From staying in school and making decisions about marriage to earning an income and planning pregnancies, a regional study documents changes in women’s and girls’ lives—and provides important lessons for the next phase of SWEDD.

DAKAR -  What does it take to change the course of a girl’s life?

A school kit or scholarship can help her remain in the classroom. But it may not be enough if she faces pressure to marry, an unintended pregnancy, unpaid household responsibilities or opposition from those around her. Similarly, providing a woman with funds to start a business may open new opportunities, but lasting economic independence often requires continued mentoring, access to markets and support from her family and community.

These are among the lessons emerging from a regional study examining nearly a decade of change in the lives of women and girls who participated in the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend project, known as SWEDD.

Financed by the World Bank, SWEDD supports participating governments in expanding opportunities for women and adolescent girls across the Sahel. UNFPA provides technical assistance to each participating country, helping national institutions design and implement interventions in areas including girls’ education, women’s empowerment, reproductive health and the prevention of gender-based violence and harmful practices.

Commissioned by UNFPA, the study is one of the largest beneficiary-level biographical studies conducted on a girls’ empowerment programme in the Sahel. It followed women and girls over time, surveying approximately 1,600 beneficiaries in each of six countries—Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania and Niger—as well as members of their households. The research combined a biographical household survey with more than 125 qualitative interviews, focus-group discussions and personal accounts to examine changes in participants’ education, reproductive choices, marriages, livelihoods and relationships.

The findings document important progress. More women reported planning their pregnancies, more girls remained in school, and more women said they had a voice in decisions about marriage. Women’s earnings helped families pay for food, health care and education, while some men described changing the way they communicated with and supported their wives.

The study also shows that social transformation is rarely linear. Progress varied between countries and communities, some economic gains became harder to sustain over time, and deeply rooted practices such as child marriage persisted in some areas.

For participating countries, UNFPA and partners under the new SWEDD+ project, this combination of progress and continuing challenges provides valuable evidence for strengthening the current phase of the programme.

Key results at a glance

• Planned pregnancies increased by an average of 5 percentage points across the six countries studied, while pregnancies among adolescent girls decreased by 4 points.

• Knowledge of contraceptive methods increased sixfold in Chad among programme participants.

• More women reported deciding for themselves whether to marry in every country studied; in Mauritania, the proportion rose from 45.8 to 63 per cent.

• Consent to marriage increased substantially, including in Mali, where it rose from approximately 74 to 91 per cent.

• School retention reached 97.9 per cent in Côte d’Ivoire and 94.9 per cent in Chad among girls supported by the programme.

• Women invested their business earnings in their families: 68 per cent contributed to food costs, 54 per cent to health care and 33 per cent to their children’s education.

• Women whose husbands participated in husbands’ clubs in Burkina Faso reported considerably less emotional abuse: 15.5 per cent, compared with 50 per cent among women whose husbands had not participated.

• Progress remained uneven: secondary-school completion ranged from 19.3 to 77.6 per cent, while the long-term survival of women-led businesses declined in several countries.

Greater control over reproductive choices

Some of the clearest gains concerned reproductive health and decision-making. Across the six countries studied, the proportion of women reporting that their pregnancies were planned increased by an average of 5 percentage points. The proportion of girls who became pregnant decreased by 4 points over the study period.

In Chad, knowledge of contraceptive methods increased sixfold among programme participants. The ability to access information and make decisions about pregnancy can affect many other aspects of a woman’s life - from her health and education to her ability to earn an income and participate in family decisions.  The findings therefore point to the importance of viewing sexual and reproductive health not as a stand-alone intervention, but as part of a broader approach to women’s and girls’ autonomy.

A greater voice in marriage

The study also recorded changes in women’s and girls’ participation in decisions about marriage. In every country studied, the proportion of participants reporting that they had made their own decision to marry was higher at the end of the study period than at the beginning.

The largest increase was recorded in Mauritania, where the proportion rose from 45.8 per cent to 63 per cent. Consent to marriage also increased in nearly every country. In Mali, it rose from approximately 74 per cent to around 91 per cent.

These results suggest that change is possible even in areas shaped by long-established social and family expectations. At the same time, child marriage remained common among some programme participants, particularly in Chad and Niger. This demonstrates that providing girls with information and support must be accompanied by sustained engagement with parents, men, community leaders and institutions.

Staying in school, and looking beyond enrolment

School retention among girls supported by SWEDD was consistently high in several countries. By 2024, it reached 97.9 per cent in Côte d’Ivoire and 94.9 per cent in Chad. The study found that girls benefited most when different forms of assistance - such as school kits, scholarships and tutoring—were combined rather than provided separately.

For one participant, identified in the study as E4, this support helped keep university within reach. “If I hadn’t benefited from this project, I might have dropped out of school or had trouble getting a passing grade in class,” she said. “It’s thanks to the project that I’m still studying, because to go to university, you have to have a baccalaureate.”

However, the research also distinguished between remaining enrolled and completing secondary education. Completion rates varied considerably, from 77.6 per cent in Mali to 19.3 per cent in Niger. The researchers noted that some girls entered the programme too late in the study period to have completed an entire secondary cycle by 2024.

Others continued to face pressures outside school. A participant identified as C.N. valued the life-skills and hygiene education she received in a safe space but described how domestic responsibilities affected her studies.

“Things are a bit complicated at home, in my family,” she said. “I work a lot in the evenings after I leave school. I find it hard to concentrate.”

Her experience illustrates why helping a girl enroll in school is only part of the challenge. What happens in her home and community can ultimately determine whether she is able to learn, progress and graduate.

When women earn, families benefit

Economic support also changed the role some women played within their households. Among participants running a business, 68 per cent used their earnings to contribute to food costs, 54 per cent to health care and 33 per cent to their children’s education.

Yet sustaining these activities proved challenging. In many countries, the number of businesses still operating began to decline after the second or third year. Mali recorded the highest business survival rate in 2024, at 83 per cent. In Chad, around 30 per cent were still operating by the eighth year.

Most participants who continued running a business earned less than 25,000 CFA francs - approximately $44 - a month.  The findings indicate that helping a woman start a business can create an opportunity, but achieving lasting economic autonomy may require longer-term support, including training, mentoring, access to finance and stronger links to markets.

Change inside the home

Programmes involving husbands and future husbands produced some of the study’s most striking findings.

In Burkina Faso, women whose husbands had participated in a husbands’ club were considerably less likely to report emotional abuse than women whose husbands had not participated - 15.5 per cent compared with 50 per cent.

One woman described a tangible change in her marriage:  “Before, when he wanted to talk to me, he would yell, but since he’s been going to the club, the way we communicate has changed - he speaks gently now.”

But another participant said her husband’s involvement had produced no visible difference: “Honestly, as far as I’m concerned, nothing has changed, even though he took part in the programme offered by the husbands’ club. He hasn’t changed.”

Together, these experiences capture the complexity of changing social norms. The study found that younger men were generally more open to changing their attitudes and behaviours than older men. Some participants also reported being mocked by their peers for joining the clubs, illustrating the social pressure men themselves may face when they depart from established gender expectations.

The findings suggest that engaging men before marriage, while continuing to work with husbands, families and communities, may create stronger foundations for lasting change.

Read the report : “Regional Study on the Economic and Social Transformations in the Lives of Girls and Women Participating in the SWEDD Project (2015–2020) in Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania and Niger—Regional Summary,” June 2025.