The National Council of Women's Societies (NCWS) has warned that more than 24 million Nigerian women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday. In a statement marking the International Day of the Girl Child, the council demanded urgent action to end child marriage. It noted that Nigeria is among countries with the highest numbers of child brides globally and cannot meet its 2030 deadline to end the practice without funded interventions and enforcement of the law. The NCWS cited UNICEF figures and the 2023-2024 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, which showed 33.4 per cent of women aged 20-24 were married before 18, with prevalence approaching 50 per cent in the North-east and North-west.
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