Malawi’s development partners have launched the Chief Kachindamoto Fund, a grant-making initiative designed to accelerate progress toward ending child marriage in the country.
The partners behind the initiative are Norway, Iceland, Plan International, UN Women, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP and the Fumukazi Foundation.
They have since committed to mobilising $2 million (over K3.4 billion) during the initial phase of the fund, which will run from 2025 to 2028.
Minister of Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Mary Navicha, has since thanked the development partners for the initiative.
Navicha said this aligns with President Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika’s vision that no child should be left at home or enter into marriage instead of continuing their education.
UN Women Representative in Malawi, Letty Chiwara, said the Fund will empower girls to end child marriages in Malawi and it will support 5000 girls to remain in school by 2028.
She also said the Fund will be working with 28 traditional leaders to ensure zero child marriages in their communities through positive social norm change.
The Fund was launched in Lilongwe during a high-level partners’ event titled From Courage to Collective Action, which also marked the start of the 2025 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, held under the local theme Unite to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls in Malawi.
