Unless we end child marriage, we will not achieve at least 9 of the 17 SDGs.
Child marriage is a global issue that cuts across countries, cultures and religions. Around 650 million girls and women alive today were married before age 18.
Unless we accelerate our efforts, 150 million more girls will marry or enter a union by 2030,[i] and it will take another 300 years to end the practice.[ii]
Adopted in 2015, the 17 SDGs set out global development priorities up to 2030. They are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people can enjoy peace and prosperity. They are comprehensive, interrelated and centred on the realisation of human rights.
Goal 5 of the SDGs focuses on gender equality and includes a target to end child marriage by 2030.
But the consequences of not achieving this target reach beyond Goal 5. Unless we make significant progress on ending child marriage, we will fall short on at least nine of the SDGs, including those related to poverty, food security, health, education, gender equality, economic growth, climate action, and peace and justice.
In this advocacy brief we highlight the reasons why ending child marriage is important to achieving these nine SDGs, and outline the actions needed to ensure that this happens.
[i] UNICEF, 2021, Child marriage database
[ii] UNICEF, 2023, Is an end to child marriage within reach?