“Little drops of water can form a mighty ocean.  Similarly, our dream for Nepal’s economic prosperity can come true if every drop of youthful energy is tapped into.”

In rural North Shan, close to Myanmar's border to China, youth working for a Youth Information Corner (YIC), supported by UNFPA, are creating change out of challenge. According to young people here, early marriage is one of the main issues, in addition to problems such as drug abuse and unsafe abortions. In order to address these challenges, young people are dedicating their spare time to affect change in their communities.

UNFPA’s nationwide review of its support to rural youth has indicated that early marriage remains under-addressed in Myanmar. The review showed that early marriage in rural Myanmar is a challenge to be addressed in the coming years. However, there are success stories from the field which provide indicators as to how to tackle this issue. 

Phnom Penh, Cambodia: More than a thousand youth gathered at the annual celebration event of the International Youth Day on 12 August 2015 and inspired their peers to talk openly about sexual and reproductive health issues with their parents and siblings.

The first ever World Contraception Day was organized in Cambodia by a group of young people in order to raise awareness about teenage pregnancy and correct misconceptions about the use of contraceptives and family planning among young people. A series of activities, both off-line and online, were held, including a flash mob dance, a concert, quiz, press conference, distribution of leaflets and IEC materials, short clips from celebrities, posts on the facebook page and workshops.

2 million of them are 14 or youngerKabul, 03 November 2013 - Motherhood in childhood is a huge global problem, especially in developing countries, where every year 7.3 million girls under 18 give birth, according to The State of World Population 2013, released today by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund alongside Central Statistics Organiz

Overview

Child marriages are illegal but widespread in Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s minimum age of marriage for girls is 16 or 15 well below the internationally recommended standard of 18. They mainly happen in rural areas, especially along the borders with Pakistan.

Child marriages are usually aimed at strengthening ties with rival families and tribes, as part of deals or to settle debts and disputes. Poor families often end up selling daughters for large dowries from wealthy people and the husbands are usually much older.