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In a year-end interview, Baird defended the government’s stance on not funding abortion projects.

“The reality is what this initiative is about is stopping this from happening in the first place. It’s like fire prevention,” Baird said.

“In your fire prevention budget, you don’t hire firefighters. You do prevention work.”

The minister had few specifics on what Canada would be doing to combat the child-bride problem, but said money for programs and advocacy would be likely features.

“We’re just really starting from the ground on this,” Baird said.

“There’s room for government action but it will require societal change from the ground up. We’re just at a very, the early stages of this.”

Bissell, a Canadian who has worked abroad for a quarter century, said she wants the government to think big and build on the momentum that Baird has begun: “Not little baby projects, but big things that are going transform communities and societies from the inside out.”

She said UNICEF is well-positioned in several affected countries, and has learned a lot of lessons in the three decades it has fought to end the forced genital mutilation of young girls in some cultures.

“It’s not going to happen just with external political pressure,” she said.

“For us this is perceived as this horrific practice, when it’s this social norm. Families and communities do this because keeping their girls costs money and if everybody is marrying their girls at 13 then you have to do it too because yours will be the unmarried one at 18.”

Baird said the focus is part of a natural follow-up from Harper’s signature G8 initiative on child and maternal health.

(The prime minister also made clear that of the $3 billion Canada was spending, none would go towards abortions).

“It’s a development challenge in addition to a human rights challenge,” said Baird.