No back-to-school season for child brides in most of world, aid workers say in new NGO briefing

"Before She's Ready" highlights trends and prevention efforts in Africa, Asia and Central America

Washington, D.C., Sept. 4, 2008--While most girls in North America are starting a new school year this week, millions of their peers across the developing world must stay home and stop their education because they have become child brides. The result is a continuing spiral of poverty, illiteracy and maternal and child health problems in impoverished and underdeveloped communities worldwide, humanitarian workers say.

Child and early marriage - before the ages of 14 and 18, respectively - are expected to claim the futures of some 100 million girls in the next decade, depriving most of them of the chance to finish school and putting them at higher risk of injury or death due to early childbearing, and of contracting HIV. Aid workers also report that the current global food crisis is exacerbating the practice, pushing more poor families to send young daughters into marriage in their struggle to cope with the strains of deeper poverty and hunger.

"Before She's Ready: 15 Places Girls Marry by 15," a new briefing paper from Christian humanitarian organization World Vision, illustrates the causes and human costs of early marriage in countries and regions where it is most common. With contributions from development and advocacy workers in the field, the report also highlights innovative and successful programs in countries ranging from Afghanistan to Zambia where a variety of approaches aim to tackle the underlying needs that often fuel the practice.

"As we watch girls across America going back to school, this is an especially poignant time to realize that instead of balancing classes with sports and friends, millions of young girls around the world are instead balancing the adult responsibilities of maintaining a household, premature pregnancies and caring for children, a husband and in-laws," said Ruthi Hoffman Hanchett, education policy officer with World Vision International. "Multiple studies have taught us that there is no more effective tool for development, or better investment for impoverished countries, than to educate girl children. But we find that with so many girls forced to leave school at early ages, a cycle of poverty and illiteracy continues to trap their families and communities."

Specialists from Africa, Asia and Central America about the impact in those regions, and on girls' education globally, are available for comment on child marriage related issues. World Vision works in relief, development and advocacy in 100 nations, focusing on the well-being of children and their communities.

Experts include:

Amboka Wameyo, Advocacy Program Integration Manager, World Vision Canada. A Kenyan who previously led the agency's regional advocacy for 25 African countries, Wameyo can explain and illustrate the need for local advocacy based in high-incidence countries to promote better policies to protect girl children.

Ruthi Hoffman Hanchett, Policy Officer for Education, World Vision International Hoffman Hanchett's background is in gender rights integration and advocacy for better education policies for children

Karoline Davis, National Coordinator for Gender and Development, World Vision India. Davis, based in Chennai, can discuss the trends in India and promising approaches for delaying marriage in area development programmes and an HIV prevention project in Mumbai.