The epidemic could lead to 10 million children marrying

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Monday that the coronavirus pandemic could lead to 10 million children getting married by 2030, adding to the 100 million girls considered at risk of getting married by the end of the decade.

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The marriages of girls under the age of 18 are believed to be the result of several factors linked to the COVID-19 crisis, particularly school closures, deteriorating economic conditions, disruption of public services and the death of fathers, according to the United Nations. A dedicated agency for children.

UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta H. Fur, in a statement on Monday: “The Coronavirus has exacerbated the already difficult situation of millions of girls,” “but we can and must end child marriage.”

Consequently, the pandemic threatens to call into question the progress made during the past decade, which has seen the proportion of young girls married before the age of 18 rise from one in four to one in five worldwide, or about 25 million marriages avoided.

“We must take immediate measures to limit the consequences [de la pandémie] Immediately, she urged the girls and their families. “En rouvrant les écoles”, en “assurant l’accès aux soins et aux services sociaux”, et en “appliquant des lois et une politique adéquates”, “nous pouvons réduire le risque de voir le mariage voler l’enfance d’une Young girl. “

According to UNICEF, 650 million girls and women around the world were married before reaching the age of eighteen. Half of these marriages took place in five countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, and Nigeria.

According to figures published by UNICEF in 2020, the percentage of young girls married before the age of 18 is 76% in Niger and 68% in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The proportion of boys who got married before reaching the age of 18 is only one-sixth of what was observed among girls.

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