In Northern Ghana, as soon as a girl gets married, she often has to stop school and her husband takes control. More often than not, she becomes the (too-)young mother of a child born into a new generation, destined to grow up in poverty. Alongside poverty, the taboo associated with premarital sex is a major driver of the high number of child marriages. To sustainably improve Girls' Health, Education and rights, enhanced efforts are needed to build their capacity to make safe choices.
Ghana is one of the 20 countries in the world with the highest rates of child marriage: 38% of girls are married before they turn 18. This number varies according to the region and reaches a staggering 73% in the northern part of the country. Child marriage is rooted in a number of intertwined issues, such as poverty, religious and social traditions, and a lack of education, in addition to social and legal discrimination against girls and women, who are often considered a burden.
HACEP-Ghana proposes an innovative, holistic approach to ending child marriage. Putting youth at the heart of the solution, the program creates Community Youth Groups and provides young people in these groups with education and training to help them to both understand the issue of child marriage and be able to collectively develop community action plans to end child marriage. The Community Youth Groups then work to raise awareness about child marriage in their communities.
By supporting this program, which will benefit approximately 6,500 people in the community, you contribute to the implementation of a powerful, comprehensive program to help end child marriage in Ghana. Your giving has an immense impact: you will offer girls and young women in Ghana the opportunity to become change agents in their communities and to lead a movement to end child marriage.
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