28 March 2025, Bangkok: When a girl becomes pregnant or is married too early, her future is no longer her own. Early pregnancy disrupts her education, poses severe health risks for both mother and child, and leaves her vulnerable to intimate partner violence and lifelong economic insecurity. A new report by UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, Empowering Girls, Securing Futures: The Investment Case for Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Marriage in South-East Asia, makes clear that investing in girls is not only a moral imperative, it is an economic necessity.

The report, developed by the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office and the Burnet Institute, presents compelling findings from five countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, and the Philippines. 

It reveals that scaling-up proven interventions could avert 1.4 million unintended pregnancies and 1.1 million child marriages by 2030. An additional $5 billion investment to reach 95% coverage could generate $13.4 billion in economic benefits by 2050, meaning every $1 invested returns $2.70 in benefits. If sustained through 2050, this return could rise to $9.80 for every $1 spent. 

“At a time of fiscal constraints and difficult choices in development planning, it is hard to imagine a better investment,” said Mr. Pio Smith, UNFPA Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.

“Investing in girls’ education, health, and empowerment is not just the right thing to do – it is one of the smartest investments societies can make. It reduces early pregnancies and child marriages, improves economic prospects, and strengthens entire communities.”

The report quantifies the impact of a coordinated set of actions across different sectors, including comprehensive sexuality education, conditional cash transfers, educational support, life skills development, livelihood training, and community mobilization. It finds that financing these programmes would not only improve girls’ lives but also enhance workforce productivity, economic stability, and social resilience.

Key findings include:

• Adolescent pregnancy and child marriage are closely related and share common drivers such as poverty, lack of education and adolescent-responsive health services, and harmful social and gender norms that undervalue girls.
   
• Scaling-up proven interventions could avert 1.4 million adolescent pregnancies and 1.1 million child marriages across five countries in South-East Asia by 2030.
   
• Investing in adolescent girls could generate $13.4 billion in economic benefits by 2050, strengthening societies and economies in the five South East Asian countries.
   
• Each dollar spent could yield nearly ten times the return over time, reinforcing the economic case for prioritizing girls’ well-being and demonstrating its power to transform economies. 

UNFPA calls on governments, development partners, and civil society to act with urgency and invest in proven interventions that prevent early pregnancy and child marriages.

The 2030 deadline is fast approaching, and the world cannot afford to fail its girls.

NOTE TO EDITOR

UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, works to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. Operating in more than 150 countries, UNFPA partners with governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services, advance gender equality, and respond to humanitarian crises.

About UNFPA’s work in Asia and the Pacific: asiapacific.unfpa.org

Download the report and the technical brief of the report.

For media queries, please contact:
Katie Elles, Regional Communications Advisor: elles@unfpa.org