WHAT: Side Event on “A High-Level Dialogue on the Launch of the 2025 AU Champion’s Report on Ending Child Marriage and the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme 2.0 (SIARP 2.0)

WHEN: 14 February 2026
TIME:     7:30 – 9:00 a.m. (EAT)

WHERE: Skylight Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

WHO: The high-level Dialogue will be jointly hosted by: 

H.E. Hakainde Hichilema, President of the Republic of Zambia and African Union Champion on Ending Child Marriage and,

H.E. Amb. Amma A. Twum-Amoah, African Union Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development.

WHY: Despite global progress that has prevented an estimated 68 million child marriages over the past 25 years, one in five girls worldwide still marries before the age of 18, and the world remains significantly off-track to achieve SDG Target 5.3 by 2030. Africa is now the global epicentre of child marriage, accounting for more than one-third of the world’s child brides, a share projected to rise to over 40 percent by 2030. In response, the African Union Champion on Ending Child Marriage has commissioned the 2025 AU Champion’s Report, a strategic political instrument that consolidates emerging risks, continental responses, and pathways for acceleration. This will coincide with the launch of SIARP 2.0, a continental flagship platform implemented in partnership with the United Nations and the European Union, aimed at accelerating the elimination of child marriage, violence against women and girls, and harmful practices, while advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights across Africa.

OBJECTIVES: The High-Level Dialogue is convened to formally launch the 2025 AU Champions’ Report on Ending Child Marriage in Africa and SIARP 2.0 as a coordinated continental delivery platform. The Dialogue will bring together Heads of State, Ministers, Member States, and Regional Economic Communities, alongside development partners, the European Union, and United Nations agencies including UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UN Women, in support of the African Union Commission, particularly the Women, Gender and Youth Directorate and the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development. The event aims to elevate political attention to the scale, persistence, and uneven decline of child marriage across Africa, where prevalence remains high and progress is insufficient to meet continental and global targets. It seeks to mobilise high-level leadership to accelerate implementation, strengthen enforcement of legal and policy frameworks, and scale investments in prevention, protection, and response services for women and girls, including children at risk of child marriage, as part of broader efforts to address gender inequality and eliminate gender-based violence.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES:

• Enhanced visibility of the AU Champion’s Report as the continental political and accountability reference for accelerating the elimination of child marriage.
• Strengthened and traceable political and financial commitments by AU Member States, RECs, and development partners to scale national implementation.
• Improved operational alignment across the African Union, its organs, RECs, and development partners to enable delivery through established accountability, legal, and financing instruments.
• Formal positioning of SIARP 2.0., an AU-EU-UN initiative, as a clear example of multilateralism in action and as the African Union’s flagship, high impact initiative continental implementation platform for ending child marriage, eliminating violence against women and girls and harmful practices, and advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights across Africa.

PARTICIPANTS:

This high-level dialogue will be attended by.

African Union and Member States

• H.E. the President of Zambia and AU Champion on Ending Child Marriage
• Invited Heads of State and Government
• Ministers and senior officials from AU Member States
• Permanent Representatives to the African Union
• National gender, justice, and social development authorities

African Union Commission and AU Organs

• Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (AUC)
• Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (AUC)
• AU Organs and Specialized Agencies
• Regional Economic Communities (RECs)

International Partners

• H.E. Ambassador Javier Niño Pérez, Head of Delegation of the European Union to the African Union
• United Nations, including UNDCO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, and UN Women
• World Bank Group / IFC
• International advocacy and development partners

Other Stakeholders

• Civil society organisations
• Academia and think tanks
• Media and journalists
• Frontline service providers

For more information, contact:

Dr. Olubusayo Akinola, Head, Social Welfare, Drug Control and Crime Prevention Division | email: AkinolaO@africanunion.org

For media inquiries, contact:

Godstime Gaius | Information and Communication Directorate | African Union | gaiusg@africanunion.org