International Development Grant
Youth Empowered: Preventing Child Early and Forced Marriage in Bangladesh
Project Number: CA-3-P006506001
Status: Closed
Country/Region:
Maximum Contribution: $3,261,141.00
Start Date: March 17, 2021
End Date: February 28, 2025
Duration: 4.0 years
Project Description
This project contributes to the prevention of Child Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) in Bangladesh’s districts of Bagerhat and Sathkira in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This project aims to empower adolescents and youth particularly girls to exert greater control over their sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) decision-making and address the factors that drive CEFM with the support of their families and communities including faith leaders. This project also empowers girls and young women to protect themselves from COVID-19 and its social and economic impacts. Project activities include: (1) strengthening health systems’ capacity to provide gender-responsive COVID-19 and adolescent-friendly SRHR and psychosocial support services including for CEFM for unmarried and married adolescents girls; (2) improving sexual education for adolescent girls in and out of school focusing on building decision-making communication and risk reduction related to SRHR sexual and gender-based violence and CEFM; (3) enhancing adolescent girls and young women’s leadership capacity to challenge harmful gender norms and practices that impact SRHR; (4) empowering women’s organizations men’s groups faith/traditional leaders and child protection influencers to address gender roles cultural barriers and negative CEFM consequences; and (5) supporting families and communities to be COVID-19 responsive while building the community’s capacity and the health care system to provide gender-responsive and adolescent-friendly information and services on COVID-19 prevention. The project expects to directly benefit over 200 000 adolescent boys and girls (of which 110 000 girls/women) and indirectly benefit more than 1 400 000 people.
Expected Results
The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved access to quality gender-responsible and adolescent-friendly SRHR and psychosocial support services; (2) enhanced decision-making of married and unmarried adolescents particularly girls over their sexual and reproductive health and factors that contribute to their CEFM; and (3) strengthened and sustained community advocacy capacity in project areas to support promote and sustain an adolescent-friendly gender-responsive and CEFM-free environment for adolescents and youth particularly girls.
Progress & Results Achieved
Results achieved as of March 2024 include: (1) reached 630 000 individuals (275 648 women and 354 352 men) through community sensitization campaigns. The campaigns highlighted the legal repercussions of child marriage its adverse effect on girls' health and education and the importance of birth registration to protect children's rights and access essential government services; (2) created gender-friendly spaces for girls in schools in terms of WASH facilities and hygiene management through renovations in 30 schools. This includes improving toilet blocks 80 handwashing stations and changing rooms; (3) provided monthly menstrual health and hygiene kits to 16 000 vulnerable girls at 100 schools; (4) trained 450 (401 men and 49 women) faith leaders on gender issues child early and forced marriage (CEFM) and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Also organized orientations with 1 500 members of their faith communities to address harmful social norms and practices. This enabled faith leaders to reference how their religious texts view these issues and mobilize their community members to address the negative impacts of CEFM and SGBV in their communities; (5) formed 100 MenCare groups involving 1 000 men and their partners (1 000 women). Used group-based learning involving men their partners and influential family members such as mothers-in-law to address gender norms that perpetuate inequalities and reinforce the practice of CEFM and SGBV. This includes household responsibilities economic decision-making and access to healthcare; and (6) trained 300 women's organizations leaders and 300 women's organization members on the harmful impacts of CEFM the 2017 Child Marriage Act and available sexual and reproductive health services. Also empowered each women's organization to develop a plan of action to carry out community action and raise awareness regarding these issues.
Key Information
Executing Agency:
World Vision Canada
Reporting Organization:
Global Affairs Canada
Program:
OGM Indo-Pacific
Last Modified:
September 19, 2025
Development Classifications
DAC Sector:
Aid Type: Project-type interventions
Collaboration: Bilateral
Finance Type: Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation
Selection Mechanism:
Unsolicited Proposal