Child marriage in Ghana gone down – UNICEF report

A report issued by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on child marriage in Ghana has established a reduction in the phenomenon since 1983.

The Child Protection Officer of UNICEF, Mrs Joyce Odame, said the reduction had pushed the county unto the list of countries with low child marriages rates in West and Central Africa.

Speaking at a regional stakeholders meeting organised by the Domestic Violence Secretariat in collaboration with UNICEF on ending child marriage in Ghana in Tamale last Tuesday, Mrs Odame said the report showed that the Northern and Upper East regions had the highest child marriage rate of 28 per cent each.

She said the Greater Accra had the lowest rate of 8 per cent.

According to Mrs Odame, the report revealed that child marriage was more common among persons who resided in rural areas and persons who lived in poor households with little or no education

She said the report attributed most child marriages to unplanned pregnancies while about 90 per cent of married girls were out of school.

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