The thesis examines how international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) interact with drivers of teenage pregnancies by observing their role in the field of adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Zambia by paying specific attention to social norms. The INGOs’ interactions with other key players in the health sector and with communities are observed to portray the characteristics of their role in altering social norms through various means. Their behaviour is analysed through a case study that is based on data collected through unstructured interviews with four prominent INGOs actively present in Zambia, to further be theoretically analysed by applying a postcolonial feminist perspective to distinguish the power relations that direct the identified patterns of interactions. Lastly, it is concluded that the INGOs’ behaviour is aligned with their growing role in global politics and in the protection and promotion of human rights thinking. It is further suggested that a multisectoral approach to interventions in combination with strengthening the agency of young girls are needed to have a chance to reduce the high number of teenage pregnancies in the long run. 

Key words: Teenage pregnancies, adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, social norms, sub-Saharan Africa, post-colonialism, feminism.