Adolescent girls’ empowerment policy, health awareness, and decision-making: Evidence from the SABLA program in India

In India, adolescent girls are highly vulnerable, facing risks that hinder their healthy development into young women. India’s Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (SABLA) aims to address these challenges by promoting health awareness and encouraging decision-making autonomy, fostering women’s development. Using data from the nationally representative India Demographic and Health Survey (IDHS) and exploiting exogenous variations in the program’s rollout across districts and birth cohorts, we provide evidence that exposure to SABLA increases the likelihood of young female participants using family planning and modern family planning methods. Furthermore, it indicates that participants are more likely to adopt a healthier diet, characterized by increased consumption of green leafy vegetables and reduced intake of fried foods. Additionally, the program empowers participants to have control over their financial resources. The findings also reveal a significant reduction in the likelihood of anemia among women who were exposed to the program. Notably, our results suggest that SABLA contributes to delaying women’s marriage and their first childbirth. We find that women exposed to the program have fewer children than their counterparts and face fewer pregnancy losses. To account for COVID-19 disruptions, we include a COVID dummy variable. While the pandemic affected family planning, nutrition, and anemia, SABLA’s positive impact on health and empowerment remains strong. Notably, it did not affect women’s role in household decision-making, highlighting its lasting effect on empowerment.