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SCI Nigeria calls for eradication of child marriage
Save the Children (SCI) Nigeria, has called on governments at all levels in Nigeria, to develop a national action plan toward eradicating child marriage and other forms of gender-based violence against children.
SCI Nigeria’s Director of Advocacy Campaigns, Communication and Media, Mr Amanuel Mamo, said this on Monday in Abuja, at a media roundtable in commemoration of the International Day of the Girl, 2022.
Mamo said that the SCI wanted the government to increase funding and efforts to address gender-based violence against girls.
“Ten years ago, governments and people working for children, gender equality and girls’ rights around the world agreed to dedicate one day annually to celebrate girls’ achievements and bring attention to the challenges they are faced with.
“How far have we come since the first International Day of the Girl? Despite promises by world leaders, girls stand at the frontline of the world’s most pressing issues, and child marriage continues, all over the world.
“Before COVID-19, global estimates of the rate of child marriage were decreasing but the world was still a long way off meeting the Sustainable Development Goal deadline to end child marriage by 2030.
“The number of girls marrying each year was estimated to be around 12 million, and 2 million of those girls were married before their 15th birthday,” he said.
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Mamo added: “SCI conducted new research to better understand how much conflict increases the risk of child marriage and how many girls are affected.
“The research revealed that around the world, 89.2 million adolescent girls currently live in conflict zones, almost one in five adolescent girls aged 10-17 years.
“These girls live with the heightened risks to their rights, physical and mental health that come with conflict, including child marriage.”
He said that Nigeria also has one of the highest numbers of child marriages and out-of-school-children globally.
“SCI Nigeria commends the states that have passed the Child Protection Law, and urges all the remaining states to follow suit,” he added.
Mamo said that having the Child Protection Law was the key legal instrument to protecting the rights of girls and boys, adding that efforts should be made to fully implement it.
