The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)–United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Global Programme to End Child Marriage works with many partners to advocate and support practical actions to end child marriage, and to promote gender equality and the empowerment of adolescent girls.

This technical note illustrates how systems for education, health, gender-based violence and child protection, and social protection can coordinate action and contribute to the safety, health and learning of adolescent girls, and build opportunities for them. 

Child marriage, defined as a formal marriage or informal union before age 18, is a global issue impacting the lives of millions of girls each year and hindering progress towards development the world over. Globally, more than 700 million girls and women alive today were married as children. More than one in three of these (about 250 million) entered into union before age 15. This report to the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation covers the period of 2015 to 2017.