Network On Ending Child Marriage In Zambia

23/09/2026

Ending child marriage takes sustained, collective action. Through our partnership with UNFPA Zambia, the Network on Ending Child Marriage in Zambia has strengthened coordinated civil society advocacy, prevention efforts and accountability for implementing the legal framework that sets the minimum age of marriage at 18.

The Network brings together more than 70 diverse organisations working nationally and in communities. Together, we work to ensure that evidence, community perspectives and, above all, girls’ voices shape policy, programmes and local action to end child marriage.

If you are at the UN General Assembly, please register to attend.

Ahead of , OAFLAD is proud to co-sponsor the High-Level Event on “Protecting Progress and Sustaining Global Resolve to End Child, Early and Forced Marriage.”

Hosted by the Republic of Zambia, Global Affairs Canada, UNICEF and UNFPA through the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, the event will bring together governments, regional organizations, civil society, partners and adolescent girls to reaffirm commitments and accelerate action.

📅 23 September 2026 | 5–6 PM EDT
📍 UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York
➡️RSVP here : https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=lQFBd-EUuE-QS6sYkgI2ZzpR2BWR7EZEqeVpAPLhTH9UOERTOUNZM1JISUw5VjQ4RVpEUjgyVldQNy4u&route=shorturl

As 2030 approaches, protecting the gains made for girls is not enough—we must build on them. Together, we can and ensure every girl has the opportunity to learn, thrive and shape her own future.

07/09/2026

The Network on Ending Child Marriage in Zambia (NECMZ) welcomes this important step towards strengthening the role of midwives as frontline champions in the prevention and response to child marriage, adolescent pregnancy and gender-based violence.

Midwives occupy a unique and trusted position within our health system and communities. Their interaction with adolescent girls, families and communities provides critical opportunities not only to deliver essential health services, but also to identify girls at risk, provide accurate information, facilitate referrals, challenge harmful norms and advocate for the rights, dignity and bodily autonomy of every girl.

We are particularly pleased to have contributed, alongside UNFPA Zambia, World Health Organization Zambia and other partners, to the multi-stakeholder health sector consultation exploring how Zambia's health system can play a stronger and more deliberate role in preventing and responding to child marriage.

Ending child marriage cannot be achieved by one sector alone. It requires coordinated action across health, education, child protection, justice, social protection and community systems, with adolescent girls themselves at the centre of the solutions.

We commend UNFPA Zambia and the Midwives Association of Zambia for translating this commitment into practical action and for recognising midwives as important agents of social change. We look forward to continuing this collaboration and strengthening the linkages between health systems, civil society, communities and adolescent girls.

Every interaction with a girl is an opportunity to protect her rights, amplify her voice and support her to remain in school, make informed choices about her life and realise her full potential.

Together, we can build a Zambia where no girl's childhood, education, health or future is cut short by child marriage.

Empowering Midwives to of Adolescent Girls in Zambia!

Under the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, UNFPA Zambia handed over advocacy-branded nursing bibs and tote bags to the Midwives Association of Zambia (MAZ) Eastern Province chapter at Saint Francis Hospital, Katete, Zambia

These materials carry messages to spark crucial conversations around Ending Child Marriage across health facilities and local communities.

This handover builds directly on critical, system-wide progress:

- UNFPA supported MAZ in reviewing their Strategic Plan (2026–2030), positioning midwives as key frontline change agents against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), child marriage, and adolescent pregnancy.

- Alongside World Health Organization Zambia (WHO) and the Network On Ending Child Marriage In Zambia a multi-stakeholder health sector consultation was convened to establish how health systems can actively prevent child marriage - drawing on UNFPA and WHO's proven global collaboration model on ending Female Ge***al Mutilation (FGM).

Midwives are on the frontlines of health and human rights. Together, UNFPA and MAZ are amplifying the message that every girl has the right to stay in school and achieve her full potential!

With Ministry of Health Zambia Bayer Zambia and Unicef Zambia

27/02/2026

On 24th February 2026, the Network on Ending Child Marriage in Zambia (NECMZ) participated in the Gender Division’s Orientation on the National Strategy to End Child Marriage (2026–2030) and its Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

As a Network of 67 member organisations, we remain committed to ensuring that this consolidated national roadmap translates into real, measurable change for girls across Zambia.

The Strategy aligns prevention, protection, coordination, and accountability efforts across sectors and the M&E Framework strengthens the systems that track progress and close gaps.

We commend the Gender Division - GD for its leadership in convening stakeholders and coordinating national action.

We also appreciate our 67 members for their sustained advocacy at community and national levels.

And to our all-weather partners Unicef Zambia and UNFPA Zambia , we thank you for helping us strengthening systems that protect girls and advance their rights.

Now, the focus is clear. We will implement, be accountable and produce results.

Ending child marriage requires collective action and we move forward together.

27/11/2025

On Friday 24th November 2025, as the Network on Ending Child Marriage in Zambia (NECMZ) we presented our submissions to the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, Human Rights and Governance on the Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) Bill, 2025.

The Committee was responsive and supportive, and they engaged deeply with the evidence we shared on bail challenges in defilement, r**e, and in**st cases.

They also advised us to strengthen our submissions by:

-Adding budget considerations across the justice system
- Expanding the section on forensic laboratories, chain of custody, and evidence handling.

We also emphasised the need to strike a fair constitutional balance under Article 18(2), protecting survivors and children while respecting the right to a fair trial and judicial review.

We thank the Committee for their constructive guidance and commitment to strengthening justice for women and children.

Our revised submissions are on the way.

Together, we continue the work to build a justice system that protects every child with dignity and accountability.