Guideline

WHO guideline on preventing early pregnancy and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries

Year of Publication

2025

Issuing Institution

World Health Organization

Links

WHO IRIS

Recommendations

13 included recommendations

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends the implementation of interventions to empower girls by building their knowledge, skills, assets and social networks.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends that programmes aiming to reduce child marriage and support married girls engage with parents/guardians, boys and men, and the broader community to create and sustain a gender-equitable and enabling environment.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends offering conditional incentives (conditioned on school attendance and/or remaining unmarried) as a broad strategy to increase educational attainment and reduce child marriage as a part of social protection interventions for girls at highest risk of child marriage.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends the implementation of interventions to remove gender related barriers to education and ensure girls’ completion of 12 years of quality education.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends the implementation of interventions aimed at the economic empowerment of girls to improve their financial literacy, access to savings, and employment skills and prospects, and to expand alternatives to marriage before age 18.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends the formulation and implementation of laws that restrict marriage before age 18, consistent with human rights standards.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Very low

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends the implementation of gender-transformative behaviour change interventions with adolescents to strengthen their ability to make decisions about their contraceptive use.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends the implementation of interventions to shift gender and other social norms to support contraceptive decision-making and access to, uptake of, and continued use of contraception among adolescents.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Self-administered injectable contraception should be made available as an additional approach to deliver injectable contraception for individuals of reproductive age.

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Over-the-counter oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) should be made available without a prescription for individuals using OCPs.

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Very low

WHO recommends making over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pills available without a prescription to individuals who wish to use emergency contraception.

Status

Maintained

Recommended in favor

Strong

Certainty of evidence

Moderate

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends the implementation of interventions to reduce financial barriers related to access to, uptake of, and continued use of contraception among adolescents.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Very low

Preventing child marriage and responding to the needs and rights of married girls. WHO recommends the implementation of accurate and safe digital health interventions for adolescents as part of sexual and reproductive health programming.

Status

Updated

Recommended in favor

Conditional

Certainty of evidence

Low