Help End Child Marriage – Rebecca Akufo-Addo

First Lady of Ghana, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has called on the need to intensify efforts at ending child marriage on the Africa continent in commitment to make a difference in the lives of girls and young people.

She said girls who were married off at an early age did not only suffer emotionally but were also affected psychologically and physically.

According to her, four out of 10 girls were married off before the ages of 18 years in Africa while in Ghana, the national average of girls in this category was 21 per cent.

“We all know the challenges, sometimes tragic that comes as a result of child marriage and female genital mutilation. Child brides and girls, who have been circumcised, have a higher mortality rate from complications of child birth and are at an extremely high risk of developing obstetric fistula,” she stated.

This year’s 2nd African Girls Summit on Ending Child Marriage organised by the African Union (AU) under the theme: “Enough With The Silence” will be held in Accra, Ghana over a two-day period.

The summit and High level discussion featured First Ladies from Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone Sierra Leone as well as Gender Ministers and Civil Society Groups from across the continent; and Technical Advisors from Mozambique, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.