National News

End child marriages—First Lady

 

First Lady Gertrude Mutharika has urged people in the country to join hands in ending child marriages.

She made these remarks yesterday when she officially opened the End Child Marriage Campaign launched by World Vision Malawi (WVM) at Kammwamba ground in Neno District. The campaign’s theme is It Takes Malawi to End Child Marriages.

Mutharika (L) meets Palmer at the launch

In her remarks, the First Lady said everyone should make a commitment that every child in marriage should return to school.

“This responsibility lies in all of us—parents, teachers, traditional and religious leaders. Everyone should ensure no child is going into marriage. The time is now,” said Mutharika.

In her remarks, United States Ambassador Virginia Palmer said the US government is already working with Malawi in promoting education for children.

“When a child is educated, they can make good decisions in life. Even those who want to be in business will be able to make good plans. As such, Malawi needs to work hard to end child marriages and send them to school as one way of combating poverty,” she said.

Also speaking at the event, WVM national director Hazel Nyathi said Malawi should scale up efforts to ending child marriages.

“We have been implementing nutrition and education programmes to enable children attain a better life. In our efforts to empower communities to take responsibility in ending child marriages, we seek to bring local interventions that will complement national policies in ending child marriages,” she said.

 

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