Lusaka, Zambia, 15 June 2017 – Ahead of the meeting of Heads of State and Government Meeting taking place in Addis Ababa early next month the President of the Republic of Zambia His Excellency President Lungu was briefed on the activities of the African Union Campaign to End Child Marriage.
President Lungu was appointed Champion by the current chair of the African Union, H.E. Prof Alpha Conde of Guinea during the high-level breakfast on the implementation of the Common African Position on Ending Child Marriage that took place on the sidelines of the 28th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly Heads of State and Government. The President is expected to present a report to the 29th ordinary session of the African Union Assembly Heads of State and Government.
“Zambia has embarked upon a multi-sectoral approach where line ministries have formed a consortium to draw synergies and linkages to ensure that all aspects of the development of the girl-child and also the vulnerable boys are addressed in a comprehensive manner” said president Lungu.
The President highlighted during the meeting Zambia’s progress in reducing early child marriage cases from 60 percent in 2013 down to 45 percent in 2017. He attributed this to the multisectoral approach by Government to fight the practice. During the meeting the President also presented the National Strategy, the National Plan of Action and other key documents that the country has been using in the campaign on ending child marriage in Zambia including an information package containing Zambia progress towards ending the harmful practice.
‘We cannot realise the Agenda 2063 aspirations of a transformed and prosperous Africa if we do not do not everything in our power to end this harmful practice of child marriage”’ said Her Excellency Amira El Fadil, the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs. “It therefore critical that we forge partnerships at the community, national, regional and international levels to mobilise adequate resources for action” she added.
During the meeting Commissioner Amira El Fadil updated the President on the campaign progress, challenges and its future directions. The Commissioner reported that 20 countries out of the 30 targeted countries with the highest Child Marriage rates had launched the campaign. These country launches are key in enhancing advocacy against child marriage at the national level. This has already been demonstrated through the high level political commitment from Member States at Heads of State and First ladies level as well as community social mobilisation in countries with high prevalence of child marriages. The President was further briefed on the outcomes of the Specialised Technical Committee on Social Development, Labour and Employment that came up with key recommendations on ending child marriage in Africa.
The African Union launched the continent wide Campaign to End Child Marriage on 29 May 2014, with a focus on policy advocacy for the protection and promotion of human rights. The campaign seeks to accelerate change across the continent by encouraging African governments to develop strategies to raise awareness and address the harmful impact of child marriage as well as expediting and invigorating the movement to end the practice. The campaign has supported many countries to put in place clearly defined national strategies and action plans to end the harmful practice of child marriage.
About the AU Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa:
The AU Campaign to End Child Marriage was launched at the continental level in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 29 May 2014, during the Conference of Ministers of Social Development. The Campaign is aimed at ending child marriage by means of supporting and advocating legal and policy actions in the protection and promotion of human rights; mobilizing continental awareness of the adverse socio-economic impact of child marriage; fostering social movement and social mobilization at the grassroots and national levels; and amplifying the capacity of non-state actors to undertake evidence based policy advocacy including the role of youth leadership through new media technology, monitoring and evaluation - amongst others. The AU Campaign to End Child marriage has been launched in 19 Member States Benin will be following being the 20th Member State preparing to launch on the Day of the African Child on 16 June 2017.
For more information:

Ms. Nena Thundu; THUNDUN@africa-union.org
Mr. Tawanda Chisango, chisangot@afric-union.org

www.endchildmarriagenow.org | www.facebook.com/OurGirlsAfrika www.twitter.com/ourgirlsau

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