Moses Magadza
A technical working group formed by the SADC Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), in partnership with regional and international stakeholders, has finalised a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework aimed at tracking progress in the fight against child marriage across Southern Africa.
The group met for a week in Windhoek to complete the framework and begin developing a digital dashboard that will monitor how Member States implement the SADC Model Law on Eradicating Child Marriage and Protecting Children Already in Marriage.
The workshop brought together 28 experts from across the region, including M&E specialists from Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Kenya, and Namibia.
Thirteen attended in person and 15 joined virtually.
Bevis Kapaso, M&E Specialist at Plan International and the technical group lead, said, “The Model Law was a huge step, but without a mechanism to track progress, we could not measure impact. Now, we’ve finalised a framework with measurable indicators and are developing a dashboard that will, at the click of a button, show how far we’ve come and where we need to go.”
Supported by Plan International, Girls Not Brides, HIVOS, UNICEF, UNFPA, CARE International Zambia and the SADC PF, the workshop validated the framework and confirmed financial and technical support for the dashboard’s development.
The tool will combine data from sources such as national Demographic and Health Surveys, the UN, and ministries of education into one interface.
“This dashboard is a game-changer. For the first time, policymakers will have real-time, evidence-based insights. A parliamentarian debating child marriage in Tanzania won’t need a research team; they’ll be able to pull up regional and national statistics on their phone instantly,” said Kapaso.
SADC PF secretary general Boemo Sekgoma, described the dashboard as a “gold standard” for future policy tools.
“This is the level of oversight and accountability that strengthens democracies and enables policy to truly serve the people, especially the most vulnerable girls,” she said.
She called for support teams to ensure the dashboard stays current and relevant. “You’ve made us much more confident in exercising our oversight role. This dashboard will tell us what needed to be done years ago, what needs to be done now, and what must be done going forward,” she said.
The group will meet again in May to finalise and pilot the dashboard before its official launch. Partners have committed to supporting its completion.
Kapaso said the M&E Framework and dashboard fill a critical gap in tracking the Model Law’s implementation.
“This sets a benchmark for how regional policy can be monitored and supported to make real impact,” he said.
Members of the technical team expressed pride in their progress.
Brave Katemba, M&E Lead at HIVOS Zambia, said, “This is a game changer. When we have a dashboard that visualises real-time progress against the Model Law’s indicators, we give power to policymakers to make data-driven decisions. But this only works if Member States are committed to providing accurate data and allocating both human and financial resources.”
The framework focuses on three pillars: protection, prevention, and policy and legal reform. Suzan Chima, M&E Officer at UNICEF Zambia, said, “Policymakers are too busy to wade through a jungle of data. We want to make key information just a click away.”
She added that the group completed more than expected, finalising theories of change, logical frameworks, and minimum standards for each pillar.
Aneth Michael, a youth activist and M&E Officer at Plan International Tanzania, stressed the personal impact of child marriage.
“Many girls don’t reach their full potential. They’re married young, drop out of school, become mothers too early, and carry enormous responsibilities that hold them back,” she said.
Michael called on parliamentarians to take ownership of the dashboard. “It will show, in real-time, how far we have come and how far we still need to go. That’s where change begins,” she said.
Masimba Mujuru, M&E Manager at Plan International Zimbabwe, said, “This dashboard will highlight key parameters for each country. If a country is lagging in any area, that’s where focus and resources need to go.”
He also called for clear guidelines on data protection.
“All Member States and the SADC PF Secretariat will have access, but we must ensure user rights and information security are clearly defined,” said Mujuru.
Reflecting on the journey that began in Johannesburg last year, Mujuru said, “I want to be remembered as someone who helped build a system that tracks real progress. The challenge is always implementation. This framework and dashboard make that possible.”
The experts agreed that sustained commitment, reliable data, and strong partnerships are essential for the tools to be effective in ending child marriage across the region.
The next step is to complete and test the dashboard ahead of its official rollout.
-Moses Magadza is the Media and Communications Manager at the SADC Parliamentary Forum.
