We had to pivot, like many of my colleagues mentioned earlier, very quickly within the pandemic. That was where the NGO's agility really worked, because within months we were able to change and pivot all our programs.
For the girls, the biggest one we were focusing on—and continue to focus on—is keeping them in school, whether it's remote learning, radios—as we talked about—or all kinds of other mechanisms, because we know if girls stay in school, the likelihood of them getting married early will be reduced. Already in the pandemic, we are seeing a huge increase in suspected early forced marriage. Keeping girls in school was a big one.
Distance learning was possible in some countries, such as in Ghana. We had remote learning in northern Ghana but it's not always possible in all contexts. Internet connectivity is not equal around the world so you have to be very context-positive. It was not available in all places.
The second program that we've focused on a lot for girls—especially adolescent girls, who tend to be forgotten—is the access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services. The health systems in developing and especially fragile contexts are poor as it is. With COVID, the sexual and reproductive health services were almost forgotten. There's the necessity to continue access to those services, which means training the front-line health workers, providing PPE, making sure there's understanding about this disease and raising awareness in the community as well as in the family about COVID. That was a huge task in the first few months.
The third one that I wanted to highlight is on food security. We are seeing huge surges in lack of food in many parts of the world. It's interesting because it wasn't due to COVID in that community but to the supply chain and the connectivity all around the world. It has created huge challenges. We are providing a lot of special food services and food assistance through vouchers and cash programs, and we are making sure women and girls are getting those.
Those are some quick examples from around the world to make sure the girls are kept safe at home because, as we heard earlier, there is a rise in gender-based violence at home. Home is the place they were, yet they were not always as safe as we would have liked them to be. Ensuring those kinds of services and awareness are available for girls, especially adolescent girls, is a big priority and remains so.
Thank you.