700m children robbed of childhood — Report

@judd_leonard A new report by the charity Save the Children says one in every four children are being denied a childhood.

The Stolen Childhood report found up to 700 million children have had the promise of a full childhood brought to an early end— many of them in West and Central Africa despite recent progress in the last 30 years.

“Although most of the lowest ranking countries are located in West and Central Africa, there are signs of hope and progress,” said Jim Emerson, regional director for the charity in West and Central Africa.

The charity blames extreme violence and conflict often driving families from their homes, early marriage and pregnancy, child labour, poor health and inability to go to school.

For West and Central Africa, Save the Children highlighted early marriage as one of the “worst forms of child abuse, denying girls an education and often subjecting them to health consequences.”

Today, around four in 10 girls are married before age 18 in both regions, down from five in 10 in 1990, but the practice still ends the childhoods of over a million girls in the region, according to the charity.

Stolen Childhoods reveals that early marriage rates and out-of-school rates tend to go hand-in-hand in West and Central Africa.

“A girl who remains in school will be able to complete her education, creating the opportunity for a generation of future leaders and a positive cycle of progress for the region as a whole,” Emerson recommended.

The charity has called on government to translate the African Union and UN commitments to end child marriage to “concrete, tangible and measurable actions.”