Zonta International is passionate about providing life-changing opportunities for women and girls through international service. By partnering with agencies of the United Nations and other recognized non-governmental organizations, Zonta has improved women’s health, provided better economic opportunities and prevented gender-based violence in 66 countries. Since our first service project, Zonta has contributed more than US$32.7 million to our international service projects.
The three Zonta International projects for the 2024-2026 Biennium are:
Climate Empower: Community Empowerment and Innovation for Gender-Transformative Climate Action
LAAHA: A Virtual Safe Space for Women and Girls
Ending Child Marriage: A Program to Accelerate Global Action Phase III
Globally, 21% of girls are married before they turn 18, robbing them of their childhood. Each year, another 12 million girls under the age of 18 are married around the world.
Child marriage is globally recognized as a harmful practice and a human rights violation. However, despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread and can be found in cultures, religions, ethnicities and countries around the world. Ending child marriage requires addressing, over a period of time, the complex sociocultural and structural factors underpinning the practice.
This project was designed to address the issue over a 15-year period from 2015 through 2030. During this time, the priority remains on engaging adolescent girls as key agents of change in the following 12 countries with high prevalence of child marriage: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia.
Zonta has supported ending child marriage since 2014, contributing US$2 million to delay early marriage in Niger from 2014-2018. From 2018-2020, Zonta contributed US$2 million to the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage – the first private-sector donor to the Global Programme. In 2020, Zonta International announced an additional commitment of US$1,500,000 to UNICEF to support Phase II through to 2022.
Further information on all of these projects can be found by visiting Zonta.org