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DECEMBER 2025

Dear friend,

A message from our CEO

As 2025 draws to a close, I reflect on a year defined by resilience and hope, especially in the face of immense challenges.

We experienced both new and evolving threats emerge, alongside the persistent challenge of reduced funding for essential development work, all of which are threatening the gains we have made and undermining efforts to bring about lasting change for girls. Yet our members continue to show up, time and again, leading advocacy efforts and challenging harmful norms so that girls everywhere can not only thrive but also shape their own futures. Although the road ahead seems difficult, they remind us of what is possible when we stand together. We have seen girls rising as leaders, a global movement to end child marriage growing stronger, and our collective action changing lives. This is why the movement matters.

Looking ahead to 2026, the call for collaboration has never been greater. This moment presents both an opportunity and a necessity: to work more closely together, maximise our shared resources, and rise to meet the challenges ahead together because we are stronger together and that is the power of our movement.

With insight and thought-leadership of our members and partners, we’ve been developing the new Girls Not Brides’ Secretariat Strategy (2026-2030). For the next 5 years, this will be our roadmap for bold action to end child marriage, It reflects the lessons we have learnt, the challenges we face, and the urgency of this moment. We are deeply grateful to all who contributed their expertise and perspectives, and we look forward to sharing more in the new year.

With renewed energy for the year ahead, together, we will keep building momentum to end child marriage.

Dr. Faith Mwangi-Powell

CEO, Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage

LOOKING BACK AT 2025

Showcased our leadership at CSW in March and UNGA in October, where we co-hosted high-level events [[link removed]] amplifying the voices and rights of girls—and ensured child marriage remained firmly on the global agenda. At CSW, we launched the #DearFutureMe [[link removed]] campaign with Girls First Fund and Nawi Initiative.

Convened the movement at key regional conferences, including the Regional Consultative Convening on Collective Influencing [[link removed]] to Address Child Marriage in Kenya, the Education Out Loud (EOL) regional convening [[link removed]] in Grand Bassam, the SADC Parliamentary Forum [[link removed]] in South Africa, the 16th Regional Conference on Women [[link removed]] in Mexico City, and the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development [[link removed]].

Introduced the ‘End Child Marriage Collective’, a new initiative designed to unite and strengthen the wider ecosystem, presented at our Annual Strategic Partner Meeting [[link removed]] in October, co-hosted with Global Affairs Canada and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

Together with National Partnerships, we helped shape national strategies to end child marriage, including Kenya’s first ever National Strategy on Ending Harmful Practices and Nepal’s National Strategy and Costed Implementation Plan to End Child Marriage.

Regional Consultative Convening on Collective Influencing to Address Child Marriage

Annual Strategic Partner Meeting

MOVEMENT MAKERS

The 2025 cohort of Movement Makers

During this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender‑Based Violence, we celebrate Movement Makers — activists and grassroots leaders working tirelessly to end child marriage. Watch their stories of what inspires them to take action and how they are driving change in their communities and countries.

MEET THE 2025 MOVEMENT MAKERS [[link removed]] IN CASE YOU MISSED IT New research to map international funding to end child marriage 2015-2024

Girls Not Brides and Girls First Fund announce new research with Publish What You Fund to better understand the international funding landscape to end child marriage.

The G20 cannot Ignore Child Marriage and Harmful Practices

As South Africa hands over the G20 Chairship to the United States, Girls Not Brides Senior Regional Engagement and Advocacy Officer, Fatou Gueye Ndir, highlights the opportunity to reinforce global commitments to ending child marriage and harmful practices.

READ THE BLOG [[link removed]] READ THE BLOG [[link removed]] Meet Kemi, the WhatsApp chatbot supporting survivors in West Africa

Girls Not Brides member Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative launches an AI-powered chatbot that offers confidential support to anyone who has experienced technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV).

Counting what matters: why child marriage data is more than numbers

In a two-part series, Girls Not Brides Senior Data, Evidence and Policy Officer, Rachael Hongo reflects on the importance of non-traditional data sources for surfacing hidden realities and calls for changes to close the gaps in child marriage data.

LEARN MORE [[link removed]] READ PART ONE [[link removed]] READ PART TWO [[link removed]] Follow us [[link removed]] Share [link removed] Tweet [link removed] Share [[link removed]] Forward [link removed]

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