Share & more
Women's rights activists and family-policy experts have outlined a global strategy to combat child marriages, which significantly compromise the health of young girls and make them vulnerable to HIV infection.
Organisers of a recent conference in Washington said more than 100 million girls aged under 18 are expected to marry worldwide in the next decade - many of them preteens from developing countries, the Washington Times reported.
Research shows that child brides are at a high risk of HIV infection because their older husbands are more sexually experienced and rarely use condoms.
Many also die during pregnancy or have ruptures during childbirth that can cause lifelong incontinence.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
