By Ian McDonnell (IPA) and Scott MacMillan (BRAC International)

Girls in a youth club in Tanzania reading books on social issues as part of BRAC's Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) program. © 2016 BRAC Maendeleo Tanzania/BRAC

When Esther joined BRAC's Empowerment and Livelihood for Adolescents (ELA) club in Uganda, she had been forced to drop out of school because her family could not afford her school fees. Adolescent girls in low-income settings, like Esther, face significant challenges, where limited access to education, lack of job opportunities, and economic instability often trap them in a cycle of poverty and dependence. Without sufficient skills or access to the labor market, many girls turn to older men for financial support, which increases their vulnerability to early pregnancies and early marriages. Similarly, external shocks like conflict or global pandemics disrupt girls' education, making them more vulnerable. This reduces their chances of continuing school, limits their economic independence, and affects their health and reproductive rights.

A typical ELA club is a local safe space meant exclusively for adolescent girls and young women, where about 30 participants gather and receive guidance from a peer mentor who understands their challenges firsthand. Here, they're not just learning—they're transforming their futures through a powerful combination of life skills, business training, and health education. Today, Esther runs a successful agriculture and livestock business and is using the financial literacy skills she developed through the program to save her earnings and plan for her future. In Uganda alone, research shows that communities with ELA clubs saw young women's participation in income-generating activities increase by 48 percent and adolescent pregnancy rates drop by 34 percent.

IPA has identified BRAC’s ELA program as one of our Best Bets, a promising emerging intervention that holds significant potential to reduce poverty and improve health among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) at scale. First developed by BRAC, ELA combines safe spaces or “clubs” with empowerment training, graduation-style livelihood interventions such as business and vocational skills training, financial literacy, and health education. While expenses range from $100-$1,000 per participant, depending on location, income gains in participating villages counterbalance these expenses. As implementation becomes more efficient, costs can be expected to drop to $60-$100 per participant—making this program increasingly accessible.

ELA has also been effective in crisis settings. During the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, when schools closed and teenage pregnancy rates spiked in many communities, girls in ELA clubs found a lifeline. The program helped them re-enroll in school and resist economic pressures that often lead to early marriage. Amid civil conflict in South Sudan, ELA clubs became crucial safe havens where girls could continue learning and planning for their futures.

The next stages of ELA

IPA is supporting research that aims to understand individual components of the ELA program and explore adaptations that could enhance scalability and applicability in different contexts. IPA’s Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Initiative has funded ongoing research on a promising adaptation where ELA programs are delivered in after-school clubs for girls and boys with trained teachers-mentors. The ELA in Schools (ELAS) program was developed in partnership with the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sport (MoES) and BRAC to scale the program in government secondary schools. Adjusting ELA into ELAS presents a promising path to delivering these impactful services at scale and embedding them within government systems—an effort in which IPA is highly invested. 

Existing research also supports the importance of providing both ELA services and livelihood-focused graduation programming to AGYW, but there is a need for more evidence. BRAC is now running a multi-country program for African adolescent girls and young women, which builds on the proven success of ELA while adding an intensive focus on livelihoods, with training and provision of productive assets such as livestock—done in the style of BRAC “graduation” programs, another proven method of breaking the poverty trap. This livelihood focus is augmented by access to and engagement with microfinance.

There is a particular need for research that disentangles the effects of enabling environment interventions such as parental and caregiver engagement, Youth Development Committees, and other efforts to enhance local advocacy and increased community awareness of AGYW issues. Additionally, learning whether there is a multiplier effect when combining the ELA programs, which focus on life skills, building confidence, and providing safe spaces alongside the more intensive graduation-style livelihood support package, will be critical in shaping future programs targeting AGYW around the world. Towards this goal, BRAC has partnered with IPA to conduct an impact evaluation of the program in Tanzania, with results expected in 2028.

Looking ahead: Why investing in ELA matters

At the heart of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme, “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment,” programs like ELA show what’s possible when we invest in girls and women through meaningful social and economic interventions. It’s about Esther and thousands like her, who are rewriting stories of possibility and progress by gaining access to the opportunities and resources they need to reach their full potential.