Zonta International
Zonta International — a UNICEF USA partner for over 50 years — has more than 29,000 members in 62 countries working together to improve the lives of women and girls.
Partner since 1972
Founded in 1919, Zonta International is a global organization of professionals dedicated to empowering women worldwide through service and advocacy. There are over 29,000 members working in 62 countries to improve the lives of women and girls.
Zonta International and UNICEF USA have been in close partnership since 1972, helping UNICEF advance the status of women and children globally through education, health and protection services.
Ending child marriage and protecting futures in 12 high-risk countries
Ending child marriage remains Zonta International’s signature project, and Zonta’s partnership with the UNFPA–UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage strengthens and advances this commitment. Although child marriage is declining globally, it continues to affect millions of girls despite legal prohibitions. When a girl is married as a child, she is far less likely to complete her education and far more likely to experience gender-based violence. Girls’ rights are under threat because societal resistance to their agency and participation undermines gender equality, weakens legal protections, and limits access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities and civic engagement.
Now in its final phase leading to 2030, the Global Programme works toward a vision where adolescent girls—especially the most marginalized—can grow up free from the risk of child marriage and experience healthier, safer, and more empowered transitions into adulthood, with the ability to make informed choices about their education, livelihoods, relationships, marriage, and childbearing.
The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Program to End Child Marriage is in 12 countries: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia.
In 2024:
- Over 7.4 million adolescent girls were empowered with life skills and comprehensive sexuality education delivered through adolescent safe spaces in communities and schools.
- Over 4.7 million boys and men participated in group education and dialogues that addressed harmful masculinities and gender norms.
- 2.9 million traditional and religious leaders were reached with sensitization and consensus building dialogues on ending child marriage.
- Mass media messaging on child marriage and adolescent girls’ rights reached over 280 million people across the 12 program countries.
- Over 2.5 million girls and boys accessed prevention and protection services, more than twice the target.
- 3.5 million adolescent girls benefited from social protection, poverty reduction and economic empowerment programs.
- 81 policies or legal instruments directly addressing child marriage were drafted, proposed, or adopted at national and sub-national levels with Global Programme support. This included the launch of a new National Strategic Plan to End Child Marriage in Niger and the successful adoption of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in Sierra Leone, effectively banning marriage for anyone under the age of 18.
Laaha: A Virtual Safe Space for Women and Girls
In 2024, Zonta International began supporting Laaha, the first-ever digital web-based platform created by UNICEF that provides information and support to women and girls in crisis-affected regions.
The platform was designed by and for women and girls with the support of UNICEF and its partners. Laaha addresses topics that women and girls have specifically asked for and aims to increase knowledge on gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health by providing quality information about menstrual health and hygiene, healthy relationships, how to stay safe and know one’s rights, financial literacy, female anatomy, and services for women and girls facing violence.
On the digital platform, women and girls can find articles, podcasts, videos and more that provide information on their rights, bodies, health and where to find help. Through Laaha's efforts, women and girls are empowered with crucial information about accessible services and the platform helps reduce isolation by building safe spheres of support through peer-to-peer connection.
Deployed in more than 20 countries, with over 160 interactive modules and translated into 14 languages, over 1.7 million users have been reached with accessible information and support. 76 percent of Laaha users have also reported feeling safer and better informed, demonstrating the platform’s continued potential to help reduce their risk of violence.
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