Published on: 2026-09-25
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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Behind this figure lie sharp disparities caused by the intersection of several factors – poverty, race and ethnicity, educational level, place of residence, as well as crisis situations that greatly increase the risks for girls caught in conditions of war or conflict.
The real scale of the problem is likely even broader: many pregnancies remain unregistered due to stigma, fear, and imperfect recording systems. The report warns: this systemic gap deprives the state of the ability to allocate resources, track progress, and develop data-driven measures.
Dr. Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli is an independent expert on adolescent sexual and reproductive health. He has worked in this field for over thirty years and has led the relevant division in the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organization.
“We need more detailed data at the subnational level,” he says. “We also need information about groups that are not covered by surveys, and about what governments are doing and spending money on. But it’s not just a matter of lack of data. The problem is that decision-makers refuse to see these facts and take action. They choose to see only what they want to.”
Every year, about 21 million adolescent girls become pregnant in low- and middle-income countries. Often, this occurs unintentionally, leading to devastating consequences for their health and even their lives. The risk of preventable maternal mortality among pregnant girls is higher than that of adult women. Additionally, approximately 43 percent of adolescents aged 15–19 in poor countries face lack of access to modern contraceptive methods.
Human Rights and Teenage Pregnancy
The authors of the report consider teenage pregnancy a human rights issue: it is both a cause and a consequence of a wide range of rights violations rooted in gender inequality.
Harmful gender norms and practices – child marriages, tolerance of sexual violence, unequal relations – are exacerbated by limited access to education, services, and information in the field of sexual and reproductive health.
According to Chandra-Mouli, global efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy, although imperfect, have become more effective and have led to a noticeable decrease in rates. “But the world has failed to reduce the number of pregnancies among the most marginalized girls, families, communities, and countries. The world also fails to truly support pregnant teenagers and those who have already become parents,” he noted.
He added that countries should create structured opportunities to share best practices and pay special attention to those in the highest risk group.
A new generation of rights defenders
The report’s authors also point to an increase in attacks on comprehensive sex education in many countries. As practice shows, teaching teenagers the biological, emotional, physical, and social aspects of sexuality delays the onset of sexual activity and improves knowledge about their own bodies and reproductive health.
Dr. Norhan Bader, a researcher and physician from Egypt, works as a project manager for the Love Matters Arabic initiative. Bader notes that the very word “sexuality” remains controversial and taboo in many countries where sexual and reproductive health issues are viewed more through the lens of harm reduction rather than as part of a comprehensive rights-based approach.
Bader emphasizes the importance of understanding the context – in some cases it is worth insisting, in others – seeking compromise, in order to achieve gradual but real changes. She also talks about the need to link initiatives in reproductive health with government priorities – for example, tying family planning education to the goals of reducing child marriages and maternal mortality.
Working through the online platform Love Matters Arabic, Bader directly provides young people with scientifically grounded information about health and sexual relationships. But, according to her, information alone is not enough: teenagers need skills in self-respect and self-assertion necessary for making informed decisions.
“If you were born a girl, from childhood you are taught to say ‘yes,’ to follow the rules, and therefore it can be difficult to take full control over your own body. Even having all the information, it’s hard to resist a partner, mother-in-law, or your own mother,” she says. “That’s why it’s necessary to develop the skills so that girls can assert their right to control their own bodies. Information alone is not enough.”
Bader adds that young defenders of sexual and reproductive rights, frustrated by negative experiences participating in formalistic national and intergovernmental programs, have become bolder, more connected, and organized thanks to the internet. But immersion in the digital environment also carries risks: alongside new opportunities for information exchange and mobilization efforts come misinformation and misleading content, including materials created by AI.
Experts believe that initiatives like Love Matters Arabic play a key role in ensuring transformational change, and therefore they should receive government support and be expanded.
What teenagers want
In its report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasizes: teenage pregnancy, which poses such a high risk to the health and lives of girls, is preventable. Over the past two decades, many countries have taken steps to reduce its prevalence and ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services.
Drawing on examples from Southeast Asia, Latin America, West Africa, and Western Europe, the report shows that multisectoral strategies based on human rights—a combination of comprehensive sexual education, adolescent-friendly services, community engagement, empowerment, and targeted social support—can sharply reduce adolescent birth rates, in some cases by more than 60 percent over a decade.
Laws eliminating child marriages, guaranteeing confidential access to medical care without third-party consent, subsidizing contraception, decriminalizing abortion, and voluntary close-in-age relationships are named in the report as effective tools — provided there is sustained political will, adequate funding, and genuine adolescent participation.
In Latin America, teenage activists are demanding the inclusion of comprehensive sex education in school curricula to address the lack of knowledge about contraception, sexuality, and consent to sex – factors they identify as key causes of teenage pregnancy.
Anai, a young activist from this region working on empowering teenagers through education and access to information and services, emphasizes that discrimination and lack of privacy in the healthcare system also play a role.
“When a girl comes to a medical facility, she is often judged for asking for contraception because she is a minor. But sexual and reproductive rights are fundamental rights of everyone, and she must have equal and reliable access to medical care,” says Anai, noting that in her country poverty, gender inequality, and harmful cultural norms especially strongly affect indigenous communities.
“In many families, you can see what machismo and gender inequality are: girls are required to strictly perform household chores, and women are expected to take care of the children. This is considered normal in my country, where early pregnancy is widespread, and giving birth at a young age is seen as common,” Anai said. “There is a taboo that prevents girls from speaking openly about sexual violence, sexuality, rights, and contraception. A girl using contraception will definitely be condemned.”
The UNHCR report demonstrates that states are capable of preventing adolescent pregnancy if they approach the issue comprehensively and with respect for human rights. The report’s authors recommend that states move beyond political debates and fragmented measures and undertake coordinated, evidence-based actions stemming from their human rights commitments.
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