Statistics show that 38 percent of girls in the country marry before the legal age of 18, making Malawi the second in southern Africa after Mozambique and seventh in Africa.
While this is the national picture, averages for districts such as Mzimba, Phalombe, Mangochi, Mulanje and Chitipa hover around 45 percent.
This came to light on Saturday as Plan Malawi launched its End Child Marriage Campaign in Malawi which coincided with the release of the 2025 State of the World’s Girls Report at Mazozo Community Day Secondary School in Mzimba.
According to Mzimba district gender officer Naomi Mwale, the district which has a 45 percent prevalence rate and is cause for concern as some girls remarry after being rescued from their first marriage.
She said: “The whole 2024 we had 336 cases. But from January to September 2025, we have registered 268 cases [88 boys, 180 girls]. Of concern is that 155 cases of these were registered in Traditional Authority Kampingo Sibande’s area [alone].”
Plan International Malawi country manager Mwape Mulumbi said the campaign, which will run for 12 months, among others, highlights how child marriage robs girls of education, health and safety and perpetuates poverty and inequality.
Former vice-president Khumbo Kachali, who was the guest of honour, said reports indicate that about 1.5 million girls in Malawi are now at risk of child marriage because of climate change.
“Poverty is also a key driver of early marriage because when families have nothing, they sometimes see a wedding as survival,” he said.
According to Plan International statistics, in Malawi, 634 000 girls marry by age 15 while 2.6 million marry by the age of 18.
