Ecuador Launches 2026-2035 Policy to Reduce Adolescent Pregnancy

Ecuador has launched a new national policy aimed at reducing adolescent pregnancy from 2026 to 2035.

The policy, called Plena 2026-2035, focuses on reducing pregnancies among girls and adolescents, keeping students in school, and coordinating health, education and social-service responses.

The Scale of the Issue

Ecuador records more than 32,200 births each year among girls and adolescents ages 10 to 19.

A 2025 study estimated the problem costs more than $216 million per year through productivity losses, education gaps and health-care spending.

The previous policy period, from 2018 to 2025, reduced the fertility rate among adolescents ages 15 to 19 from 70.40 to 39.55 live births per 1,000 adolescents.

Officials said that reduction prevented 23,588 births.

Where The Policy Starts

The new strategy will initially focus on 46 priority cantons with higher vulnerability levels, including provinces such as Esmeraldas, Manabi, Los Rios and the Amazon region.

The Vice Presidency is coordinating the effort with the ministries of Public Health, Education, Human Development and Government, plus technical support from UN and regional health organizations.

What This Means for Expats

For foreign residents, this is mostly a public-health and education story, not a paperwork story.

But it can affect communities where expats volunteer, teach, donate, run nonprofits, hire local families or support school programs. The practical question is whether the policy turns into local services that actually reach students and families in vulnerable cantons.