New Evidence on Child Marriage Prevention in Ethiopia

From November 25th (International End Violence Against Women Day) through December 10th (International Human Rights Day), USAID joins the international community for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. During this time IMPACT will highlight USAID’s work to combat gender-based violence.

Defined as a formal marriage or informal union before the age of 18 years, child marriage is a practice that increases a girl’s risk of school dropout, maternal mortality, short birth intervals, vulnerability to gender-based violence, and poor mental health, among other adverse outcomes. Estimates suggest that 1 in 3 girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18. In areas such as the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, the prevalence of child marriage (CM) is among the highest in the world, with 2009 estimates showing that 50% of girls were married before the age of 18.

To help address the needs of 50 million adolescents who are already married, USAID invested in programs through PEPFAR to reach more than 220,000 married adolescent girls in Amhara, Ethiopia with access to family planning, STI services, HIV services, financial literacy, and menstruation management.

To help combat child marriage before it happens, USAID invests in research to prevent CM in “hot spot” areas with high CM prevalence. In Amhara, Ethiopia, as well as hot spot regions of Tanzania and Burkina Faso, USAID is supporting an innovative five-arm study on the effectiveness and cost of community education, economic incentives, and educational support on delaying marriage among adolescent girls, compared to control communities not receiving interventions.

Join the conversation with @USAID on Twitter using #16days.

USAID promotes dissemination and use of new evidence on effective strategies for child marriage prevention. A 2013 study (PDF) published by Anastasia Gage, supported under the USAID-funded MEASURE Evaluation project, sheds new light on how exposure to behavior change communication (BCC) affects knowledge and attitudes on CM among parents and guardians in Amhara Region. Although parents and guardians often decide when and who a girl marries, little data exists on effective strategies to change CM attitudes and knowledge among these gatekeepers.

Results from Gage’s study show that almost all parents were exposed to CM prevention messages from 1-2 communication channels.  Social influence was important to parents. Parents who believed their communities disapproved of CM were more likely to believe that marriage before age 18 was too early and that their daughters had the right to choose their own partner. By addressing parental attitudes and perceptions, programs can change social norms around child marriage. Future BCC campaigns on CM prevention should address the role of social influence on parental behaviors and attitudes and reinforce the health, economic, and educational benefits of delayed marriage. Evaluations of BCC programs should include a comparison group, monitor interventions for coverage, and measure changes in behaviors and practices.

USAID continues to support data collection on CM. Since 1984, the Agency has funded more than 260 Demographic and Health (DHS) surveys, which allow for identification of areas with the highest prevalence of CM. USAID supports rigorous evaluations of conditional cash transfer programs to delay CM among girls in India and Bangladesh, countries that account for the largest number of child brides in the world.

Learn more about USAID’s policies to address CM in Ending Child Marriage and Meeting the Needs of Married Children: The USAID Vision for Action. This vision is part of a suite of interlinked gender policies including the U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to GBV Globally, the Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy, National Action Plan on Children in Adversity, Youth in Development Policy and National Action Plan on Women, Peace & Security.