Leveraging large-scale sectoral programmes to prevent child marriage
Objectives
The report aims to examine how large-scale sectoral programmes can be leveraged to prevent child marriage, using case studies from Ethiopia, West Bengal and Bihar. It seeks to identify pathways through which social protection and education-focused cash transfer schemes influence child marriage and to document how “cash plus” components can strengthen their effects. It also aims to draw lessons and implications for the UNFPA–UNICEF Global Programme and for governments seeking to integrate child marriage prevention into existing large programmes.
Findings
The report aims to examine how large-scale sectoral programmes can be leveraged to prevent child marriage, using case studies from Ethiopia, West Bengal and Bihar. It seeks to identify pathways through which social protection and education-focused cash transfer schemes influence child marriage and to document how “cash plus” components can strengthen their effects. It also aims to draw lessons and implications for the UNFPA–UNICEF Global Programme and for governments seeking to integrate child marriage prevention into existing large programmes.
Recommendations
The report recommends deeper, context-specific analysis of the drivers of child marriage and of how large programmes actually affect marriage decisions. It calls on the Global Programme and partners to systematically identify large social protection, education and related schemes that can be leveraged and to use research, pilots and evaluations to design effective cash plus components. It urges stronger advocacy to integrate these components into programme design, promote interdepartmental collaboration, and build the capacity of implementers. It also recommends sustained investment in monitoring and evaluation and in robust management information systems so that programmes can be refined over time and successful models scaled up to accelerate progress towards ending child marriage.
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