In 1994, delegations assembled in Cairo from 179 member states and from thousands of NGOs for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Member states negotiated a 20-year action plan to develop a “new era of population” by 2015.

The past decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in awareness about early and forced marriage of girls as a widespread violation of human rights. In short, early and forced marriage exacerbate gender inequality and the likelihood of poor outcomes throughout life.

This report, commissioned by the Gesellschaft für International Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), brings out findings of an external assessment of the Youth-to-Youth (Y2Y) Initiative in Ethiopia and Kenya.