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Zambia records drop in early marriages: UN

Xinhua, March 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Zambia has recorded a reduction in early marriages, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) revealed.

The UN agency said the southern African nation recorded a reduction in early marriages from 42.1 percent in 2014 to the current 31.4 percent, the Zambia Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

According to UNFPA, Zambia had bone of the highest child marriage rates in the world, with 42 percent of women aged 20 to 24 years married before 18 years.

UNFPA gender specialist Precious Zandonda attributed the reduction to concerted efforts from all stakeholders, adding that more still needs to be done to end child marriages especially in rural areas.

She said three provinces out of the country's 10 provinces still recorded high marriage cases.

"During the survey we conducted, we discovered that there are three drivers of child marriages, which are lack of education, poverty and limited access to health and reproductive services," she was quoted as saying.

The UNFPA, she added, will this year scale up quality social services and support community systems in a bid to end child marriages.

The issue of child marriages has taken center stage in Zambia following the alarming figures, with a number of girls being withdrawn from forced marriages and sent back to school, the paper reported. Endit