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UNICEF warning on Africa child marriages
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Child marriages in Africa are set to more than double by 2050 unless urgent steps are taken, UNICEF warned yesterday as delegates met in Zambia to discuss how to halt the practice.
The two-day meeting in Lusaka is the African Union’s first conference on “Ending Child Marriage in Africa,” gathering representatives from member states as well as first ladies, United Nations officials and civil society groups.
“The total number of child brides will rise from 125 million to 310 million by 2050 ... if we do not do something now,” UNICEF deputy executive director Fatoumata Ndiaye said.
“That means that the face of child marriage will be Africa,” eclipsing South Asia, which currently has the highest number of child brides, Ndiaye said in a phone interview from Lusaka.
The huge jump in the number of children being married off will be triggered partly by the continent’s rapid population growth.
“The child population of Africa is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years putting millions more girls at risk” of early marriage, the UNICEF said in a report.
Africa’s population of girls is expected to balloon from the current 275 million to 465 million within 35 years.
“By 2050 we will have ... more teenagers marrying in Africa than anywhere else in the world.
“So it makes it extremely important to do something today and not to wait any more,” said Ndiaye.
UNICEF executive director Anthony Lake said in a statement that the huge numbers of girls affected “underline the urgency of banning the practice of child marriage once and for all.”
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