Building brighter futures by empowering girls to say no to marriage

Though child marriage has declined across most regions in the last 25 years, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic no region was on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target of eliminating child marriage by 2030. However, now, up to 10 million more girls will be at risk of child marriage in the next decade due to COVID-19.

The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, which Zonta has supported since 2018, made several adjustments in the wake of COVID-19, including using virtual methods with beneficiaries, adjusting programming, reallocating budgets and more. With these adjustments, the Global Programme achieved the following results in 2021 with the support of Zonta International and other partners: n Nearly 2.6 million adolescent girls (aged 10–19) received life skills and comprehensive sexuality education. This number includes vocational training and start-up capital for small economic investments for some girls across the12 Global Programme countries. n Almost 16 million community members, including adolescent boys and girls, were engaged in meaningful community dialogues on child marriage, the rights of adolescent girls and gender equality. n Addressing harmful masculinities and gender norms was a key focus for the Programme, with more than 1.1 million boys and men engaged in dialogues and education sessions. n More than 55 million individuals were reached by traditional mass media and social media messaging on child marriage, the rights of adolescent girls and gender equality. n Dialogues with traditional and religious leaders and other community influencers was a key approach, with more than 163,000 people engaged in meaningful discussions and consensus-building to end child marriage. n Currently, 6,067 service delivery points are receiving support to provide quality adolescent responsive services that meet minimum standards.

Zonta has supported the Global Programme since 2018 and will continue to contribute to its efforts in the 2022-2024 Biennium. To learn more about this project, visit zonta.org/gpchildmarriage.