Enhancing the capacity of young girls committed to the eradication of child marriage in West Africa from 2018 to 2020

Project: « Enhancing the capacity of young girls committed to the eradication of child marriage in West Africa »

Financial partner: African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF)

Total Cost: 548 000 $

Duration : 2 years

Countries : Mali- Togo

Objective: Strengthening and organising girl activists and mobilising other strategic actors to contribute to the eradication of child marriage in 2 West African countries

Results:

• 60 girls strengthened at the heart of the project
• 97.9% of the girls trained have strengthened their legal skills and knowledge against for an initial target of 90%;
• 95.8% of the girls trained acquired new knowledge in reproductive health for an initial target of 90%;
• 95.8% of the girls trained undertook actions towards the eradication of GBV for an initial target of 90%.
• 65% of the traditional and religious leaders mobilised took action to change customs and stop child marriage in their locality for an initial target of 60%: abandonment of four (4) customs identified (two traditional norms per country) by girls and communities as favourable to the practice of child marriage in Mali and Togo, sanctioned by the signing of declarations in Tamongue, Lama-Tessi and Kayes
• 24 girls whose rights have been abused have accessed the multi-faceted support services they need through referral from girl leaders;
• 12 groups of girl leaders are operational for a target of 12, i.e. 100%;
• 9 denunciations of child marriages by girls were recorded during the project period
• 32 actions undertaken by the communities themselves to denounce child marriages
• 12 vulnerable girls and/or victims of child marriage assisted.
• Community, media and digital awareness campaigns on child marriage and COVID-19;
• Intergenerational dialogue: About a hundred community actors, namely township chiefs, neighbourhood chiefs, marriage counsellors, godmothers of marriages, traditional canvassers, association representatives, girl leaders, and young boy leaders took part in an intergenerational dialogue in order to create spaces for dialogue to discuss the customs that have a negative impact on child marriage;
• Development of an action plan following the Intergenerational dialogue meetings
• Putting up signs in localities covered by the project to raise awareness against child marriage;