African Union launched campaign against child marriage in Africa

My friends, this was taken from Jornal de Notícias newspaper:

http://www.jn.pt/PaginaInicial/Sociedade/Interior.aspx?content_id=3944175&page=-1

African Union launched campaign against child marriage in Africa

The African Union in Addis Ababa launched the biggest ever campaign against child marriage, an initiative supported by the United Nations and Mozambique who emerges as one of the countries most affected by this problem .


The campaign, launched on Thursday eq ue will last two years , aims to increase awareness of the negative impact that child marriage has on children's lives and in society .

Among the 10 most affected countries , nine are African : Nigeria ( 75 % ) , Chad and Central African Republic ( 68 % ) , Guinea ( 63 % ) , Mozambique ( 56 % ) , Mali ( 55 % ) , Burkina Faso and South Sudan ( 52 % ) and Malawi ( 50 % ) .

" This movement led by Africans for Africans must not stop until all girls of all families and communities have the right to get to 18 years before getting married ," said Martin Mogwanja , Deputy Executive Director of United Nations Fund for Children ( UNICEF ) , at the launch ceremony of the campaign .

Data released by the African Union reported that one in three African girls were forced to marry before reaching adulthood .

" Child marriage is above all a serious threat to the lives , health and future of these young girls , and a breach of human rights ," said Julitta Onabanjo , regional director of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities ( UNFPA ) .

Apart from UNFPA and UNICEF , the campaign joins other partners including the Ford Foundation , the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Save the Children , Plan International , African Child Policy Forum ( ACPF ) and the Department for International Development of the Foreign Office .