Ethiopia launched a five-year national road map to end child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practices across communities in the country.

The launch was held in Addis Ababa in the presence of President Sahle-Work Zewde, the Minister of Women, Children and Youth, H.E. Yalem Tsegaye Asfaw, UN Agencies, international partners and stakeholders.

Speaking at the launch, President Sahle-Work said, “The will to end child marriage and FGM exists. I am delighted that we now have a plan which is a clear demonstration of the government’s commitment to making harmful practices history in Ethiopia.”

The National Costed Roadmap to End Child Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation/cutting 2020-2024 is an evidence-based costed plan which outlines the key strategies, packages of interventions, and expected results, targets, and milestones towards the elimination of child marriage and FGM/C in Ethiopia.

The Plan will cost around $94 million and is in line with Ethiopia’s aspiration to achieve global and continental commitments on countering the health and socioeconomic impacts of child marriage and FGM. Back in 2014, during the first Global Girl Summit held in London, Ethiopia made a pledge to eliminate child marriage and FGM by 2025.

The newly launched national roadmap will be implemented by a consortium of national actors, led by the Ethiopian Ministry of Women, Children and Youth, in coordination with the National Alliance to End Child Marriage and FGM,  Ministries of Health, Education, Finance, Labour & Social Affairs, UN agencies, NGOs and other sector stakeholders.

“This Roadmap not only sets out key strategies based on what works, but it also contains detailed costed plans for the federal level and regions. This means we know what needs to be done and how much it will cost. At household and community level, it is as critical to empowering girls as it is to engage fathers and mothers, men and boys, religious and other community leaders, to discard these practices which hurt girls and violate their human rights,” Adele Khodr, UNICEF representative in Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of sister agencies UNFPA and UN Women said.

According to figures from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) one in every five girls below the age of 18 is married in Ethiopia. In the last decade, however, Ethiopia has made substantial progress in reducing the number of girls exposed to these harmful practices.

“The establishment of a National Alliance to End Child Marriage and FGM is another significant stride in the effort to end child marriage as it has been key in coordinating interventions,” UNICEF had said.