South Sudan to end child marriages by 2030

By Nichola Mandil

South Sudan’s government has promised to end child marriage by 2030 in line with the African Union's campaign to end child marriages in the continent.

Paramount chiefs from 10 regional states and the three administrative areas are meeting in the capital, Juba, for the second national conference on ending child marriages.

Among the proposals suggested at the conference include one from the Swedish ambassador Joachim Waern for a law criminalising child marriages.

South Sudan is one of 40 countries in the world with the highest rates of child marriages. A survey conducted in 2010 found that about 7% of girls marry before the age of 15, and 40% before the age of 18.

South Sudan's gender ministry says only 6.2% of girls in South Sudan complete primary school, with 1 out of 5 dropping out of secondary school due to pregnancies.

Those most affected are between the ages of 15 of 19 years.

This article originally appeared in BBC News.

Photo: AFP