ANTI-EARLY MARRIAGE ACT COMING SOON-DC

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 13:46:27 +0000

By Jackson Mapapayi

GOVERNMENT is working on an anti-early marriage Act to bring the practice to an end, says Solwezi District Commissioner Rosemary Kamalonga.

Ms Kamalonga said the high rate of teenage pregnancies and early marriages were predisposing the girl-child to bad health outcomes such as HIV, maternal deaths and other health complications.

She was speaking during the 5th graduation ceremony for the First Quantum Minerals (FQM) Girls Mentorship camp at Trident College in Solwezi.

Ms Kamalonga said Zambia was among the countries with high rates of early marriages in the world and that there was need for concerted efforts to change the picture.

“Therefore, we have a lot of work to do to fight the scourge that steals the potential for development of the nation,”she said.

She said government attached great importance to safeguarding the lives of the girl -child because of their vulnerability to society.

“It is for this reason that government welcomes and always looked for multi sector approaches and collaboration to the vice,” she said.

She said in 2016, Government adopted a five-year National Action Plan to end child marriages  in addition to other programmes carried out over the years such as the formulation of the National child Policy of 2006 , the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child among others.

Earlier, FQM projects and programmes advisor Gertrude Musunka said the girls’ mentorship camp was a broader girl empowerment and adolescent programme implemented using the school setting around Kansanshi and Kalumbika minerals operations.

She said the mentorship camps were modelled around raising awareness on issues affecting the girl-child that hinder them from achieving their goals such as early sexual debut, teenage pregnancies,  child and early marriages, low literacy levels and poor social,  culture and economic status among others.

And speaking on behalf of other girls, Marvis Lukanga thanked FQM for the programme.  She however appealed to the mining company to consider extending the programme to other  districts in the province.