Central African Republic (CAR) adopts national strategy to end child marriage (2024-2027)
On 10 May 2024, the Government of Central African Republic adopted a national strategy to end Child marriage, in response to the alarming prevalence of child marriage in the Central African Republic (source: UNICEF press release, 13 May 2024).
According to UNICEF, Central African Republic has one of the highest child marriage rates in the world. 61% of children (or 771,000 individuals) are married or in union before the age of 18 and where 26% of Central African girls are married before the age of 15, with one of the slowest declines in child marriage rates in West and Central Africa.
This national strategy (2024-2027) which is developed with the support of UNFPA and UNICEF the government mark a great milestone of the Government, through the Ministry of Gender Promotion and Protection of Women, Family and Children. The strategy aims to protect all children, girls and boys, under the age of 18, in the Central African Republic, from all forms of marriage and union by 2030.
In Central African Republic, child marriage is exacerbated by poverty, gender norms, Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/C), armed conflict and displacement to name few. Thus, the implementation of this national strategy to combat child marriage require multisectoral collaboration and responses between Government agencies and different actors including local NGOs, international organisations and communities.
In the time it has taken to read this article 11 girls under the age of 18 have been married
Each year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18
That is 23 girls every minute
Nearly 1 every 2 seconds