According to a new analysis released by the UNICEF statement, five countries, including India, account for about half of the total child brides in the world on the occasion of International Women's Day.
According to the analysis 'Covid19- A threat to progress against child marriage', 10 million additional child marriages may occur before the end of the decade, threatening years of progress in reducing the practice. Worldwide, an estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married in childhood, with about half of those occurring in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria, according to the analysis.
To off-set the impacts of Covid-19 and end the practice by 2030 – the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals – progress must be significantly accelerated, it said. “One year into the pandemic, immediate action is needed to mitigate the toll on girls and their families.