Child marriage is rightly considered a human rights issue, yet it is an economic issue as well. New analysis from the Center for Global Development featured in Accelerating Efforts to End Child Marriage, a new report from the Institute of Global Politics Women’s Initiative at Columbia University, reveals that the costs from deaths, health declines, and lost earnings alone amount to up to $175 billion per year in 27 countries making up 70 percent of the global burden of child marriage. New research from Girls Not Brides, Girls First Fund, and Publish What You Fund finds that only 0.025 percent of recent official development assistance went to projects with a primary objective of ending child marriage, and this funding has been declining. In times of shrinking budgets, what can countries do to ensure progress toward solving this critical issue? What approaches have proven most effective? What are the key challenges and opportunities?
Join CGD, the Institute of Global Politics Women’s Initiative at Columbia University, Girls Not Brides, and the World Bank Africa Gender Innovation Lab for a dynamic discussion featuring voices from across the international development community. This event will explore new research and concrete actions that countries, funders, and communities can take to end child marriage.
Opening Remarks
Rachel Glennerster, President, CGD
Framing Remarks
Kehinde Ajayi, Senior Fellow and Director, Gender Equality and Inclusion Program, CGD
Rachael Pierotti, Senior Social Scientist, Africa Gender Innovation Lab, The World Bank
Panelists
Mustapha Alkali, Deputy Director, International Development Assistance, Federal Ministry of Finance, Nigeria
Laxman Belbase, Global Co-Director, Global Secretariat, MenEngage Alliance
Anju Malhotra, Gender Equity Monitoring Lead, Global Financing Facility and Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins University
Kakenya Ntaiya, CEO & President, Kakenya’s Dream
Moderator
Rachel Vogelstein, Director, Women’s Initiative, Institute of Global Politics, Columbia University
