More Than Brides Alliance: Marriage: No Child's Play

  • P Project/Program

A Active

Key Information

The More Than Brides Alliance (MTBA), which includes Save the Children, Oxfam Novib, the Population Council, and Simavi, was established to provide alternatives to child marriage and to mitigate its impact on already married girls by enhancing access to education, economic opportunities, and child protection services. The Population Council is evaluating the MTBA’s programs in India, Malawi, Mali, and Niger. These programs aim to: 1) Empower at-risk and already married adolescent girls with life skills Increase comprehensive sexuality education and access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services, and 2) Challenge and change the social norms that sustain harmful practices Influence legal and policy frameworks to curb child marriage.

Lead Implementing Organization(s)

Location(s)

South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa

India, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Pakistan

Activity URL

https://morethanbrides.org/

Government Affiliation

Non-governmental program

Years

2015 -

Partner(s)

Simavi, LASDEL, CERIPS, IKI

Ministry Affiliation

Unknown

Funder(s)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands

COVID-19 Response

Unknown

Geographic Scope

Global / regional

Meets gender-transformative education criteria from the TES  

Unknown

Areas of Work Back to Top

Education areas

Attainment

  • Primary completion
  • Primary enrollment
  • Primary to secondary transition
  • Secondary completion

Other

  • Transition from school to work

Other skills

  • Financial literacy
  • Life skills/sexuality education
  • Rights/empowerment education
  • Social and emotional learning
  • Vocational training

Cross-cutting areas

  • Adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
  • Community sensitization
  • Early/child marriage
  • Economic/livelihoods (including savings/financial inclusion, etc.)
  • Empowerment
  • Gender equality
  • HIV and STIs
  • Menstrual hygiene management
  • Mentorship
  • Other aspects of sexual and reproductive health
  • Social and gender norms and beliefs

Program participants

Target Audience(s)

Community leaders, Girls (both in school and out of school), Youth

Age

12 - 22

School Enrolment Status

Some in school

School Level

  • Upper primary
  • Lower secondary
  • Upper secondary

Other populations reached

  • Boys (both in school and out of school)
  • Fathers
  • Mothers
  • Other
  • Other community members - female
  • Other community members - male
  • Other family members
  • Parent-teacher associations/school management committees
  • Religious leaders

Participants include

  • Adolescent mothers (pregnant or parenting)

Program Approaches Back to Top

Access to school

  • Improving transportation

Community engagement/advocacy/sensitization

  • Community mobilization
  • General awareness-raising/community engagement
  • School management committees

Life skills education

  • Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE)
  • Gender, rights and power
  • Sexual and reproductive health (including puberty education)
  • Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building

Mentoring/psychosocial support

  • Peer mentors

Policy/legal environment

  • Advocating changes to existing laws/policies
  • Raising awareness about existing laws/policies

Social/gender norms change

  • Engaging parents/caregivers of students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Group activities with students or school-age children/adolescents
  • Media campaigns
  • Work with community leaders
  • Work with religious leaders

Women's empowerment programs

  • Advocacy/action
  • Empowerment training
  • Self-help groups (financial, including savings and credit groups)

Program Goals Back to Top

Education goals

  • Increased enrolment in primary school
  • Increased re-enrolment in school among out-of-school children
  • Increased years of schooling

Cross-cutting goals

  • Changed social norms
  • Improved financial literacy and savings
  • Improved sexual and reproductive health
  • Improved understanding of sexual harassment, coercion, and consent
  • Increased advocacy/civic engagement
  • Increased agency and empowerment
  • Increased employment/job-related skills
  • Increased knowledge of HIV, puberty, and sexual and reproductive health
  • Increased knowledge of rights
  • More equal power in relationships
  • More equitable gender attitudes and norms
  • Reduced adolescent pregnancy/childbearing
  • Reduced child marriage
  • Reduced intimate partner violence

Additional Information Back to Top

Primary Contact

Grace Saul
Population Council
Project Coordinator, More Than Brides Alliance
gsaul@popcouncil.org