Grand-Bassam Joint Declaration

In West and Central Africa, 39% of girls are married before the age of 18. The region is home to seven of the ten countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage in the world. Niger has the highest rate, with 76% of girls married before the age of 18 and 28% married before the age of 15. Côte d’Ivoire is home to over 2 million child brides; 1 in 4 young women were married in childhood. Child marriage rates vary considerably depending on the context. In West and Central Africa, child marriage is more than twice as common in rural areas as in urban areas, and more than three times as common in the poorest quintile of the population as in the richest.

This alarming reality reflects a profound crisis in children's rights and gender equality. Child marriage deprives girls of their right to education, compromises their health, restricts their social and economic participation, and exposes them to multiple forms of violence. Ending child marriage is not only a human rights imperative, it is also a matter of justice, equity and sustainable development.

In the face of this urgency, we reaffirm our collective belief that education is a powerful lever for social transformation. The evidence is clear: girls who stay in school are less likely to marry early, have better economic prospects, and participate actively in their communities.

Education protects, empowers and transforms.

But for education to play this role to the full, it must be inclusive, equitable and transformative in terms of gender equality. This means tackling the structural roots of exclusion - patriarchy, poverty, discrimination - and designing safe, caring and rights-based learning environments that value girls' autonomy, dignity and leadership.

It is in this spirit that we, representatives of national coalitions for education and the coalitions working to end child marriage (ECM), young activists, civil society organisations from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, regional and continental institutions and global partners - including Girls Not Brides, ANCEFA, Girls First Fund, FAWE, African Union CIEFFA, UNGEI, Bantare Impact Group, Global Campaign For Education and others - gathered in Grand Bassam, Côte d'Ivoire, affirm our common commitment to a region where every girl is protected from early and forced marriage and child union (CEFMU).

We reaffirm that access to free, quality, safe education is a fundamental right for every child and call on all governments to implement transformative education systems towards gender equality.

We recognise the urgent need to address the interconnected humanitarian crises - poverty, conflict and climate change, all of which are undermining girls' rights - and reaffirm our determination to mobilise collectively to ensure that no girl is left behind.

Our collective vision

We aspire to a future where every girl is educated, empowered and free to make informed choices about her life and her future.

We believe that transformative gender education and the elimination of child marriage are essential to achieving child development, social justice, gender equality and sustainable development in West Africa.

Our shared commitments

1. Advancing gender transformative education (GTE)

• Encourage legislative reforms and support school policies, programmes and environments that challenge harmful gender norms, promote equality and empower girls.

2. End child marriage by 2030

• Work to align all national legislation with the minimum legal age of marriage of 18, without exception, and implement national strategies and action plans to achieve this.
• Advocate at national and regional level for the implementation of commitments made at global, continental, regional and/or national level, and the respect and appropriation of laws at community level.

3. Increase and monitor education funding

• Advocate that governments meet their commitments to devote at least 20% of national budgets to education spending, with specific funding allocated for the education of girls and marginalised communities.

4. Strengthening the commitment and leadership of young people

• Create opportunities for young girls and boys to learn about and participate in political dialogue, particularly young people from rural communities.
• Strengthen advocacy for the institutionalisation of meaningful participation by young people in the design, implementation and monitoring of education policies, especially in their respective communities.

5. Ensuring learning in crisis situations

• Recognise that girls are particularly vulnerable in times of crisis and that they need specific and adequate support.
• Developing and implementing gender-sensitive educational responses, particularly in humanitarian and conflict contexts.

6. Strengthening data and accountability

• Strengthen and finance the collection and dissemination of gender-sensitive data on inequalities and interactions between gender and the environment.
• Use gender-disaggregated data and support civil society-led monitoring to measure progress.
• Draw on the first African Union/UNESCO Continental Report on the State of Education for Girls and Women to learn about the progress made and the persistent challenges in West African countries.

7. Encourage multi-sector collaboration

• Strengthen coordination between the education, child protection, health and justice sectors in national and regional responses to end child marriage and promote girls' education.

8. Enhance positive masculinity to combat early and forced marriages and child unions and promote girls' education.

The way forward

We undertake to implement this declaration collectively and to follow it up by finalising and implementing the regional strategy through:

• regional collaboration,
• national action plans, and
• shared learning.

We call for a meeting in 2026 to assess progress, adjust priorities and reaffirm our shared commitment.

Signatories

• Girls Not Brides
• ANCEFA
• BANTARE IMPACT GROUP
• AU CIEFFA
• GIRLS FIRST FUND
• FAWE
• Global Campaign for Education
• Coalitions Education Pour Tous (EPT):
  • Benin,
  • Burkina Faso,
  • Cote d’Ivoire,
  • Mali,
  • Niger,
  • Senegal,
  • Togo
• Coalition Fin Marriage Enfants (FME)
  • Benin,
  • Burkina Faso,
  • Cote d’Ivoire,
  • Mali,
  • Niger,
  • Senegal,
  • Togo.