CHILD MARRIAGE UNIT HOLDS NATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS’ MEETING ON ENDING CHILD MARRIAGE IN GHANA

The Child Marriage Unit of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, in collaboration with UNFPA Ghana and UNICEF Ghana, has held a two-day National Stakeholders’ Meeting on Ending Child Marriage in Ghana.

Organised under the theme; “Achieving Gender Equality, Empowering Futures: Accelerating Action to End Child Marriage”, the meeting served as a platform to review and assess interventions implemented by partners and stakeholders towards achieving the goal of ending child marriage in the country.

Among other things, the meeting sought to;

– Report and conduct a collective review of the progress in the implementation of activities of stakeholders on ending child marriage in Ghana for the year under review.

– Launch and disseminate the new Operational M&E plan for 2025-2026 baseline and targets.

– Discuss and agree on the process to develop the new national strategic framework on Ending Child Marriage (2027) in consultation with stakeholders, among others.

In a statement read on behalf of the Ministry, the Director for the Social Protection Directorate, Madam Francisca Atuluk stated that child marriage remains a major barrier to Gender equality and national development.

She emphasized that while progress has been made in recent years through policy reforms and community-based interventions, the heinous practice continues to persist in some parts of the country due to poverty, harmful cultural norms and limited access to education.

Madam Francisca Atuluk commended the UNICEF Ghana and UNFPA Ghana for their unwavering support, commitment to the Ministry and the Child Marriage Unit. She tasked the stakeholders to be guided by a vision of Ghana where every child grows in safety, dignity, opportunity, a country where no girl is deprived of education, health, and dreams.

The Head of the Child Marriage Unit, Madam Saphia Tamimu indicated that the various work to end child marriage is interconnected and no single institution can end the act alone. She revealed that through collective partnerships, evidence-based programming and active participation of communities, the country can create a positive lasting change on child marriage.

Speaking at the meeting the representatives from the UNFPA Ghana and UNICEF Ghana noted that child marriage does not only violate the right of the girl child but robs them of the Child education, health and future opportunities. In a good will message, the development partners charged all to work together and see to it that no girl under the age 18years is married off in Ghana.

A major highlight was on the 2025 activities, including the status of GTA Roadmap Implementation.

Presentations focused on the overview of the National Operational M&E plan for ending Marriage 2025-2026, Empowerment of Girls by NGOs/CSOs, Community engagement, among others.

The meeting commenced on Tuesday, 9th and ended on Wednesday 10th December 2025. It underscored the importance of empowering girls as a critical strategy in the fight against child marriage.

Source: MoGCSP