Empowering Adolescent Girls during a Global Pandemic: An Initiative through the Scheme for Adolescent Girls and the Kanyashree Prakalpa Convergence (SAG-KP) Program

Abstract:We discuss the shift in program modalities during COVID-19 within the Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Kanyashree Prakalpa (SAG-KP) Convergence Program in the state of West Bengal, India. Field insights as well as available program data from the Child in Need Institute's (CINI) intervention areas revealed that strict lockdowns and restricted unlocking phases during the pandemic led to changed program pathways—from offline/in-person activities to online adolescent group discussions and health message dissemination, plus counselling services through social media and telephone. Prolonged school closures impelled the adolescent girls to undertake vocational/skill-based training, including kitchen garden work to supplement their nutritional needs. The circulation of key messages through online groups also helped in preventing child marriages. Important lessons learned from the lockdown phase are that adolescent girls can benefit from regular contact and regular online/offline sessions or workshops.