On International Day of the Girl, observed annually on Oct. 11, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is calling for greater action to ensure girls everywhere have the health, education, protection, and opportunities they need to thrive and reach their full potential.

Despite decades of progress, major barriers continue to limit girls’ opportunities. HIV continues to disproportionately affect girls in many parts of the world. In 2025, girls accounted for more than two-thirds of all new HIV infections among adolescents globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost six times as many adolescent girls acquired HIV as adolescent boys. Additionally, an estimated 133 million girls globally did not attend school in 2024. These disparities reinforce the need to ensure they have access to accurate sexual and reproductive health information and HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services that allow them to make informed decisions about their lives and health.

Child marriage remains another serious threat to girls’ health, education, and independence. Each year, 12 million girls are married before age 18. Child marriage also makes it difficult for girls to negotiate safer sex with their husbands, who are often older, leaving them especially vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, gender-based violence, and limited access to services and information.

“Every girl deserves the freedom to grow up healthy, stay in school and make her own decisions about her future. But millions of girls are still being denied those opportunities because of inequality, violence, child marriage, and barriers to health care and education,” said Loretta Wong, AHF Deputy Chief of Global Advocacy & Policy. “We must give girls the knowledge, resources, and support to protect their health, develop their potential, and lead change in their lives and communities. This includes championing policies and services that are responsive to the health needs of young people. We urge governments, communities, families, and civil society to break down these barriers that continue to hold girls back.”

AHF advances those goals through Girls Act, its global girl-led empowerment program that builds leadership, confidence, and life skills among girls and young women. Launched in 2016, AHF operates Girls Act programs in 37 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The program focuses on HIV and STI prevention, supporting girls living with HIV to stay on treatment, reducing unplanned pregnancies, keeping girls in school, and strengthening advocacy, leadership, and peer support.

International Day of the Girl reminds us that empowering girls today creates healthier, stronger, and more equitable communities for generations to come.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 3.3 million people across 50 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

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"We must give girls the knowledge, resources, and support to protect their health, develop their potential, and lead change in their lives and communities."