Child marriage on the rise in Nigeria – UNICEF

The representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund in Nigeria, Jean Gough, has indicated that child marriage is on the rise in Nigeria.

He has therefore called on stakeholders to invest more in girls’ education to delay child marriage and stop its debilitating impacts.

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In a statement obtained by our correspondent to mark the Day of the African Child, Gough noted that the 2011 Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey shows a five per cent increase in the number of girls married before age 15.

A similar survey in 2007 had pegged the ratio at 13 per cent while the current rate is 18 per cent.

He said, “Girls’ education is vital because educated girls become better mothers, have fewer and healthier children and more empowered. An educated girl will have a better life, as will her family. Every additional year of schooling delays age at marriage.

“Getting girls into schooling, and remain in school is particularly important in a country where 10.5 million children are out of school, and more than 60 per cent of them are girls. It is a win for everybody and has an impact on child marriage.’’

He added that the theme, ‘25 Years after the Adoption of the African Children’s Charter: Accelerating our Collective Efforts to End Child Marriage in Africa’, is timely, noting that child marriage deny children the attainment of their human rights.

“It erodes the child’s rights to life, good health, education and dignity. Studies link child marriage to maternal mortality, school drop-out, virginal fistula (VVF) condition and malnutrition, among others,’’ he said.

According to him, the Girls’ Education Project, funded by the United Kingdom’s Department of International Development (DFID) and implemented by UNICEF, aims to get one million more girls into school by 2020, while at the same improving the quality of education.

“The project is helping to train female teachers through the female teachers’ service scheme and deploy them to rural areas, where the predominance of male teachers deters many parents from sending their girls to school.

Another intervention under this project is the conditional cash transfer scheme which provides cash to girls to help defray some school-related costs like textbooks, uniforms and others. The project aims to encourage parents to send their daughters to school. It is expected to reach more than 50, 000 girls this year in Sokoto and Niger States,’’ he said.