Early Marriage: experts seek more investment in girls’ education, empowerment
Stakeholders in girls’ education and development have stressed the need to expand opportunities and choices available to adolescent girls as a critical strategy for delaying child marriage and early childbirth.
- From Frank Ikpefan, Abuja
Stakeholders in girls’ education and development have stressed the need to expand opportunities and choices available to adolescent girls as a critical strategy for delaying child marriage and early childbirth.
This position was highlighted during a webinar titled “Investing in Girls’ Choices: Baseline Insights on Delaying Marriage and First Birth in Niger & Nigeria,” where development partners and researchers shared fresh evidence on interventions targeting vulnerable girls.
Speaking during the session, Maryam Abubakar of the Centre for Girls’ Education (CGE), Zaria, Kaduna State said improving outcomes for girls goes beyond access to education and must focus on expanding real-life opportunities.
“Improving outcomes for girls requires expanding real choices, not just access. This is what the Centre for Girls’ Education works to do—expand choices for girls,” she said.
Abubakar noted that despite progress, Northern Nigeria still faces significant challenges, revealing that “50 percent of girls still marry before age 18, and over 20 percent before age 15.”
She added that one third of girls give birth before turning 18.
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Abubakar explained that these outcomes are driven not only by poverty but also by systemic failures.
“When education does not lead to learning or opportunity, early marriage and motherhood become rational alternatives for families,” she added.
The CGE representative highlighted the impact of the Pathways to Choice programme implemented between 2018 and 2020, which targeted out-of-school girls through academic support, life skills training, and community engagement.
According to her, findings from a recent study showed that the programme led to “an 80% decrease in the likelihood that girls were married two years after the intervention started,” while participants were “seven times more likely to be in school.”
She, however, noted that the current phase of the programme is focused on scaling and cost-effectiveness.
“We are no longer asking whether the model works. We are asking how to optimise it for scale,” Abubakar said.
Also speaking, Emily Mangone of the Gates Foundation underscored the urgency of addressing child marriage, citing alarming statistics across sub-Saharan Africa.
“Across sub-Saharan Africa, 54% of girls experience sexual debut before age 18 and 47% give birth by age 19,” she said.
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She said that delaying early marriage was key to improving health and economic outcomes.
Mangone further revealed that targeted investments could yield significant impact, noting that an investment of $106 per girl could result in “327 thousand fewer child marriages” and “383 thousand fewer adolescent pregnancies,” alongside strong economic returns.
On his part, Mahamadou Sanoussi Issa of CARE International said efforts are underway to replicate Nigeria’s success in Niger through the Re-IMAGINE programme, adapted to local realities.
He disclosed that in Niger’s Zinder Province, “87% of girls marry before the age of 18,” with many facing pressure from families and communities to abandon education.
“Families and communities pressure girls to marry early to preserve family honour and status,” Issa said, adding that the programme is testing strategies such as engaging fathers, community leaders, and boys to shift harmful norms.
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In her presentation, Luciana Leite of the Accelerate Research Hub, University of Oxford, highlighted the economic benefits of investing in girls.
She said large-scale investment in programmes like those implemented by CGE could lead to “healthier mothers and children, higher lifetime earnings, and strengthened economic growth,” with a strong return on investment.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Jane Iredale of CARE USA emphasised the importance of empowering girls to make informed life decisions.
“At CARE, we know the power that comes from girls making informed life choices about school, marriage, and children,” she said.
Participants at the event agreed that while progress is being made, sustained investment, community engagement, and policy support are essential to scale impact and ensure that more girls can shape their futures.
They concluded that combining education, mentorship, life skills, and social norm interventions remains the most effective pathway to delaying early marriage and childbirth across the region.
