Bolivia is a country or more than 10 million people, nearly 70% live in urban areas. Life expectancy is 68 years at birth. Its per capita Gross Domestic Product, purchasing power parity, is 6881 (USD)^[1]. It has significantly improved access to quality primary education, but there is still more to be done to increase access to education for all, improve learning outcomes, and reduce inequalities across the sector, especially for girls. School buildings, for the most part, are poorly constructed or maintained and do not count with basic facilities such as potable water and electricity.^[2]

UNICEF has been in Bolivia since 1950 with the objective of ensuring the fulfillment of the rights of children and adolescents, promoting their development, ensuring their legal protection and their participation in society. These same purposes extend to women and indigenous peoples.^[3]

The WinS4Girls project in Bolivia aims to sensitize learners, school staff, and family members to the importance of MHM, empower girls to adopt healthy behaviors, and to support municipal authorities to effect change at the school level.

The Plurinational State of Bolivia is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Approximately 42% of its 10.6 million inhabitants are indigenous and are divided into 37 native nations. The country has 3.8 million children, 66% of them in the cities.

Over the last 10 years, Bolivia has achieved economic and social improvements, thanks to a favorable international context. Between 2006 and 2015, the average growth rate of gross domestic product was 5% and, in 2013, reached 6.8%. This led Bolivia to be classified as a low-middle-income country by 2015.

Extreme poverty has fallen by 21 percentage points (from 38% in 2006 to 17% in 2014), or 1.7 million fewer people. And, at the same time, the gap between the rich and the poor narrowed. However, despite these socio-economic trends, many children continue to live in poverty, and are the most affected by it. In addition, the economic analysis shows that the country's economy has stagnated in the last two years, which has forced the Government to increase its public debt. This is likely to affect the availability of resources for social programs within the framework of long- and medium-term public development (Patriotic Agenda 2025 and Economic and Social Development Plan 2016-2020), which in turn could lead to cuts in initiatives aimed at reducing poverty and inequality, especially in marginalized indigenous peoples.

Bolivia is also experiencing rapid urbanization and the exodus of the indigenous people to the cities. Its four largest cities hold almost half of the total population. These trends are resulting in improvised settlements, poor and insufficient infrastructure, pollution and land degradation, as well as increased pressure on the basic services; freshwater reserves and increased risk of insecurity and vulnerability to all forms of violence. These trends are also likely to lead to depopulation and shortages of basic services in large rural areas or even entire municipalities, putting children and adolescents at risk.

Children face several challenges that affect their chances of survival and development.