the United Nations Children’s Agency, UNICEF, has revealed that while the global number of child marriages is declining, the rate is too slow for the menace to be eradicated even within the next 300 years.
In a report released yesterday, UNICEF said multiple crises including conflict, climate shocks, and the ongoing fallout from COVID-19 continue to threaten the fight against child marriage.
“The world is engulfed by crises on top of crises that are crushing the hopes and dreams of vulnerable children, especially girls who should be students, not brides,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“Health and economic crises, escalating armed conflicts, and the ravaging effects of climate change are forcing families to seek a false sense of refuge in child marriage. We need to do everything in our power to ensure that their rights to an education and empowered lives are secured,” she said
The report estimates that about 640 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood, or 12 million girls per year, and global reductions would have to be 20 times faster to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending child marriage by 2030.
The report also notes that girls who are married off as children face immediate and lifelong consequences, including being less likely to remain in school and facing an increased risk of early pregnancy, child and maternal health complications and mortality, isolation from family and friends, and exclusion from participating in their communities, taking a heavy toll on their mental health and well-being.
While South Asia continues to drive global reductions and is on pace to eliminate child marriage in about 55 years, the region remains home to nearly half or 45% of the world’s child brides. Latin America and the Caribbean are also falling behind and are on course to have the second-highest regional level of child marriage by 2030.
Sub-Saharan Africa – which currently shoulders the second-largest global share of child brides (20 %) – is over 200 years away from ending the practice at its current pace.
The United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) has reported that while global child marriage rates are decreasing, the decline is too slow to eradicate the practice within the next 300 years. Multiple crises such as conflicts, climate shocks, and the lingering effects of COVID-19 threaten progress against child marriage.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell highlighted that health and economic crises, escalating conflicts, and climate change are forcing families to turn to child marriage as a false refuge. She emphasized the need to secure girls' rights to education and empowerment.
The report indicates that currently, about 640 million women and girls were married as children, with 12 million girls married each year. To meet the Sustainable Development Goal of ending child marriage by 2030, global reductions need to increase twentyfold.
Child marriage leads to immediate and lifelong consequences for girls, such as reduced school attendance, increased risk of early pregnancy and related health issues, social isolation, and mental health challenges. Regions like South Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa have varied rates of progress, with the latter being over 200 years away from ending child marriage at its current pace.
