An urgent appeal has been made to government bodies, world leaders and humanitarian actors to intervene to reduce the rise in child marriage, especially in West and Central Africa (WACA).
It is predicted that by 2030, over 13 million girls will be forced into marriage due to restrictions put in place by governments in WACA countries trying to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate. Organisations such as Unicef, Plan International and Girls Not Brides are at the forefront of the campaign to save these young girls’ futures.
In war-stricken countries and in areas where poverty is rife, shutting down schools and restricting economic activity only encourages male-dominated households to marry off young girls who would otherwise be regarded as a drain on reduced family incomes.
According to Plan International UK, “all 24 countries in the WACA region closed schools, which affected an estimated 128 million children”. Girls not in school are being forced to get married to help their poor families and uphold family duties.
Deeply rooted discriminatory social norms and gender inequality in WACA regions were evident before COVID and now these issues are becoming harder to tackle. The pandemic has caused more problems in accessing food and nutrition, disrupting girls’ livelihoods and stopping access to education and sexual health services.
According to projections made in May by the United Nations Population Fund, 47 million women globally would be unable to use modern contraceptives if the lockdown went on for six months, resulting in up to seven million unintended pregnancies and putting thousands of young lives at risk.
It has happened before, albeit on a smaller scale. According to UNICEF, in Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis in 2014, adolescent pregnancies rose by 14,000 and school closures contributed significantly to this.
Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said: “Now more than ever, governments must reaffirm their commitment to protect education financing and provide the resources needed to build inclusive and resilient education systems. Every school-age child and adolescent in West and Central Africa, including the most vulnerable and out-of-school girls and boys, should be able to access learning opportunities equitably and in safe, healthy, inclusive and protective learning environments”.
Before the crisis, UNICEF reported that if further efforts to end child marriage were not made, WACA was set to become the region with the highest number of child brides by 2050.
