D-Prize: Girl's Education Challenge

Deadline: 2018-10-14
Award: $20,000
Open to: Everyone*

In sub-Saharan Africa, an unwanted pregnancy or HIV infection can quickly erase a young girl’s chance out of poverty. An unwanted pregnancy often results in girls dropping out of school. This is the future for a shocking 10 percent of teenage women in sub-Saharan Africa.

A root cause is cross-generational relationships. Teenage girls are commonly preyed upon by older men known as “sugar daddies,” who give money and gifts in exchange for sex. Older men have been sexually active longer and with more partners, and thus are a high risk group to transmit HIV.

A proven solution exists in the form of “sugar daddy awareness” classes. With this intervention, a field worker visits a classroom of 8th grade girls and facilitates a discussion on the relative risks

We will award up to $20,000 to a social entrepreneur who can run a pilot program and teach “sugar daddy awareness” classes to at least 5,000 girls in three-months. A winning entrepreneur will also have a plan to grow to reach 250,000 girls within two years.