BALIKA: Skills-building programs to reduce child marriage in Bangladesh—A randomized controlled trial

Child marriage is the norm in Bangladesh, leading to lifelong negative consequences. Evidence on sustainable child marriage programs is scant. Our study aimed to evaluate the impact of three community-based skills-building programs to delay child marriage among adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh. Methods: The study used a cluster randomized controlled trial design with four arms: ARM1 offered educational support, ARM2 promoted gender rights awareness, ARM3 offered livelihoods training, and ARM4 was a control area. All adolescent girls were offered 144 hours of skills training in village centers over 18 months. Among 11,609 baseline survey respondents, 91% were successfully included in the endline analysis. Program impact was assessed using discrete time hazard models.