The health, social, political and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are disproportionately affecting girls and women by exacerbating existing systemic gender inequalities at all levels, with potential implications for the incidence of child marriage. This brief describes how the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage has adapted its interventions to ensure we continue to reach and protect girls at risk of child marriage and already married girls during the pandemic providing a public good and insights for practitioners around the world.

The UNFPA–UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage (the Global Programme) is a multi-country programme designed to support countries in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, including target 5.3 on ending harmful practices. The programme is entering its second phase in 2020, and this new phase includes a specific focus on addressing child marriage in humanitarian settings.