Plan International Australia has released a new report urging the Federal Government to increase targeted aid for adolescent girls in the Asia-Pacific, warning that global aid cuts and a growing anti-rights backlash are threatening gender equality in the region. The report, Invest Early, Change Everything, highlights that over 240 million adolescent girls live in the Asia-Pacific, yet they remain largely invisible in development policy and funding, despite adolescence being a critical period when inequality takes root.
The report notes that cuts to global aid programs, including the USAID program, have left girls more vulnerable to child and forced marriage, gender-based violence, unintended pregnancy, and school dropout, particularly in low-income countries in Australia’s neighbourhood. These challenges are compounded by a global rollback of girls’ and women’s rights, including restrictive anti-rights policies in the US that limit funding for organizations providing reproductive health services.
Despite the scale of need, less than 1% of global aid is directed specifically to adolescent girls, even though evidence shows that investment during adolescence delivers the highest returns, improving education, health, economic participation, and long-term stability for entire communities. The report highlights stark regional disparities: fewer than half of girls in parts of the Pacific and Southeast Asia complete lower-secondary school, adolescent fertility rates reach 50–65 births per 1,000 girls in some Pacific countries, and pregnancy complications account for one in every 23 deaths among girls aged 15–19 globally. Violence also peaks during adolescence, with more than 20% of ever-married adolescent girls in countries such as Timor-Leste, Pakistan, and Myanmar reporting intimate partner violence.
Plan International Australia emphasizes that adolescent girls represent a large, high-potential population that is systematically under-invested in at a critical moment. With Australia preparing its Federal Budget and set to host the Women Deliver conference in Melbourne, the organization calls on the government to commit $50 million over four years to initiatives benefiting adolescent girls in education, health, violence prevention, climate response, and economic participation. Evidence suggests multi-sector programs can deliver benefit–cost ratios up to 4:1, prevent millions of early pregnancies and child marriages, and generate long-term social and economic gains for entire communities.
The report underscores that supporting adolescent girls is not charity but an investment in leadership, resilience, and regional prosperity. Plan International Australia highlights the transformative impact of targeted support, from keeping girls in school after disasters to ensuring access to health care and education, enabling them to participate fully in shaping decisions affecting their lives. By prioritizing adolescent girls in aid and development strategies, Australia has the opportunity to lead regionally while advancing gender equality and stability across the Asia-Pacific.
