Early marriages at 38 percent in NB

Malawi Government and Livingstonia ynnod have expressed concern over the rate of early marriages in Nkhata Bay District which stands at 38 percent.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Child Marriage Advocacy open day organised by the Synod’s Aids programme (Lisap)at Chintheche in the district   on Saturday, Nkhata Bay district social welfare officer Lickson Ng’ambi said a recent report shows that of every 100 girls below 18 years of age , 38 get married. He, however, stressed the figures are only from reported cases as some go unreported. He said the figures are worrisome and attributed the problem to lack of parental care.

Ng’ambi said the district has a serious child labour problem in the fishing industry which exposes girls to men who coax them with fish or money..

He said some parents marry their daughters off to seemingly well-to-do men believing they will be supported financially.

Nkhata Bay district commissioner Alex Mdooko said there is need for a mindset change among parents who are alleged to be encouraging the malpractice.

Said Mdooko: “If parents had the will to send their children to school, there would be no such cases.”

Lisap deputy director Lazarus Harawa said Lisap has embarked on a 1 million pounds (about K700 million)five-year Community Empowerment For Sustainable Livelihood of Children project to address challenges children are facing in Nkhata Bay, particularly in Traditional Authority (T/A) Malanda.