USAID Office of Population & Reproductive Health

In ten countries around the world, between half and three quarters of girls are married before the age of 18.1 USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health (PRH), works in all of these countries and in others to delay the age of marriage and protect the rights of women, girls and children. Child marriage is a cross-cutting issue that has broad implications on girls’ health, education, economic status and more. PRH’s Child Marriage work is grounded in data collection and analysis, and evidence-based best-practices that inform programs and policies to improve reproductive health outcomes for women and girls. PRH implements a two-pronged approach to child marriage: 1) activities to prevent child marriage, and 2) activities that address the family planning and reproductive health needs of young married girls/couples.