Cash Transfers protect and empower nearly 3,000 Adolescent Girls in Sierra Leone
A holistic Cash Plus approach providing life skills, protection, and opportunity for adolescent girls in Kambia District
Kambia, 12 February 2026 – Feeling reassured and beaming with confidence, 16-year-old Kadiatu Bangura is very hopeful that her dreams of becoming a nurse will soon be realized. She is among nearly 3,000 adolescent girls in seven communities in Kambia District who are being empowered with life skills and cash support to protect them from teenage pregnancy, child marriage and the negative effects of inter-generational poverty.
“I am going to use part of this money to buy some notebooks and stationery and the rest for my daily transportation fare to and from school,” she expressed happily as she counted some bank notes that she had just received after cashing out her mobile money transfer.
She and her colleagues are being supported with quarterly cash transfers in a Cash Plus programme by UNICEF through the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) and in collaboration with civil society partners. Every quarter, each girl receives SLE 360 ($ 15) over a one-year period to cover basic expenses for their education and daily lives, thereby reducing the likelihood of them being taken advantage of or engaging in unsafe relationships.
Sierra Leone has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and child marriage in Africa, where 2 in 10 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 have started childbearing and 3 in 10 under the age of 18 are already married.
The Cash Plus model, which is funded by the German Committee for UNICEF, leverages social protection to help prevent child marriage and teenage pregnancy, builds on the solid foundations already laid by the Global Programme to End Child Marriage (GPECM) that has been implemented in Sierra Leone since 2016.
The programme goes beyond economic support by taking a holistic, community-driven approach to tackle the root causes of child marriage and teenage pregnancy by empowering girls and supporting their families to build a safer, more promising future for them.
“I dropped out of school just after I took the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at the age of 15 because I never listened to the advice of my parents,” Kadiatu lamented. “Now, I’m back in school and grateful to this programme for helping me to return to school and complete my education.”
“I used my cash support last quarter to buy additional books, a pair of shoes and a pair of socks and reserved a small portion for motorbike transport fares to and from school every day,” she added as she hurried away to school.
In addition to financial support, the girls, together with their caregivers and communities, are being empowered with life skills and behavioural change engagements such as menstrual hygiene and positive parenting in their “safe spaces”. The safe spaces are private and secluded areas such as empty classrooms or under trees in backyards where adolescent girls routinely converge to discuss issues affecting their wellbeing without the presence and involvement of others.
“In the safe spaces, I learnt a lot of life skills, and these have helped shaped my understanding of life and positioned me to remain focused to achieve my dream of becoming a nurse,” Kadiatu continued. “For instance, I learnt about hygiene, child marriage and teenage pregnancy and how these affect our growth and development.”
For Kadiatu’s mother, Salaymatu, the Cash Plus programme has not only been a lifeline support to her daughter but also contributed to promoting good social values in the family through positive parenting.
“My daughter not only attends school regularly but also has conversations and discussions with me relating to her wellbeing and those of her siblings,” she said as they bonded together after an evening discussion in the backyard of their home.
