Prospects for Ending Child Marriage in Africa - Executive Brief

This executive brief is a synthesis of key findings and recommendations from a multi country analytical study by UN Women on child marriage in Africa covering ten countries selected due to their comparatively higher prevalence of child marriage in the continent and globally. The focus of the study was on the state and implementation of policies/legislation, interventions, cultural/religious practices in the countries in relation to the elimination of child marriage. A critical emphasis of the study was on the nexus between the existence and implementation of the policies/legislation, and the dominant cultural and religious practices that affect the outcomes of the interventions in those countries, especially in identified hotspot areas within the countries. The study was conducted in the period 2017/2018 and targeted DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria and Tanzania.

The study builds on the African Union’s (AU) Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa. The specific objectives of the study included: conducting an analytical review of existing customary practices and statutory policies on child marriage with the view of identifying drivers of success and gaps that are hampering success; assessing and mapping existing and ongoing child marriage community, national and regional initiatives and identifying the intervention gaps and;  proposing programmatic interventions that could be adopted to reduce the high prevalence of child marriage in the targeted countries specifically and in Africa in general. The background, methodology and detailed findings and recommendations of the study are found from the overall report of the study- Multi-Country Analytical Study of Policies, Interventions and Cultural Practices on Child Marriage in Africa.