UNESCO has recognized CARE Peru with the 2026 UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education for its Niñas con Oportunidades program, an initiative that has been supporting secondary school students since 2016 to strengthen their school retention, complete their education, and develop the tools they need to build their life plans. The award ceremony took place on October 9 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, in the presence of authorities, education leaders, and international organizations.
This recognition places CARE Peru among the only two organizations worldwide to receive the award in 2026. Established in 2015 and funded by the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the UNESCO Prize recognizes innovative contributions to girls’ and women’s education each year. Each laureate receives US$50,000 to strengthen and expand its work.
This award honors CARE Peru and, above all, recognizes the girls, teachers, families, and communities that make Niñas con Oportunidades possible. It is also a commitment to continue innovating and working to improve the quality of education, ensuring that economic circumstances or the place where a girl is born do not determine the opportunities she will have to shape her future
Marilú Martens,Country Director of CARE Peru.
A Peruvian Initiative Delivering Tangible Results
Niñas con Oportunidades was launched in 2016 and is based on a key premise: ensuring that a student remains in school and completes secondary education requires more than simply guaranteeing enrollment. Accordingly, the program takes a comprehensive approach, focusing on socio-emotional skills, overall well-being, financial education with a STEAM approach, and life planning, while also engaging teachers, families, and school communities.
The results show significant progress. An evaluation conducted between 2022 and 2024 found that the proportion of female students who completed the fifth year of secondary school increased from 65% to 82%. At participating schools, the number of adolescent pregnancies decreased from 18 to 9, while among students who had participated in the program for three years, the financial literacy and STEAM index increased by 73.3%.
Furthermore, between 2022 and 2025, Niñas con Oportunidades reached more than 14,000 students and continues to expand its presence across different regions of the country.
