World Vision Kenya has launched The Big Dream to End Child Marriage program, an initiative that builds upon and expands the Kenya Big Dream (KBD). The KBD program is designed to combat child marriage across seven counties in Kenya.
Building on the success of the KBD program, the new initiative aims to reduce the prevalence of child marriage by 2030 while promoting gender equality and protecting girls’ rights. According to UNICEF’s 2022 report on child marriage in East and Southern Africa, over 50 million of these child brides reside in Eastern and Southern Africa alone, with nearly one-third (32%) of the region’s young women married before age 18.
The report further shows that there are approximately 4.2 million child brides in Kenya, where 23% of women ages 20-24 were married before their 18th birthday, 17.3 million in Ethiopia, where 40% of young women face early marriage, 1.4 million in Somalia with 35% married before 18, and 1.3 million in South Sudan. This is the highest, where more than half of young women (52%) were married as children.
The KBD program was initiated in 2019 and has since reached over 1.4 million people in Baringo, West Pokot, Samburu, and Migori counties. The program addresses critical issues such as female genital mutilation (FGM) and violence against children. The Big Dream to End Child Marriage program will now expand these efforts to include Baringo, Turkana, Samburu, Marsabit, Migori, West Pokot, and Narok counties, where child marriage is deeply entrenched due to cultural, social, and economic factors.
World Vision aims to create a future where no girl is forced into marriage and every child has the opportunity to realize their potential. By 2030, The Big Dream to End Child Marriage program aspires to eliminate child marriage in its operational areas, aligning with Kenya’s broader goals on gender equality and child protection. The organization has called on the government, particularly the Ministry of Gender and Affirmative Action, to support this initiative through policy advocacy, resource allocation, and capacity building at both national and county levels.
Speaking at the launch of the program, Lilian Dodzo, Regional Leader, East Africa, World Vision said, “At World Vision, we have set an ambitious goal: to positively impact the lives of 150 million vulnerable children by 2030. The Big Dream to End Child Marriage program is a crucial component of this global strategy. It aligns perfectly with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5 on Gender Equality, reminding us that ending child marriage is not just a moral imperative, but a necessary step towards achieving broader development goals.”