Despite the significant progress the world is making for social and human development, the rate of child brides will persist in the coming years, especially in Africa. In fact, based on a new report by United Nations (UN), almost 50% of child brides by 2050 will be mostly African.
In a new report released by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), an arm of UN that concerns on the development and preservation of both children and mothers around the world, on Wednesday, Nov 25, the number of African child brides will increase more than twice up to 310 million within the next 35 years mainly due to poor social reforms and unprecedented population growth. UNICEF was in Lusaka, Zambia, to attend in the African Union Girls Summit.
UNICEF has already issued a joint press release with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which says that from 2011 to 2020, at least 140 million girls will become child brides. This can translate to around 14.2 million girls each year or more than 35,000 every day. The child brides can be as young as under 15 years old.
In the new report called A Profile of Child Marriage in Africa, however, a down trend can be seen each year until 2050, but by this time, most of the child brides will be coming from Africa, beating South Asia.
The devastating impact of child bride practices still warrants its complete eradication. Not only are the girls deprived of their childhood, but they can also suffer from serious health consequences. Many studies have already shown that early childbirth increases the risk of dying among young mothers. Further, babies are more likely to be born stillborn or have a very low weight. They may also die sooner than those born on older women.
UNICEF also points out that given the lack of proper education among these young women, they may find it hard to obtain good employment that can help them support themselves and their potential family.