The undersigned organization are gravely concerned that every year, 12 million girls are married or in unions worldwide with an estimated 640 million girls and women alive today who were married as children.
Child marriage remains a critical problem in Southern Africa with almost 40% of girls being married before 18. Despite growing evidence of a decline in child marriage across the globe, there is a pressing need to accelerate such progress. Unless we accelerate our efforts, 100 million more girls will marry or enter a union by 2030, and it will take another 300 years to end the practice. With what we know from years of intervening to prevent and protect girls from early, forced child marriage and unions, it is possible to reverse the trend and accelerate to achieve the intent of the SADC model law and the Sustainable Development Goal on ending harmful practices by 2030.
Read the joint statement by Girls Not Brides, Plan International, Hivos, UNICEF and UNFPA.
