UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund

Published purpose

This project aims to strengthen action toward ending child, early and forced marriage by increasing investments in evidence-based, girl-centered approaches to ending the harmful practice and upholding the rights of adolescent girls. The project supports governments and civil society to reach the most marginalized adolescent girls and eliminate child marriage. UNFPA is supporting governments by making targeted investments at scale to reach thousands of girls at risk of and affected by child marriage, through proven interventions (primarily community-level girl groups) that provide opportunities for social participation and leadership, developing life skills and literacy and accessing health services. The project simultaneously strives to create a more favourable environment for adolescent girls at the community and national levels. Project activities include: (1) establishing safe girl-only spaces, in which girls can receive peer support and access female solidarity networks; (2) developing and implementing curriculum for adolescent empowerment; (3) providing life skills education to adolescent girls and building their capacities in e-literacy, financial literacy and vocational skills; (4) providing technical assistance to improve access to quality health programs for adolescent girls; (5) supporting key national, regional and local authorities to build evidence around child marriage and adolescent pregnancy; and (6) engaging with officials to support national strategy for the abolition of child, early and forced marriage and the reduction of teenage pregnancy.