"When I come to the safe space, I feel confident. I have learned that my place is also at school and that my future is important. My dream is to become a teacher, so that I can help other girls learn and succeed. I want to continue my studies and go as far as possible."

In Moussoro, a town in Chad’s Bahr El Gazal province, Nadège Nemercie joins other adolescent girls each week in a small group known as a safe space where they meet with a female mentor to talk about life, their health and how to plan for the future.

For many girls in sub Saharan Africa, those conversations can make a decisive difference. Social pressure, early marriage and limited access to reproductive health information often lead girls to leave school early and become mothers while still teenagers - a pattern that increases health risks for both mothers and babies.

Nadège’s father, Abdoulaye Adoum, says community discussions helped him rethink long-held assumptions about girls’ education and early marriage.

"In our community, customs and traditions are very important. For a long time, we thought that certain practices were normal. But through discussions, I have come to understand that educating and protecting girls does not go against our values – quite the contrary. Today, I am committed to supporting my daughter so that she can continue her education and have a better future. Respecting our traditions also means guaranteeing the future of our children, both girls and boys."

Across the Sahel, thousands of girls like Nadège are taking part in similar groups supported through the SWEDD+ (Sub Saharan Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Plus) project. The initiative now operates in Burkina Faso, Chad, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and Togo, working with governments and communities to support adolescent girls, expand access to reproductive health services and improve maternal health outcomes.

At the center of the approach are safe spaces for adolescent girls, where trained mentors lead meetings to help girls gain information about early pregnancy, family planning and birth spacing, as well as learning about entrepreneurship and financial stability.

Mentor Himane Tahaa, who facilitates sessions in Chad, says the impact of these spaces is visible.

“Being a mentor in a safe space means supporting girls on a daily basis, listening to them and helping them believe in themselves. Here, they find a space where they can express themselves freely, learn and plan for the future,” said Himane.  “Today, I can see the real impact of these spaces. But in our province, the needs are still enormous. We need more Safe Spaces, because the current number is not enough to meet the needs of all the girls who need them."

Alongside life skills education for girls, SWEDD+ also supports maternal health services and family planning, particularly in rural areas. The programme trains midwives, strengthens reproductive health supply chains and works with communities to encourage birth spacing, which helps reduce risks associated with closely spaced pregnancies.

Community engagement is another key element. In Burkina Faso, initiatives such as Husbands’ Clubs bring men together to discuss shared responsibilities and the importance of supporting women’s health and girls’ education. In Mauritania, religious leaders have also been engaged to promote girls’ education and responsible family planning, helping ensure that messages about women’s health resonate within communities.

Across the region, the SWEDD and SWEDD+ programmes have expanded from six initial countries in 2015 to a broader regional effort supporting governments to invest in adolescent girls. 

On International Women’s Day, stories like Nadège’s highlight a broader shift underway across the Sahel. With support from their families, mentors and communities, more empowered girls are staying in school longer, avoiding child marriage, gaining information about their health and preparing for futures that previous generations of girls rarely had the chance to imagine.