WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Child marriage perpetuates poverty and affects the lives of 10 million girls in dozens of countries around the world every year. That is the message Archbishop Desmond Tutu offered Tuesday at the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting.
Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage was announced at CGI by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson of The Elders; Ford Foundation President Luis Ubinas; and NoVo Foundation President and Co-Chair Jennifer Buffett.
'This harmful practice contributes significantly to core development challenges - poverty, education, maternal and child health, HIV and gender equality,' said Robinson, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997. 'Yet, disturbingly, it has remained on the sidelines of mainstream development debate.'
Men should encourage women to be full participants in helping to build emerging economies by pursuing educational opportunities, the panel said.
The partnership committed to building Girls Not Brides into a fully-fledged partnership organization, with at least 150 members running programs in at least 20 countries by December 2012.
They also aim to raise $3 million to ensure the functioning of the partnership, the creation of a secretariat, and to seed activities to end child marriage in priority countries.
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© 2011 AFX News
