RFQ_FY22_125_Child Marriage Project Manager
Background Information on Plan International
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.
Read more about Plan International’s Global Strategy: 100 Million Reasons at https://plan-international.org/strategy
- Background/Context
This project is the second phase of a collaboration between UNHCR and Plan International (Plan) on child marriage, a key priority for the two agencies. The project builds on Plan’s ongoing Global Initiative on Child Marriage in Humanitarian Settings. An initiative focuses on increasing evidence-based programming in the response to and prevention of child marriage in humanitarian settings. Plan International brings existing evidence and expertise and a long-term commitment to working with UNHCR on child marriage and the partnership will also leverage Plan’s expertise in the long run.
Child marriage is a complex issue and addressing it requires a range of stakeholders to address and monitor the intersecting social, cultural and economic drivers that drive and perpetuate it. Child marriage in Asia & Pacific and West Africa regions stems from cultural norms and tradition and has enormous adverse effects on education, health, including sexual and reproductive health, and on the overall development of adolescents and youth. Child marriage is a significant challenge in these two regions: in West Africa, four out of ten – nearly 60 million – were married before the age of 18. The Asia& Pacific region includes South Asia, where 29% of girls are married before the age of 18, and East Asia, where this figure is 8% (Girls Not Brides).
In collaboration with UNHCR, Plan International will provide technical support and learning opportunities to UNHCR and partners on prevention, risk mitigation and response to child marriage in refugee settings in Niger, Bangladesh and Indonesia. It pursues efforts to set up an evidence-based strategy to improve support to girls at-risk of child marriage and already married. This will include the creation of tailored tools and resources to tackle the specific issue of child marriage. This project will also strengthen UNHCR staff and partners’ capacities on child marriage interventions.
Findings from PHASE I context analyses in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Niger found that across all setting there is need to prioritise the issue of child marriage across CP and GBV protection actors, but also more broadly in the response actions. That advocacy and knowledge sharing within the humanitarian response on how child marriage manifests, the risks, the drivers and what protective factors exist among girls and the community is essential to mitigate the risks that girls and their families face. Child marriage prevention and response demands strong coordination efforts between CP and GBV as well as other key sectors such as education, health and SRHR, food security and livelihoods including nutrition, among others.