Child marriage in West and Central Africa is one of the biggest challenges in the region and has enormous adverse effects on education, health, including sexual and reproductive health, and on the overall development of adolescents and youth.
This position paper presents several strong arguments about why it is imperative to address child marriage and adolescent pregnancy, if we want to succeed in harnessing the demographic dividend in West and Central Africa.
Girls are subject to child marriage, female genital mutilation and limited education and as such, are denied equality of opportunities.
Adolescent health and development are key foundations for a country's economic development and political stability.
All children have the right to attend school and be actively engaged in their education without obstacles. Child-friendly environments are necessary for all children to thrive while at school.
Concerns about significant increases in Sierra Leone’s already high rates of teenage pregnancy during the Ebola crisis have led to redoubled efforts among policy-makers and development practitioners to address this problem.
This fact sheet was drawn up following the World YWCA Training Institute in Arusha, Tanzania in March 2014 in partnership with ARROW.
The report makes a number of recommendations for action by the government to guarantee girls’ right to health, including access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, and in particular post rape services.
Preventing Child Marriage in the Commonwealth: the Role of Education is the latest in a series of reports written by the Royal Commonwealth Society and Plan UK as part of our collaboration to end child, early and forced marriage in the Commonwealth.
The main objective of the study is to contribute to efforts aimed at enhancing children's access to quality basic education and strengthening protection against GBV in and on the way to school.