WILDAF-AO was founded by a group of women who were passionate about women’s rights and who had gathered in Zimbabwe following the Nairobi NGO forum in 1985. WILDAF-AO was set up in 1997 to bring together the various national secretariats in the West African region and to address their needs more efficiently. The organisation was awarded a renewal grant to enable them to complete its grassroots, national and sub-regional level advocacy and lobbying activities for the elimination of child marriage in communities across Togo and Mali.