{{Child marriage has been cited as a major stumbling block to efforts by developing countries to achieve United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).}}
It was revealed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Women Deliver Conference that the practice of marrying off girls below 18 years has direct adverse impact on six of the eight MDGs.
The goals were set following the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 and all 193 UN member states,including Rwanda promised to achieve the targets by 2015.
They are: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality rates, improving maternal health, combating HIV/Aids, malaria, and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development.
According to yesterday’s presentations by the partnership for maternal, new-born and child health – Girls not Brides, the global partnership to end child marriage, realisation of the first six targets was made practically impossible by child marriage.
A statement issued by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), 39,000 child marriage take place every day and between 2011 and 2020, more than 140 million girls will become child brides.
Findings by Girls not Brides show that complications in pregnancy and child birth are the leading causes of death in girls aged 15-19 in developing countries where 90 per cent of adolescent girls are already married.
“Just 10% reduction in child marriage could lead to 70% reduction in a country’s maternal mortality rates,” the statement says.
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