"The study adds to the evidence on whether and how multisectoral interventions that include adolescent-friendly services are able to reduce sex and pregnancy for girls." The majority of adolescent births occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); 2014 data from Kenya, for example, indicate that one in every five girls between 15-19 years is
"The findings reinforce the premise that addressing empowerment for adolescent girls through a multisectoral approach can lead to broader impacts and that cash plus, i.e., supplementing economic resources for the household with social, health and asset-building skills for the girls themselves, can provide a wider range of beneficial impacts for the
".adds to the limited rigorous research available on the effectiveness of such interventions to delay early marriage and fertility in highly impoverished, challenging, and socially conservative settings." Early marriage has multiple drivers, including cultural and social norms and lack of educational and economic opportunities.