymore. My dreams are empty buckets.” Adolescent mother, 18.
In Nepal, despite significant decline in the last decade, girls face the highest level of child marriage and adolescent pregnancy in the South Asia region.
The journey of pregnancy and childbirth during adolescence significantly impacts every part of a young person's transition into adulthood, affecting their education, livelihoods, and health. Many pregnant adolescents face immense pressure to abandon their education, truncating their ability to find employment and provide for themselves and their families. Research shows that in Nepal, girls who married after the age of 18 have remarkably higher secondary completion rates.
“There is no mechanism for girls to go back to school after dropping out due to pregnancy or childbirth. Although every girl in this workshop said they’d like to continue their education.” Yagya Murti Ghimire, teacher and workshop participant.
The risk pregnancy brings to girls’ health is life-threatening. Among adolescent girls globally, maternal conditions such as unsafe abortions, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and eclampsia are among the top causes of illness and mortality.
Adolescent girl in Nepal attending the event with child.
Through innovative approaches tailored to support Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents (PPA), a glimmer of hope emerges for future generations. UNICEF, in partnership with UNICEF Nepal and UNICEF Regional Office of South Asia, is piloting MAYA (in Greek, “good mother”), to ideate and curate innovative approaches to support the health and wellbeing of PPA in Nepal.
In Nepal, young people often lack trust in institutional health services and health providers due to prevailing fear and stigma. Through a human-centred design approach, the MAYA initiative aims to co-create and curate, in partnership with young people, ideas to provide PPAs, with the comprehensive, age-appropriate care and services they need throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and beyond.
At its core, MAYA strives to empower PPA, especially girls, to take control of their futures, break cycles of stigma and limitations, and reach their full potential.
“We also have dreams, and we ask for help in making them come true.” Adolescent mother and workshop participant, 18.
MAYA kicked off in 2024 with a four-day innovation ideation workshop in the Lumbini Province of Nepal, driven by nine PPA girls and boys from the Kapilvasthu District, with representatives from the Tharu, Dalit, and Muslim communities—which have the lowest engagement rate with health services for PPAs.
Participants devising and co creating solutions.
The adolescents were joined by the local municipality, health workers and service providers, parents and teachers, and NGO representatives.
By the end of the workshop, the adolescents had emerged with four innovative solutions, including guidelines to improve the girls’ experience in the healthcare system, a skills-based training programme to support young parents in providing for their families, a health roleplay app, and an influencer awareness campaign to reach even the most marginalized communities in Nepal.
A two-month mentorship will follow to validate (through pilots with a representative group of young people from remote and marginalized communities), refine and launch these solutions.
As part of this initial pilot, MAYA will also deliver a PPA Co-Innovation Playbook outlining the workshop and mentorship methodology, with tools and templates to replicate it in other countries, and a PPA Co-Innovation Community platform to share resources, updates, and channels for continued involvement with young people and partners.
The MAYA initiative is part of the UNICEF Global Health Innovation and Youth & Adolescent Innovation portfolios. The Global Innovation Portfolios align technical and financial resources to promising projects that can accelerate results for children and young people in key focus areas, including Health and Nutrition, Climate Change, Gender Equality, Youth, and Mental Health. By co-creating and iterating proven solutions in more countries, UNICEF’s Office of Innovation strives to propel young people toward reaching their full potential.
