On a red running track in eastern Uganda, coach Zuena Cheptoek is doing more than training runners. For many girls in the Sebei subregion, she is also a confidante, a mentor and first line of protection against female genital mutilation, child marriage and abuse.
Tag Archives: Child marriage
A race for rights: How sport is helping protect girls in Uganda
On a red running track in eastern Uganda, coach Zuena Cheptoek is doing more than training runners. For many girls in the Sebei subregion, she is also a confidante, a mentor and first line of protection against female genital mutilation, child marriage and abuse.
Newly released 2025 scorecard unveils progress and setbacks on health and gender equality across Southern Africa
Geneva, Switzerland, 26 February 2026- /African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has launched its biennial scorecard, a critical tool that tracks progress on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across its 16 Member States. New data, including from demographic health surveys, shows great strides in improving the sexual and reproductive health of people across the region, while in other areas, concerted efforts are urgently needed.
The SADC scorecard offers a regional snapshot of progress towards the implementation of the SADC SRHR Strategy and SRHR targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on health and gender equality. First developed in 2019, the scorecard serves as a social accountability tool and uses a “traffic light” system to track 20 indicators.
The scorecard highlights improvements in reducing adolescent birth rates and the vertical transmission of HIV, while sounding the alarm on a rise in sexually transmitted infections and the need for investments to further reduce maternal mortality:
Lowered Adolescent Birth Rates: Twelve Member States recorded a decline in adolescent births, which can be attributed to the high roll-out of life-skills HIV and comprehensive sexuality education in primary schools.
Decline in HIV infection rates: The region has seen a decline in new HIV infections, however, the latest scorecard suggests that the rate of reduction in new HIV infections amongst adolescent girls and young women aged 15 – 24 years is slowing in seven countries. This could be partially linked to a rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in half of the countries and a decline in condom use in a majority of countries.
Reduction in Maternal Mortality: Six countries recorded significant reductions in maternal mortality, based on their latest national health data. This can be attributed to the priority given by the region to reduce maternal mortality, which needs to be sustained in order to preserve the gains made.
Strong progress in the decrease in the vertical transmission of HIV: Twelve Member States are on track to meet the SDG target by 2030, five of whom already achieved the milestone in 2025. Despite this success, children and adolescent girls and young women are lagging behind in receiving HIV services.
In addition to the abovementioned gains, the scorecard also identified areas where concerted efforts are needed:
Family Planning: Eight Member States are not meeting the contraceptive needs of women. Investing in the contraceptive needs of women and adolescent girls can further reduce teen pregnancies and preventable maternal deaths, and ensure their contribution to their country’s economic growth and development.
Gender-Based Violence: Sexual and intimate partner violence remains persistently high across all Member States in the SADC region. Though all countries have made progress in putting in place relevant laws and policies, greater investments are required to ensure their implementation, including the integration of SRHR, HIV and GBV services, so that all survivors are able to ensure their health and well-being.
Domestic financing: No SADC country has met the ‘Abuja Declaration’ target of allocating 15% of their national budgets to health. Four countries have allocated more than 10% of their national budget to health. Countries need to accelerate domestic funding given declining donor investments if progress is to be made in achieving Universal Health Coverage, and to reduce out of pocket expenditures for citizens.
“The true power of this 3rd Milestone Scorecard lies not merely in what it measures, but in the action it demands from us. With only five years to 2030, we must move with urgency, we need to accelerate implementation, scaling what works, and we need to support our commitments with bold, measurable, and accountable actions,” said Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Health, Republic of South Africa.
“Investing in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) is no longer just a public health issue; it is a fundamental economic imperative. Research has shown us that every dollar invested in family planning, particularly among the youthful population, can yield up to $100 in long-term economic benefits, yet our chronic underfunding and reliance on external aid actively sacrifices our demographic dividend. Political leadership must translate into urgent, domestic financial mobilization that meets the 15% Abuja target. Our greatest challenge is the paralysis between policy commitment and real-world execution. The SADC scorecard and mid-term review of the SADC SRHR strategy reinforces that Member States need to reform restrictive national laws, enforce gender-based violence and child marriage legislation, and fully integrate SRHR into climate adaptation plans to build truly resilient, rights-based health systems,” reaffirms H.E. Mr. Elias Mpedi Magosi, Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Since 2018, the joint United Nations Regional Programme, 2gether 4 SRHR, composed of UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO, has supported SADC to develop, implement and monitor the SADC SRHR strategy and its scorecard, with funding from the Government of Sweden.
“The leadership of the SADC Ministers of Health and the Secretariat, guided by the SADC SRHR Strategy, is demonstrating tangible results: reduced adolescent birth rates, fewer maternal deaths, and decreased rates of HIV. These must be celebrated and safeguarded. However, the 2025 scorecard is a stark reminder that these gains are fragile. Without continued commitment and increased domestic investments, these gains risk being undone. As a long standing partner to SADC, the 2gether 4 SRHR programme remains committed to using the scorecard findings and working with Governments in areas where the region and countries are lagging behind.
Collectively, we must do better to ensure that all people can exercise their sexual and reproductive health and rights and that young people can achieve their full potential, so that everyone can contribute to the economic and social development of the region,” highlights Lydia Zigomo, UNFPA Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, on behalf of the Regional Directors of the 2gether 4 SRHR programme.
“Despite our successes, we now risk a two-speed region where gaps in family planning, HIV prevention, and gender equality strand 94 million adolescents without the wellbeing they need to drive the economic and social development of SADC. To avoid this, all Member States must invest urgently and in sustained ways in adolescent SRHR as a foundation for all SRHR,” concludes Jonathan Gunthorp, Executive Director, SRHR Africa Trust.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of World Health Organisation.
Notes to editors:
The SADC scorecard is published every two years and tracks 20 indicators across SADC Member States, including information on rates of maternal and neonatal mortality, adolescent birth rates, family planning, HIV infections and treatment, STIs, including HPV, number of health facilities offering SRHR services and schools offering sexuality education, as well as number of health workers and budget allocated to health. The scorecard also tracks key legal issues which impact on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Milestones were set for 2025 and the scorecard’s traffic light system indicates green for progress and red for regression, against a baseline set in 2019.
The SADC SRHR Strategy (2019 – 2030) serves as a policy and programmatic framework for Member States to ensure that all people in SADC enjoy a healthy sexual and reproductive life, have sustainable access, coverage, and quality SRHR services, information, and education; and can fully realize and exercise their SRHR. The 16 Member States in SADC include: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
About 2gether 4 SRHR:
2gether 4 SRHR is a joint United Nations Regional Programme, in partnership with Sweden, which brings together the combined efforts of UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF and WHO to improve the sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) of all people in Eastern and Southern Africa. For more information and for a one-stop-shop of information and resources in Africa, visit the SRHR Knowledge Hub.
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Countries in Southern Africa urged to Strengthen Legal Protections against Child Marriage
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, May 11, 2023/ — Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries have taken commendable action to strengthen legal protections; however, there has been little or no progress by other Member States, and greater efforts are needed across the board to end child marriage.
Child marriage remains a widespread and persistent problem across Southern Africa. Two policy briefs on ending child marriage, highlighting the Gaps and Opportunities in Legislative Frameworks (https://apo-opa.info/41qHdka) and Domesticating the SADC Model Law in Child Marriage (https://apo-opa.info/3O17ORN) by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Equality Now were presented to the Standing Committees of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum.
The policy briefs focus on the progress of domesticating the SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage (Model Law) (https://apo-opa.info/41tqXiv) amongst SADC member countries, and focus on the gaps and opportunities in the laws that SADC countries have in place.
They identify obstacles impeding progress, including inconsistencies in national laws and a general lack of effective implementation of these laws, leading to low prioritization that impacts decisions to address child marriage. It also highlights positive legal advances, and makes recommendations to governments for strengthening eradication efforts.
SADC Model Law on child marriage
Child marriage is a formal or informal union where one or both parties are under 18 years old. Poverty, gender inequality, and cultural or religious beliefs affect girls. Child marriage places girls at increased risk of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and it keeps many trapped in a cycle of poverty. There is also a close correlation between early pregnancy and child marriage, which can be dangerous for the young mother and the baby.
The Model Law recognizes child marriage as a violation of children’s rights, including the right to health, education, and protection from harm. It sets the minimum age of marriage as 18 for both boys and girls without exceptions and promotes a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to ending child marriage.
The Model Law calls for a range of actions, including the unequivocal prohibition of marriage of children, the elimination of all legal and customary laws that permit it, and legal penalties for violations. It promotes the registration of births and marriages and requires that any marriage involving a child be declared null and void.
Gaps in protection
Despite commendable efforts by some governments, UNFPA and Equality Now identified various gaps in applying the Model Law. Deeply entrenched cultural practices, poverty, and limited access to education and sexual and reproductive healthcare are slowing progress and hindering efforts to reform marriage and family laws.
While legal reform remains a key strategy in addressing child marriage, the report recommends that governments close the divide between legal approaches and approaches aimed at influencing social and community norms. This requires balancing community awareness-raising with the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators.
“We call upon SADC Member States to prioritize legal reform to comply with international and regional human rights obligations and ensure that the minimum age of marriage is set at 18 across the board, without any exceptions. These laws also need to be effectively implemented using a multi-sectoral approach with adequate budgetary allocation,” summarises Divya Srinivasan, a human rights lawyer at Equality Now.
UNFPA East and Southern Regional Office Deputy Regional Director, Justine Coulson concludes, “Legal approaches need to be better embedded in the overall approach to ending child marriage. The Model Law is not just a proposed minimum standard indicating a need for compliance. It is an expression of social values and zero tolerance for child marriage, GBV and contributing to the improvement of SRHR such as reduction of teenage pregnancy.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Equality Now.
Girls, friends, NGOs celebrate as Malawi MPs unanimously vote and ban child marriage
Malawian girls feel very loved after this Tuesday February 14, 2017, the Malawi Parliamentarians showed great love when they agreed to amend the Malawi Constitution, sealing the semi ban on child marriage to total child marriage ban in the country. The lawmakers aligned the supreme law of the land with the February 2015 marriage law that raised the age of marriage from 15 to 18 years. Continue reading Girls, friends, NGOs celebrate as Malawi MPs unanimously vote and ban child marriage
Maravi Post 2016 Person of The Year: Sr. Chief Theresa Kachindamoto ‘child marriage terminator’
Malawi’s no nonsense, no-negotiation no-other-way-child-marriage terminator, is delightfully Maravi Post pick for the Person of the Year 2016. This is for very good reason. She is the epitome of how local communities respond to government intervention as through policies and laws; inherently government usually also is responding to international conventions and policies.
In 2010 a SADC-sponsored resolution called for the UN Secretary-General to give the General Assembly a report on the State of Child, Early and Forced Marriage. This led to an astounding revelation. Continue reading Maravi Post 2016 Person of The Year: Sr. Chief Theresa Kachindamoto ‘child marriage terminator’
Chief Theresa Kachindamoto Receives 2016 Jesse and Helen Kalisher Humanitarian Award
Theresa Kachindamoto, the chief of the Dedza district in Malawi who has been steadfast in her stance against child marriage, has been named the recipient of the 2016 Jesse & Helen Kalisher Humanitarian Award.
Over a decade ago, Kachindamoto was made chief of Dedza, responsible for oversight of 900,000 people. Since then, she has made education a top priority, insisting—in spite of common cultural traditions—that children must finish school. One of the primary obstacles to completing an education has been the prevalence of child marriage, which curtails school attendance and often hastens parenthood. Continue reading Chief Theresa Kachindamoto Receives 2016 Jesse and Helen Kalisher Humanitarian Award
Child Marriage still happening in Nsanje despite divorce and family relations Act
Child marriage is a human rights violation. Despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread, in part because of persistent poverty and gender inequality. In Nsanje and many parts of Malawi, one in every three girls is married before reaching age 18. One in nine is married under age 15.
Nsanje’s Kuchene Women Forum has warned traditional leaders that the current Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act will not spare anyone encouraging early marriages in the district. Continue reading Child Marriage still happening in Nsanje despite divorce and family relations Act