KUALA LUMPUR, May 30- World leaders and activists have been urged to take aggressive action against child marriage which remains a widespread practice throughout the world.
World Health Organisation’s (WHO) adolescent sexual and reproductive health department scientist Dr Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli said little progress had been made towards ending the practice of child marriage which was harmful to the development and health of girls and women.
Based on the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report, about 14.2 million girls married annually and 39,000 girls daily, he told a press conference at the third Global World Deliver Conference here today.
The three-day international conference which was opened yesterday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was organised by the Women Deliver which is headquartered in New York.
More than 3,000 delegates, including policymakers, advocates and international leaders representing over 150 countries, are attending the conference which focuses on the health and well-being of girls and women.
“There is a perception that somehow, marriage protects girls. But that is not the case, it simply means that child brides fall off our radar and that the sexual, emotional and physical burdens they face are ignored,” she said.
‘Girl Not Brides’, is a global partnership of more than 250 non-governmental organisations committed to ending child marriage. Its members are based in over 50 countries.
Sundaram said girls who gave birth before the age of 15 were five times more likely to die in childbirth than girls in their 20s, while the girls who survived childbirth, still probably experienced a risk of pregnancy-related complications and injuries such as obstetric fistula.
“The global community must take child marriage seriously. If we don’t explicitly address the needs of girls, and hold ourselves accountable for their welfare, 142 million girls will marry as children, by 2020,” she added.
– BERNAMA
