UNICEF Says Nigeria May Record Additional 10m Child Marriages By 2030

Issues around child marriage has remained a growing concern in Nigeria, as most children have had their childhood stolen through it.

Available data shows that globally, an estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood, with about half of those occurring in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria.

Reports have shown that girls who marry in childhood face immediate and lifelong consequences as they are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in school.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) data, there had been a significant reduction in the several countries in recent years. As the proportion of young women globally who were married as children decreased by 15 per cent, from nearly 1 in 4 to 1 in 5, the last ten years.

“One year into the pandemic, immediate action is needed to mitigate the toll on girls and their families,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

Fore said that implementing effective laws and policies, as well as ensuring access to health and social services is imperative in the fight against child marriage.

“Child marriage increases the risk of early and unplanned pregnancy, in turn increasing the risk of maternal complications and mortality.

“The practice can also isolate girls from family and friends and exclude them from participating in their communities, taking a heavy toll on their mental health and well-being.”

Fore who stated the impact of COVID-19 on the human race to include pandemic-related travel restrictions, physical distancing among others, said it has made it difficult for girls to access the health care, social services and community support that protect them from child marriage, unwanted pregnancy and gender-based violence.

She said, “With school closure, girls are more likely to drop out of education and not return. Job losses and increased economic insecurity may also force families to marry their daughters to ease financial burdens.

“COVID-19 has made an already difficult situation for millions of girls even worse. Shuttered schools, isolation from friends and support networks, and rising poverty have added fuel to a fire the world was already struggling to put out. But we can and we must extinguish child marriage.”

UNICEF in an analysis released in commemoration of the 2021 International Women’s Day said that 10 mn additional child marriages may occur before the end of the decade, threatening years of progress in reducing the practice.

It warns that school closures, economic stress, service disruptions, pregnancy, and parental deaths due to the pandemic are putting the most vulnerable girls at increased risk of child marriage.

It said, “To off-set the impacts of COVID-19 and end the practice by 2030, the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals progress must be significantly accelerated.