UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage

Global momentum towards ending child marriage has never been stronger, with several resolutions by the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council urging countries to increase investments in eliminating the practice.

The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage promotes the rights of adolescent girls to avert marriage and pregnancy, and enables them to achieve their aspirations through education and alternative pathways. The Global Programme supports households in demonstrating positive attitudes, empowers girls to direct their own futures, and strengthens the services that allow them to do so, including sexual and reproductive health and social protection programmes. It also addresses the underlying conditions that sustain child marriage, advocating for laws and policies that protect girls' rights while highlighting the importance of using robust data to inform such policies.

The Global Programme is generously funded by the Governments of Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, the European Union through the Spotlight Initiative, and Zonta International.

Some notable results from the programme in 2022 show:

• In Nepal, 57,000 girls participated in life skills education, with 64 per cent of the girls aged 15-19 years old reporting to have increased self-efficacy and that they can negotiate the delay of marriage and speak up without fear after participating in the programme.
• In Sierra Leone, over 60,000 community members participated in dialogues to promote gender equality, including specific sessions engaging men and boys on harmful masculinities, and sessions with traditional and religious leaders for consensus-building around ending child marriage. In a study on social norms in the country, 96 per cent of the respondents agree that child marriage should be discontinued and nine out of ten say that they now wish to live in a community where girls do not have to marry before turning 18 years old. 
• In Ethiopia, over 1,300 local women development groups have been supported to drive change and challenge harmful gender norms in their communities. 
• In Zambia, 1,244 community welfare assistant committees were established with the support of the programme, training committee members on case management that reached over 13,000 adolescents with child protection, health, education and other social services through referrals and follow-ups. 

“Through the life skills training, as well as the group activities with other girls, I feel I have transformed into a new person. I realized my self-worth and have better self-esteem, and I now feel that I am a person that can achieve anything in life.”  

Fatma, 17, internally displaced from Ibb, Yemen 

The Global Programme achieves results for girls by aligning key players in education, child protection, social protection, social and behaviour change, gender, health and other sectors. The Programme builds the capacities of Governments and non-government organizations while engaging with communities and partners for more harmonized action and accountability.

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Last modified July 2024