April 15, 2026 | Center for Global Development

During the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings 2026, the Center for Global Development hosted a powerful session titled Investments and Interventions to End Child Marriage, held in collaboration with Columbia University’s Institute of Global Politics Women’s Initiative, Girls Not Brides, and the World Bank Group Africa Gender Innovation Lab.

The discussion made one point unmistakably clear: “child marriage is not only a human rights violation—it is also an economic” and peacebuilding issue.

Across many communities, millions of girls continue to be denied their childhood, education, safety, and future. Current estimates suggest that approximately 12 million girls are still married before reaching legal adulthood each year. Behind these numbers are stories of interrupted education, early pregnancy, forced motherhood, marital rape, and girls being treated as commodities rather than as human beings with rights and potential.

One of the most compelling voices on the panel was Kakenya Ntaiya of Kakenya’s Dream, whose personal story was both alarming and inspiring. Promised into marriage at the age of five, she later negotiated for her own future with her father and found freedom and purpose through education. Today, she is dedicated to ensuring that other girls have access to opportunity, dignity, and choice. Her journey is a powerful reminder that when we educate one girl, we can transform generations.

Several structural barriers were highlighted during the discussion: declining in international funding, reductions in foreign assistance—particularly following significant cuts from United States Agency for International Development, growing conflict and humanitarian crises, and weakening global commitments to women’s rights. These trends have already started reversing hard-won progress.

The conversation also emphasized that education alone is not always enough. In many contexts, family pressure, cultural expectations, and economic hardship continue to push girls into early marriage even when schools are available. This means solutions must go beyond classrooms. Families and communities must be engaged to shift norms and reimagine the value of girls beyond marriage.

Equally important is the role of boys and men. They must be educated and empowered to become allies in ending child marriage, promoting dignity, and supporting gender equality. Sustainable change requires whole-of-community transformation.

A message that deeply resonated with me as a peacebuilding practitioner and African diaspora woman was the urgent need to fund those doing the work on the ground. Local organizations, grassroots advocates, educators, and community leaders are often the first line of defense for vulnerable girls, yet they remain underfunded. Resources must flow directly to those closest to the problem and best positioned to deliver solutions, as instructed by Ms. Ntaiya.

Ending child marriage is also an investment in peace and stability. When girls stay in school, gain skills, and access economic opportunity, communities become stronger. Poverty declines, health outcomes improve, jobs increase, and the drivers of conflict weaken. Therefore, investing in girls is investing in human capital, human rights, and long-term peacebuilding capacity.

We cannot continue to treat girls as commodities. They are leaders, innovators, students, builders, and future changemakers. In fragile states, protecting them is not charity—it is a strategic investment in development, stability, and peace.

Naïde Pavelly Obiang
Author | Cultural Communication | Peacebuilding | Diaspora Empowerment