The Evidence

Because I am a Girl:
The State of the World’s Girls 2009
Girls in the Global Economy: Adding It All Up

The global economic crisis is a stark reminder that we live in a globalised and interdependent world.

The World Bank has warned that an extra 700,000 African babies are likely to die before their first birthday as a result of the crisis. Most of them will be girls, who are five times more likely to be affected by increases in the infant death rate than boys.  There is also a clear link between the lack of investment in girls and lack of economic growth. Find out more

State of the World’s Girls Reports

Because I am a Girl: The State Of The World’s Girls is a series of nine reports from Plan International examining the rights and needs of girls throughout their childhood, adolescence and as young women – and how they are uniquely placed to break the cycles of intergenerational poverty gripping many people in developing countries.

First published in 2007, the reports will be released each year in the run up to 2015, the target year for the Millennium Development Goals.

As part of the report series, researchers from Plan are following a group of 135 girls from nine countries around the world from birth until their ninth birthday. Their stories help illuminate the decisions and choices families worldwide face as their daughters grow up, and are a vivid reminder that the facts and figures contained in each report are about real people – real girls and their families.