Grants and Contributions:

Youth Empowered: Preventing Child, Early, and Forced Marriage in Bangladesh

7428532 P006506001

$3,261,193.00

Mar 17, 2021 - Jun 30, 2024

This project contributes to the prevention of Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) in Bangladesh’s districts of Bagerhat and Sathkira in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This project aims to empower adolescents and youth, particularly girls, to exert greater control over their sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) decision-making and address the factors that drive CEFM with the support of their families and communities, including faith leaders. This project also empowers girls and young women to protect themselves from COVID-19 and its social and economic impacts. Project activities include: (1) strengthening health systems’ capacity to provide gender-responsive, COVID-19 and adolescent-friendly SRHR and psychosocial support services, including for CEFM, for unmarried and married adolescents girls; (2) improving sexual education for adolescent girls in and out of school, focusing on building decision-making, communication and risk reduction related to SRHR, sexual and gender-based violence, and CEFM; (3) enhancing adolescent girls and young women’s leadership capacity to challenge harmful gender norms and practices that impact SRHR; (4) empowering women’s organizations, men’s groups, faith/traditional leaders, and child protection influencers to address gender roles, cultural barriers and negative CEFM consequences; and (5) supporting families and communities to be COVID-19 responsive, while building the community’s capacity and the health care system to provide gender-responsive and adolescent-friendly information and services on COVID-19 prevention. The project expects to directly benefit over 200,000 adolescent boys and girls (of which 110,000 girls/women) and indirectly benefit more than 1,400,000 people.

Global Affairs Canada

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved access to quality, gender-responsible and adolescent-friendly SRHR and psychosocial support services; (2) enhanced decision-making of married and unmarried adolescents, particularly girls, over their sexual and reproductive health and factors that contribute to their CEFM; and (3) strengthened and sustained community advocacy capacity in project areas to support, promote and sustain an adolescent-friendly, gender-responsive and CEFM-free environment for adolescents and youth, particularly girls.

Mississauga, Ontario, CA L5T 2Y4

064-2020-2021-Q4-00372

Contribution

Grants and Contributions

119304855

Not-for-profit organization or charity

World Vision Canada

Mississauga--Malton

35062

International Development Assistance Program

The main purpose on the International Development Assistance Program is to reduce poverty for those living in countries where Global Affairs Canada engages in international development.