Document
Fighting the Odds, Catalyzing Change
A Strategic Approach to Ending the Global Problem of Child Marriage
About
The 2021 annual report of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage highlights key accomplishments, lessons learned and priorities for the way forward. In 2021, the following programmatic results were achieved:
- Close to 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 the 12 Global Programme countries.
- Close to 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.
- Addressing harmful masculinities and gender norms was a key focus for the Programme, with over 1.1 million boys and men engaged in dialogues and education sessions.
- Over 55 million individuals were reached by traditional mass media and social media messaging on child marriage, the rights of adolescent girls and gender equality.
- Dialogues with traditional and religious leaders and other community influencers was a key Programme approach, with over 163,000 people engaged in meaningful discussions and consensus-building to end child marriage.
- Currently, 6,067 service delivery points are receiving Programme support to provide quality adolescent-responsive services that meet minimum standards.
Accompanying the annual report are 12 country profiles, giving more details of the results and strategies employed in each of the countries: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mozambique, Nepal, the Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia.
