There is an emerging global awareness about the threat to education of adolescents from teenage marriages and early and unintended pregnancies. Early pregnancies not only cause girls to drop out of school, they also impact heavily on their health, social and economic outcomes.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, about 70,000 adolescents in developing countries die annually of causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Statistics gleaned from Work Bank population datasets indicate that on average, Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest fertility rate among 15–19 year-olds, with 103 births per 1,000 girls.