Lost lives, lost billions: the cost of child marriage in Africa
Thomson Reuters Foundation Child marriage is costing African countries at least $US60 billion in lost lifetime earnings, more than what the world gives the continent in aid each year, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Be it high school dropout rates, teen pregnancy or poor health outcomes, the cost of child marriage is far from just monetary, […]
Facebook auction of South Sudan child bride could inspire other families – activists
Thomson Reuters Foundation The auction of a South Sudanese girl for marriage on Facebook could spur other families to use social media to demand bigger dowries for their daughters, activists said, urging authorities and the social networking giant to take much tougher action. A picture of the 17-year-old, who is from South Sudan’s Eastern Lakes […]
Child bride refugees spur Sweden to tighten marriage law
Thomson Reuters Foundation Among the tens of thousands of child refugees who have fled to Sweden from war-torn countries is a group of young girls who have presented the Nordic country with a major dilemma – they are married. The predicament is this. Should the country accept such unions even though they would be illegal […]
US wedding industry profits tapped to fight child marriage globally
Thomson Reuters Foundation Some profits from the multi-billion-dollar US wedding industry will be funneled into the global fight against child marriage, said organisers of a campaign that kicked off on Monday. The campaign, called VOW, will raise funds in the United States to be distributed to community-based efforts around the world, said Princess Mabel van […]
AFRICA: MALAWI’S ABANDONED CHILD BRIDES PUSHED INTO SEX WORK AS “ONLY OPTION”
CHARLES PENSULO, of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…