Child marriage remains a critical human rights and public health challenge in Malawi, where approximately 38% of girls are married before the age of 18. In Mulanje District, the situation is even more severe: 53% of girls marry before turning 18, making child marriage one of the biggest barriers to girls’ education.

In response to this challenge, the Mulanje District Council has endorsed a UN Women-supported initiative funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe. Implemented by the Parent and Child Health Initiative (PACHI) and Point of Progress under the Chief Kachindamoto Fund (CKF), the project aims to strengthen efforts to end child marriage in Traditional Authority Chikumbu

Through this initiative, PACHI will work with traditional leaders, religious leaders, parents, and other key stakeholders to promote positive social norms that discourage child marriage and other harmful practices, while encouraging both girls and boys to stay in school.

The intervention is being implemented in collaboration with UNICEF’s programme “Protecting Girls, Transforming Futures: A Partnership to End Child Marriages in Malawi,” which is funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).