THE GLOBAL PROGRAMME TO END CHILD MARRIAGE
Globally, one in every five girls is formally married or in an informal union before reaching 18 years of age. Health crises, conflicts and climate change are increasing the risks of child marriage for millions of girls worldwide.
- It is estimated that there will be 10 million additional child brides over the course of the 2020s due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A tenfold increase in conflict-related deaths correlates with a 7% increase in child marriage.
- A 10% change in rainfall due to climate change is associated with a 1% increase in child marriage.
The Global Programme to End Child Marriage is engaging adolescent girls as key agents of change in the following 12 countries with high prevalence of child marriage: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia.
How Zonta helps
Zonta has supported ending child marriage since 2014, contributing US$2 million to delay early marriage in Niger from 2014-2018. From 2018-2022, Zonta contributed US$3.5 million to the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage – the first private-sector donor to the Global Programme. From 2022-2024, Zonta contributed US$1.2 million to support Phase II of the project. 2024 marked the beginning of Phase III for the Global Programme and over the next two years, Zonta International has committed US$1.5 million to support the project.
In Phase I, almost 8 million adolescent girls were reached with life skills and school support, 39 million individuals engaged in community-based behavior change, and 26,000 schools strengthened their adolescent girl-friendly education. Phase II of the Global Programme brought increased political support, resources about healthy and safe decisions, gender-responsive policies, as well as enhanced investments in support for both unmarried and married adolescent girls. Over 6.3 million adolescent girls were empowered with life skills through safe spaces in communities and schools.
Zonta International’s continued support of the Global Programme will focus on strengthening government capacity and ownership of the work and generate important evidence and data to sustain the program long term. These positive changes hold the potential to transform the lives of millions of girls and families all around the world, helping girls enjoy their childhoods and reach a brighter future.
Expected outcomes for the years 2024-2026
- Marginalized adolescent girls demonstrate enhanced knowledge, skills and attitudes on matters such as rights, relationships, sexual and reproductive health, and financial literacy, including in humanitarian contexts.
- Adolescent boys, families, traditional and religious leaders, community groups and other influencers demonstrate more gender-equitable attitudes and support for girls’ rights.
- Capacity of education from primary through secondary school, health and sexuality programs, child protection, and gender-based violence (GBV) systems is increased to deliver quality programs and services that meet the needs of adolescent girls and their families, including in humanitarian contexts.
- Capacity of national and sub-national social protection, poverty reduction and economic empowerment programs and services is increased to respond to the needs of the poorest adolescent girls and their families, including in humanitarian contexts.
- Governments’ capacities are enhanced to fund, coordinate and implement national and sub-national action plans and systems to end child marriage, including strengthening services and response mechanisms for victims of gender-based violence.
- Capacity of governments and non-governmental organizations is increased to generate, disseminate and use quality and timely evidence to inform policy and program design, track progress and document lessons.
The Global Programme will adapt and respond to the ever-changing circumstances and challenges affecting adolescent girls, child marriage, adolescent pregnancy and gender equality. This may include moving interventions to communities displaced by environmental crises or armed conflict; using digital technologies to reach populations in areas made inaccessible by floods or by insecurity; or strengthening community-based structures to ensure the continuity of interventions at the community level. It is imperative that ending child marriage becomes an integral part of all dimensions of humanitarian and climate change programming, including prevention, resilience building, mitigation and response.
Read a detailed project description to find out more about this exciting partnership between Zonta International, UNICEF USA and UNFPA.